Signs of Affection: My First "Commissioned" Piece

I got an urgent email yesterday. It was from a friend of mine who is expecting her first Grandson in a few weeks. The note contained a link to a blog post from Corner House, (an adorable blog, by the way), and this photo:             

PHOTO CREDIT AND INSPIRATION: CORNER HOUSE

       
The note read:
        "Hi!  I know that you're really busy getting ready for The Barn Sale, but I have a huge favor to ask:  Do you think that you'd have time to make a sign like this one for me? The shower for my daughter-in-law is next weekend. The Nursery is Navy and White, Nautical Theme, with Cherry furniture and I know that XXX (name withheld due to the fact that this is a surprise) would just love it if you made this for her!  If you don't think that you'll have time, I completely understand. Let me know soon, please, so that I know if I need an alternative plan." 

Me? Not have the time do do something so simple and so adorable for a friend?! No way! I had a stack of boards already in the garage for signs that I'm making for the Barn Sale next weekend. So, I got started.

 

 The finished sign is just under 4 feet wide and about 42 inches tall. It will hang on the wall behind the crib for now, but could also be used as a headboard for a "big boy bed" later on.

I whitewashed the boards using watered-down white latex paint (semi gloss). The letters were painted using Thunder blue craft paint. There are a number of ways to get the letters onto the board, draw, trace, stencil, stamp. Whatever suits your fancy. I tend to finely draw in pencil then adjust as I paint. I finished the sign using water borne  (LOW VOC) polyurethane. I kept the entire sign as non-toxic and low odor as possible since it will be in a nursery.

You may have also noticed that I work from bottom to top, right to left. This is due to the fact that I'm left handed and I find that my hands and arms stay out of the wet paint better when I work in this fashion. 

NOTE: For the record, using a 70x300 zoom lens to try to take photos indoors is NOT fun. I'm checking around for a Nikon 18x200 (or equivalent)  that I can borrow for a couple of weeks. Anyone? Anyone at all?! Bueller?!!?

xo,

S

P.S. I am making another sign like this one that will be for sale at Nellie's Barn Sale Next Weekend! (Because if I had been doing a sign for a friend rather than making something to sell next weekend my friend, Ann, would have been well, let's just say, "really unhappy" with me.   I'll be posting more items as I make them this week.

Linking to:
At The Picket Fence
Be Different, Act Normal
Beyond the Picket Fence
Chic on a Shoestring
Common Ground
DIY Showoff
Embracing Change
Funky Junk
Homemaker in Heels
Homemaker on a Dime
I gotta Try That
Miss Mustard Seed
Nifty Thrifty
Redoux
Six Sisters Stuff
TaterTots and Jello
Uncommonly Yours
You Are Talking Too Much