Stay with me for a minute…. so I was out in the morning on the Mississippi River. I got out of the boat with a dog thinking he needed to do a little business. Well, apparently he caught a scent and BOLTED. I was stumble-running along behind him with NO chance of keeping up. All the while, I yelled after him in my biggest-meanest-I-mean-it voice  “Heeeere”.  He clearly heard me… and blew me off.

The DIY’er in me apparently had my eyes peeled mid-panic. While thoughts of what would happen to me if I lost this dog ran through my mind, along with trying not to fall on my face in all the dropped limbs, I happened to spot a board back in the brush. Eventually… yes… the dog came back. THANK GOODNESS. I’ll admit – while I was mad at him at the time, maybe I owe that dog a thank you, because without him, I wouldn’t have stumbled upon this board:

That’s Quinn and Emma giving the board a once-over back at home. I loved all the weathered details and time-worn character. You can’t make that yourself!

I wanted the wood to be a bit more white so I white-washed it with watered-down Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White. Yep… this is still the first and only quart of chalk paint I’ve bought. I swear this stuff lasts FOREVER.  Brush on…. wipe off with damp paper towel.

I know the difference between coats isn’t dramatic. I probably wiped most of it off. You can play with it and settle on what suits you best. Thanks to the chalk paint drying so quickly, I was able to bang out this sign in an afternoon!

I debated with my sister, Christy, on what to write on the board. I wanted a word (or a couple words) that was simple and could be used in different rooms. So anything like “GROCERY” or “GROCERIES” was off the list… although I could see myself making one of those down the road!

I thought I might like to hang it above my bay window with an old oar I found a couple years ago. Christy was trying to pack during our brainstorming session so her participation was…umm… scattered. Our miscommunications were comical and might lead to some funny signs for her in the future… but for now, we both agreed that THIS sign should say “WATER ST.”    That’s the name of the street we grew up on in Pennsylvania (1992-2002).

1. Using Microsoft Word I printed the letters out on cardstock.
2. I used an exacto knife to cut out my stencils….
3. ….and taped them on with painters tape. I used lots of tape doughnuts (did someone say doughnut? Why am I instantly hungry??) under the stencils to hold them down nice and tight.
4. I made my own grey paint using a slate grey, a dab of black, and a hint of a lighter gray acrylic paint. Then I used a foam cheap-o brush to dab the paint on. Less is more… so I used a sponging technique to reduce the amount of paint that ran under the stencil.
5. Voila!  Remove the stencil and stare at the sign for at least 4 minutes with a goofy smile on your face.
6. In pic 6, I’d lightly sanded the left side of the sign, but not the right side. Love how it knocks the deep grey back a few tones. Here’s a close-up:

I ran around the house holding the sign up in tons of places. Lets just say there are MANY spots where this sign would look right at home. For now, I stuck with my original idea and hung it above the oar in the living room. It’s a nice pop of white to draw the eye up to the oar.

Keep scrolling… you know me…. I’m not done with the pictures yet!

I’m thinking some faux roman shades might be nice in that bay window. Thoughts?

I love it!  What do you think?  Do you like the white wash or would you have left it untouched?  I guess I owe that dog an apology.  I take back the scolding…. but not the dirty look.

Be sure to check out the awesome link parties where I’m hanging out this week. They’re organized by day on the right toolbar and can also be found here!  Special thanks to Home Stories A2Z!

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