"The Richeys" sign, part I: Adventures in wood-burning.

[Originally posted here on March 21, 2014.]

My blog hit 1,000 views today! Thanks, guys! (And random strangers! Hi!) :-)

One of my first posts was my DIY Menu Board tutorial, which is now getting plenty of use on my kitchen wall. But before I show you the "command center" it is a part of, there was one last piece I needed to tackle. It's nothing major--I really just needed something to fill a space so everything lined up right, so I thought I'd make a sign with our last name on it to hang above some other pieces. But it's been a fun project, so I thought I'd share!

Materials.

Here's what I used for part one, the wood burning:

• Wood for sign
• Printout of text
• Ruler
• Permanent marker (fine tip)
• Wood-burning tool

(The frame pictured is just what I set my wood-burning tool on while it's hot, since I do most of my crafting on the living room floor--very carefully!)

Traced text.

First, I typed up the text I wanted in the fonts I liked. I measured the width of the wood and used the "ruler" feature on Word to size the font correctly. Then, I would have printed it off, if our printer had been working; instead, I ended up resizing the text on-screen, holding a piece of paper up to the computer monitor, and lightly tracing the text with a pencil onto my paper. Hey, I'm nothing if not resourceful! But printing it would have been easier, so you should go with that....

Next, I cut out my text, used a ruler to find the exact middle of my piece of wood, and centered the papers as I wanted them. Then I held them in place with one hand while I traced over the letters with a permanent marker, slowly, so the ink would bleed through onto the wood.

Burning time!

Then came the fun part! I fitted my wood-burning tool with a fine tip and carefully traced the inked letters.

I'm not gonna lie, there's something exhilarating about burning things. And burning it into something pretty? Awesome.

Part I: finished!

This was my first attempt at wood-burning, but I think it turned out well! In fact, I was a little sad to paint over it today, but it just didn't match....

Part II: Painting will be coming soon!