It is so amazing how you do your best to plan your life out and it usually ends up nothing like you expected, but more blessed than you ever thought possible. Never in a million years would I have believed you had you told me 20 years ago I would live in Virginia, California, Washington, Indiana and now Ohio. Oh the Places We Go! Have you read that book by Dr. Seuss? Usually you get it from someone as a graduation gift. It is a goodie! I was rereading it a couple of weeks back (yes the one I got from my high school graduation – Thanks Anne!) and was so moved by it since literally this past year has been a roller coaster for our family. Good and bad and twist and turns…oh the places you’ll go! Inspired by the book and our new location I decided to make a little Ohio art for my family room. While living in Indiana I made a similar sign and figured I needed to make something fun to mark this next chapter of our life in Ohio. I thought bringing in the “OH the places you’ll go” reference from the Dr. Seuss book was super appropriate for this next chapter in my page turner of a life. Because yes indeed, I never thought I would end up in Ohio.
Supplies:
Picture frame
5 gallon paint sticks – I used 13 of them (you could also use 1/2” wood strips found in the lumber section of Lowes)
craft paints (I used some Folk Art Home Decor Chalk as well as the small Folk art craft paints)
Silhouette Cameo machineSilhouette Cameo
Silhouette “OH the place you’ll go” file
vinyl with transfer tape
1. Find a frame that you can use for this project. Since the max length I could cut the paint sticks to is 17” wide I had to find a frame narrower than that. My frame is 17” x 19”.
2. Using a chop saw I cut my paint sticks down to the correct width of the frame leaving about 1/8” gap on each side.
3. Then I sanded them smooth and painted two coats of paint on each stick.
4. Once dry I flipped them over and glued them in place. If you want to speed up the dry time of the glue, you could always use a low-temp hot glue gun. Your paint sticks might not fit perfectly. So you could always use pennies or nickels to space them evenly apart if you need to cover more space.
5. Once dry I cut out my Ohio stencil with my Silhouette Cameo machine.
6. I peeled back the part of the stencil I needed. Using transfer tape, I transferred the stencil to the paint stick frame making sure to burnish the vinyl down to the sticks to get good adhesion. Tip: You may want to put a couple pieces of wood underneath to give the paint sticks some stability as you press the vinyl stencil in place.
7. Next I used a foam pouncer to pounce on the black paint. You could also use spray paint if you masked off the rest of your frame.
8. While the paint was still wet I removed the vinyl stencil. By removing the stencil you will see the gorgeous paint colors come through the lettering. It is so much fun!
9. Optional: If you want to sand the edges a little to give it a distressed look you can when it is completely dry with a sanding sponge.
Hang it in place and enjoy your DIY Ohio sign! Now this isn’t just limited to Ohio. I am sure you can think of a clever way to celebrate your state pride. The bonus about this paint stick sign is that the sticks allow you to use any shade of color to match your decor perfectly.
Love the thought of using paint sticks in your decor? Check out these paint stick inspired projects.
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