Love is Not Perfect Valentine Sign

It’s time for the Craft Destash Challenge, hosted by Megan from C’mon Get Crafty. I wanted to make something for Valentine’s Day that represented the truth about real love. Lived-out love is not all hearts and flowers. It can be downright messy at times. Although God’s love for us is perfect, our love for each other here on earth is flawed and imperfect. Despite our best efforts, we do fail each other. As a reminder of our humanness, I used a leftover piece of plywood to create a Love is Not Perfect Valentine Sign.

Materials:

• 16” x 30” plywood
• sanding block
• medium grade sand paper
• Valspar Ultra Oasis Blue Paint + Primer
• paint brushes- small roller brush, 1” sponge brush, 1/4” angle brush, 0/0 liner brush
• Apple Barrel 21884E Snow White, 2605E Crimson, 20774E Aquamarine, 44845E Light Yellow, 20523E Kelly Green, and 20432E Nutmeg
• computer and printer for printing the sign letters
• Elmers Glue All
• clear tape
• measuring tape or ruler
• chalk
• pencil
• big and small circle for tracing the wreath- I used a paper plate and a drinking glass
• cabinet knob, or some other type of small, decorative knob
• Aleene’s Acrylic Gloss Spray

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Directions:

First, prep your painting surface. I wanted my sign to look rustic, but I didn’t want splinters or super-rough edges. I lightly sanded the flat surfaces with the sanding block. The corners and edges required something more abrasive, so I used the medium grade sand paper to smooth the corners and sides. Wipe off all sawdust with wet paper towels. You can use a rag or a baby wipe as well.

Roll on the Oasis Blue Primer/Paint for a one-coat smooth finish. I love this color! I have lots of turquoise/teal/red in my house, so this darker teal blends in perfectly.

After it dries, sand a few rough spots on the front of the sign with the medium grade sand paper. Sand all of the edges so that the wood is showing. We want it to look weathered/time worn. Wipe everything with wet paper towels or a baby wipe afterwards.

Next, go to your computer and print the words for the sign. I used the Forte (Love is not) and Modern Grunge (perfect) fonts at the 200 size. The letters were big, so they didn’t print on the same page. I cut each word about 1/4” all the way around.

The center of “Love is” is the letter e. Line up the o in “not” and the f in “perfect” underneath the e when you tape the letters to the sign. Before taping, rub colored chalk onto the back of each word. This will give you a nice pattern for painting.

I centered and taped “Love is” at the top of my sign, then measured to make sure it was the same distance from the edge on both sides (4 1/2”).

Then I taped “not” and “perfect” underneath, aligning all center letters with the e in “Love is.”

Use the pencil to trace around, and inside the center of each letter. When you remove the paper, you will have a perfect pattern for painting the letters.

Paint the letters with the 1/4” angle brush and liner brush. I used both, based on the width of the letter. Use Crimson for Love, and Snow White for is not perfect.

After the letters dry, wipe off the remaining chalk with a baby wipe or wet paper towel. You can use a blow dryer to speed up the drying process.

Measure about 19” down on the left edge, and make a dot with the pencil. Measure 8” from the left edge, even with the dot you just made, and make another pencil dot. This is where the center of the wreath needs to be. Center the small glass over the dot and trace around it with the pencil. Center the paper plate over the circle you just made and trace around it. There’s your wreath pattern, all ready to go.

Now for the best part of making the Love is Not Perfect Valentine Sign-painting the wreath! Place a quarter-sized dollop of Aquamarine and Kelly Green side by side on your palette.

Use the 1” sponge brush to swish in the wreath with a mixture of the two colors.

Using the liner brush, make some small leaves with stems with a mixture of Snow White, Aquamarine, and Kelly Green.

Make an imperfect heart with Crimson, Snow White, and the 1/4 angle brush. If freehanding the heart makes you nervous, print a pattern or trace around a heart cookie cutter. Highlight the heart with Snow White, and shade it with Crimson. Add more Kelly Green, Aquamarine, and Snow White squiggles and leaves to the wreath, if needed.

Paint a the bow and hanger with the liner brush and a mixture of Lemon Yellow and Nutmeg. Add a tic tac toe shaped Snow White highlight to the top right side of the heart with the liner brush. Use the edge of the 1” sponge brush to put Snow White and Aquamarine highlight swishes on the wreath. Be careful not to paint over the detailed stems and leaves. Sign your initials and the last two digits of the year. Use the Elmers Glue All to attach the decorative knob. When we bought our little cottage in 1995, we painted the kitchen cabinet doors Depression Era green, with cream cabinets. Later we updated the cabinets with berry red and turquoise paint. The knob pictured below came from the Depression Era green cabinets. My husband doesn’t like to throw things away, so we still have plenty of the old knobs.

Once the sign (including the knob) is nice and dry, take it outside and spray it with Aleene’s Acrylic Gloss Spray.

You’re all done! I tried my valentine sign in a few different spots, then decided to display it in the family room, beside our fireplace.

Happy Winter!

Kristie

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Read Sweet N’ Simple Valentine Flag or Mommy And Me Mini Valentine Pillows

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Every month a group of bloggers are challenged by C’mon Get Crafty to create a new craft or project from their own stash of goodies! Everyone is allowed a $10 allowance for necessities to complete their project (i.e. paint brushes, glue, etc), but the bulk of it must be created from their own stash of goodies.

Let’s meet this month’s bloggers!!

C’mon Get Crafty | Love My Little Cottage

Domestic Deadline | Across the Blvd | Purple Hues and Me

This Autoimmune Life | Sew Crafty Crochet