Directions Not Included

DIY and craft adventures of two humans, three dogs and two cats.

start being awesome

35 Comments

 Another Pinterest inspiration. Are we noticing a trend here? My friend fell for this and since she swears she is not crafty she recruits me to make it for her. It was available at some point at an Etsy shop but the link no longer is valid.

Via Pinterest – Etsy link is broken
A funny tidbit for you – this friend reports to me at work. We have been friends outside of work since before she started reporting to me. I think her recruiting me to do her craft projects is her way of getting me back for all the work I make her do in the office 😉 I’m a nice boss, I swear!
I purchased a 16 x 20 canvas and printed out the words out in the right size for my piece. She wanted it yellow so I painted the canvas with the perfect bright yellow.

While I was letting the paint dry, I meticulously cut out the letters to create my stencils. I could have done this with the Cricut but I didn’t have a cartridge for the font I wanted and didn’t trust my ability to make the formatting work for the canvas. Photoshop worked well to get the right layout so printing it out was the easiest for me. If you have a Silhouette or the right cartridges and the Cricut Design Studio, those are definitely the way to go. I just used what I had.

The secret to cutting out the letters is to use a block font that has less curves to it. You can use a metal ruler and your craft knife to get a very clean edge. I swear by this Friskars craft knife for detailed cutting. It is seriously the best. It helps that I have a pretty steady hand as well. It is recommended kittens do not participate in the cutting since as you can see they do not facilitate the process.

I used Krylon Easy Tack to hold down my stencils on the canvas. It doesn’t leave a residue and helps secure the stencils so I wouldn’t make a mess. Make sure you press down around the edges of the stencils to make sure you have the cleanest stencil possible.

I used a smaller flat brush to fill in the stencils with white paint. I tried to get a good coverage without making it too messy around the edges.

Of course, when working with a paper stencil, the paint can spread but don’t fret if it looks messy. You’ll notice there is a bit of white paint that spread out around the letters.

I let it dry and then went back over it with yellow paint a few times with a small detailing brush and you would never know when you look at it. Looking good, right? But if you look closely do you notice anything strange about the letters?

The “inside” of the letters are all white and missing the details – check out the O, A, D if you still don’t see it.

I printed out those individuals letters again and this time just cut out the center pieces and used those as stencils to fill in the letters. Same process as before with a light spray of the Krylon Easy Tack.

I have to confess, I had no idea this was a quote from Barney in “How I Met Your Mother” but it makes me smile and will completely brighten up their living room.

Linking up to my favorite parties all listed here: Link Events
And Metamorphosis Monday

Thanks for following Directions Not Included!

you might also like:

may the force be with you - star wards stencil shirt
getting somewhere - family room update
the ultimate garage sale score - broyhill brasilia sideboard

About Anna@DirectionsNotIncluded

Hi there! I'm Anna, the voice behind Directions Not Included. I'm a marketer, crafter, DIYer and lover of all things home related. You can usually find me covered in paint, cuddled with one of my pets or in front of a computer or other digital device. Thanks for reading Directions Not Included. I hope you stick around.

Comments

  1. Jill says

    This is great! I totally want to make one for my office because every week when I email my time sheet to our controller (who’s a friend of mine) I put something about being awesome in the subject line. lol I kinda have a thing with being awesome – once my boss asked why I had a stapler at my desk and he didn’t, my answer – “because I’m awesome”

    Reply

  11. Erin of HomeSavvyAtoZ.com says

    This is a super cool sign and I love that your kitty “helps” the same way mine do! I got quite a chuckle out of that. I would love for you to link your post up with my Savvy HomeMade Monday blog party and I am a new follower!

    Reply

  13. Carmella says

    Great quote…Barney cracks me up, but I didn’t realize it was one of his lines either! You did such a great job on this!!

    Reply

  20. Stephanie says

    I really really like this! It is so bright and I love the message. You did a fabulous job! I have a party going on over at my blog if you want to join! I’d love to have you! Check it out under the “Stache Party” page on my blog: mylilpumpkinpatch.blogspot.com

    Reply

  22. SJ @ Homemaker On A Dime says

    I know that you have so many blog parties to choose from so thank you for choosing Creative Bloggers’ Party & Hop. This post is added to the party blast! Enjoy the rest of the week :)I know that you have so many blog parties to choose from so thank you for choosing Creative Bloggers’ Party & Hop. This post is added to the party blast! Enjoy the rest of the week 🙂

    Reply

  23. Lesley says

    Ack. I love it. There’s a strong possibility that I am going to make one of these this weekend.
    Thanks for linking it up, baby.

    Reply

  26. Adrianne says

    Okay, I saw this on Freestyle Friday (thank you for linking up with me!) and found it to be legen… wait for it… DARY! HIMYM is one of my favorite shows! You made my day!

    Happy to be your newest follower ~ Adrianne
    happyhourprojects.blogspot.com

    Reply

  33. Melissa - LaLaBliss.blogspot.com says

    I.LOVE.THIS!! I shall make one. I’ll send you a link when I’m done 🙂 Thanks for the inspiration!

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

about

Directions Not Included follows the DIY and craft adventures of two humans, three dogs and two cats as they take one old Florida home and make it theirs.

This blog will feature DIY tips, before and after photos, craft tutorials, home decor trends, and gratuitous pictures of our five rescued furry children.

Copyright 2010 - 2014. Directions Not Included - Anna Cruz-Morales.

The contents of this blog, including text, original photos and ideas are the sole property of the author. If you intend to use my text or images, please link back to my site and credit given to Directions Not Included. Please share only one image and direct readers to my site. A notification email would be greatly appreciated.

like us on facebook

like us on facebook

don’t miss any of the fun

dnirssyellow dnipinterestyellow dnifacebookyellow dniinstagramyellow dnitwitteryellow dnigoogleyellow

subscribe via email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.