Large DIY Distressed Signs {Nursery Project}

I'm finally able to pop in this week and share one of the DIY projects that went in Baby M's nursery! 

If you missed the nursery reveal last week, you can check out all the eye candy over here. 

Today let's talk about the huge distressed signs on the focal wall!! 

When we decided to put the crib on this wall, I knew I wanted something hanging on each side and couldn't quite put my finger on it. 

Then I stumbled on these gorgeous pieces of wood that were hanging out in my dad's barn. 

They were huge and thick and heavy. 

As soon as I saw them, I  knew they'd be perfect for a couple of amazing signs to hang on the wall by the crib. 

I had to convince both dad and the hubby that they would indeed be perfect for signs.

They were convinced they were too heavy to be anything. 

But they cut two pieces a little over 5 feet for me. 

I got them home and sanded the heck out of them to bring out the gorgeous grain and get all the dirt and grime off of them. 

Once they were sanded, I painted over them with the same color as the blue walls in the nursery, it's called Mint Whisper by Valspar. 

I didn't put thick coats on because I wanted the grain to still show through. 

For my letters, I used Microsoft Word to create the huge letters- make sure you pick letters that don't have a lot of details if you're going to cut them out yourself- they can be a pain :)

I used a very simple font and made them huge- one letter per page.

Change your letters to 'outline' before printing so you don't use a ton of ink.

Then I cut them out using my exacto knife to create stencils. 

I did these for my smaller letters too. 

Sometimes I'd just rather use Word than get my Silhouette out :) 

Especially when I don't want to to waste paper or vinyl. 

After creating my stencils, I used them to paint my letters on in a glossy white I had on hand. 

The pictures above show the dramatic difference between keeping them nice & pretty after painting verses distressing them. 

I love how the grain shows through- especially on a thick piece of wood like this. 

It makes it perfectly aged :) 

After distressing the sign, I rubbed a layer of clear wax on for protection and a pretty finish. 

Isn't the distressed wood just perfection? 

These pieces were already aged on their own so they had amazing cracks & lines in them that made distressing them a breeze. 

I make sure to get the edges & corners a little more, where natural aging & wear would occur. 

We hung them using heavy duty cleat brackets we found at Target that were meant for heavy items. 

Make sure you use the right hanging brackets when hanging big items like these.

Definitely don't want them being pulled off or falling off!! 

I love how perfect they were for framing the sides of the crib on our white focal wall.

"Sweet darling" and "Little Lovebug" are nicknames hubby calls his girls so they are super special to us :) 

Making a room personalized just for our family is my favorite thing in the world to do.

I love bringing sweet details in and creating spaces that are all about us. 

You just can't buy that in a store. 

Now all we need is our little lovebug here so we can enjoy our sweet little space!! 

What's your favorite technique for creating signs? 

Are you ready to tackle large ones like these?? 

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