DIY Shoes OFF Sign

Well Hello and Happy Memorial Day!

I hope all of you are enjoying this day in memory of all those who died for our freedom, no matter what country you live in!

I know I certainly am, and I am also so happy to introduce my guest blogger.

Today I have Jess  from 

 I'm Jess, mother of 3 who loves to create, design, sew, and do it all.I love everything that deals with design! I love love love to decorate homes, space planning, and everything design. I do however have a background in design and lets say by any means, I am NOT an EXPERT, oh no...it's just a passion.I am a thrift store-craigslist addict and free cycle queen. I live on a strict budget and try to make the best on that budget. My design style is  ECLECTIC. I do not hone in on a certain style, because I believe there is beauty in all styles. I particularly love vintage decor (all styles included...hollywood regency, Chinoiserie, Art Deco, MCM, etc...) mixed with a bit of modern decor.

As a child, I was taught to always take your shoes off upon entering the house. In my culture it is also a sign of respect and something that I have taught my children to do in our home as well in our friends homes. I remember my mother hanging her "shoes off" sign up on the wall so that visitors knew that that is what we did in her house and it is something that I would love for guest to do in my house, without me having to coax them into it or remind them. 

Before I create any type of signage or word art I like to scribble my vision down on paper...even if it is an envelope. It basically serves as my version of a rough draft.

These are the materials used PLUS black paint, word stencils, a black sharpie marker, a pencil, and a small fine paint brush.

I used a wooden Paris signage that I picked up at a shop and swap months ago as my base for this project, you can also use any type of scrap wood or old art you may have laying around your house.  Feel free to substitute any materials for what you already have at home. 

1. Prime base, if it has words or pictures on it 

2. Paint the base, I chose to paint my piece Belle Grove Sorbet by Valspar

3. I wrote "Shoes" lightly using a pencil and traced over it with modge podge using a fine tip paint brush then I laid gold leaf over the words shoes and patted it down and let it dry. 

        

     *You can erase the pencil marks using a white eraser.  Mechanical pencil erasers work best. 

4. Remove the access gold leaf with your fingers. I like to reuse my scrap gold leaf so I tear the gold leaf around the words and place it back into the package. 

5. Using a DRY paint brush, brush the extra gold leaf off the piece...be careful gold leaf is very sensitive and brushing to hard can result to you accidentally removing the gold leaf from the lettering or the area you wanted the gold leaf to be displayed. However, if gold leaf is removed from the area you apply it to, you can just reapply it by following step 3 again. 

6. To write the word "OFF" I used some stencils I had on hand and I free handed the rest of the signage using a pencil. If you have a Cricut Cutter feel free to use it on this step or you can use letter stickers for your words...*that is something I almost considered, but I could not find anything large enough or in the style that I liked. 

7. Trace over the words written in pencil with a black sharpie marker.  

8. Fill in the word "OFF"  with black paint and trace over the word "please" with black paint using a fine tip paint brush. 

9. Once the piece is completed you can seal it with modge podge, lacquer, polycrylic, etc...You can leave it as is or like I did you can go over the edge of the piece with a black sharpie marker. 

There you go....the finish product. It is not perfect, but I love how imperfect and raw the word shoes look with gold leaf on it. Very Chic!

If you like this tutorial and you want to see more like this, please visit my blog at Domicile 37. 

Thanks so much Jess for your wonderful, and classy sign tutorial! So darling!

And thank you all for tuning in!

Until Next Time...