wooden plaque tutorial

I have been looking for inspiration for a 'bathroom' sign and on my travels around the internet I have been inspired by some of the lovely sayings and signs that are out there ... and I decided to make a couple for our bedroom ... yes they are soppy love ones ;)


1. You Need
wood, saw, sandpaper, pencil, printouts, glue, scalpel, cutting board, scissors or trimmer, paint, paintbrush ... sorry didn't take a photo of it all, but its pretty standard stuff!

I made a note of the saying I loved and then had a bit of fun with photoshop making up my designs
2. preparing
cut out the printouts, I made mine a couple of mm larger than the width of the wood.
measure out the size of wood you need ... mine was an odd piece floating around the garage as wood tends to do ... I just measured off the sizes I needed with a pencil.

3. the wood
the wood is then sawn to the correct size and I sanded down the edges so there were no splintery edges and I also did a quick sand all over so they had a nice smooth feel.
using emulsion, as its what I had to hand I painted the edges of the wood ... if I had more time I would have probably done the back too, but that will not be seen so I didn't bother :/
4. sticking
once the paint is dry I used all purpose adhesive to glue on the printouts.
I wanted them glued really well and so I put the glue all over ...
then using my finger I spread the glue smoothly all over especially right to the edge ...
I then carefully (after washing the glue off my hands!!) placed the printout on the wood and with a piece of kitchen towel between my fingers and the printout I pressed in smooth strokes all over so the glue stuck with no bubbles or bumps.
5. finishing off
once stuck on and dried I used a scalpal and cutting mat, with the printout face down I just trimmed off the edges and neatened it up.
... and there you have it ... a cute plaque ... you could, if you wanted, sand the edges to give it a rustic look, or not paint the edges if you prefer to have a wood finish ... you could also varnish them if you want them to be in the bathroom or more hard wearing. You can also attach a hook or string on the back to hang them ... mine are just going to be propped up though.
... perfect to add a little something to your home!
I am really pleased with mine and can already picture them in my bedroom :)

I would love to see any you make so please leave a link in the comments below!

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