Dare to… be thankful!

Every once in a while we need something to challenge us.

Something to force us to think outside of our comfortable boxes!

Kim's Dare to DIY Party was just what I needed this year!

Each week for the next 4 weeks there will be a different themed project.

The party starts November 19th, but I wanted to share my tutorial today!

The theme....Dare to... be thankful!

"a thanksgiving project to remind you to be grateful during this season".

I opted for a little something to hang on my wall that would remind me that I am blessed and I should be grateful.

Here Is What You'll Need:

- 1 Wood Plaque

- Stencils (if you don't want to buy a stencil you can print out a phrase on you computer and turn it into a stencil...a little more work, but a lot more font options)

- A pencil

- A ruler

- White Paint

- A small paint brush

- Stain

- A foam paint brush

- Polyurethane if you want to seal your project.

First things first you'll want to find the center of your plaque and draw a light pencil line.

Then draw another light pencil line that you can use to rest all your letters on so they are straight on your board.

Carefully trace each letter centering them on your guide lines and evenly spacing them on the board.

Once you are done tracing the letters it's time to fill them in with paint.

If you look carefully you can see that I traced over my letter with an unloaded pencil point.  

This gave me a little indention that I was able to use as an additional guide when painting.

Painting the letters in is a challenging task.

It takes patience...

...Lots

and 

LOTS of patience.

I did two coats of paint on each letter.

Allow your paint to fully dry...mine took less than 30 minutes, but humidity and thickness of paint will cause variations in drying time.

Once you are positive your paint is dry, go back and erase all your guide lines.  

We have a lot of stain left over from our table and bench project so I pulled that out and brushed a nice coat all over my place.

Don't worry about covering your letters, that's part of the process.

Allow it to sit for about 15 minutes and then wipe off with an old rag.

Notice how the letters have an antique look.

That white paint absorbed just a bit of the stain leaving you with a really fun finish.

Ta-Da! 

Allow this to sit for 4-6 hours and then repeat the stain process once more if you need a darker, richer color.

If you are happy with one coat you can give your project a quick LIGHT sanding and proceed with the coat of polyurethane.

If you aren't interested in sealing your project then you are done!

If you do poly, carefully coat your entire plaque and leave it to dry overnight.  

By morning your project will be complete and you'll have a lovely plaque to hang on the wall.  

Now everytime we sit at our diningroom table this plaque will be in sight.

Just seeing the word 'Blessed' reminds me that I am so very blessed and that I need to be thankful for all that God has blessed us with. 

Thank you again to Kim for hosting this party and pushing me to think outside of my comfort zone!

If you haven't stopped by NewlyWoodwards to check out the Dare to DIY challenge I encourage you too! 

There is still plenty of time to participate in this week's party, as it doesn't even open until Monday!!!

I hope you have a Blessed Thursday