DIY: Crackle Paint Signs

I've been starting to gather ideas for reception decorations and found this divine little store with crackle paint signs: http://www.etsy.com/shop/thebackporchshoppe.

Here is one of the signs that I really liked.

via The Back Porch Shoppe 9 x 5 bride and groom chair signs

I thought to myself, "Hey I bet I could make something like this for less than $35."  I went to Michaels and bought the following things:

• Gold paint for the undercoat
• Ivory paint for the top layer
• Paint brushes
• 2 8x10 plaques
• Black ribbon

I also needed glue, black paint, sand paper, and a staple gun, but I already had those.  My total cost (including tax) came to $25.34.  Most of these supplies are pretty common place.  I had to buy paint brushes because I haven't done much painting before.  If you have painting supplies, some leftover ribbon, and can find a couple of pieces of scrapped wood, the only cost you'll incur for this project is the cost of your time!  How fantastic is that?

Here are the steps I took to create my chair signs.  Some of the steps won't have pictures, but I think they're pretty simple.

• Step 1 - Take the plaques (or wood) and sand so that the surface is mostly smooth.  Since I used a store-bought plaque, the surface was already smooth.

• Step 2 - Paint the plaque with the color you would like to show through the crackle.  Let the paint dry.

• Step 3 - Paint on the glue. Be sure to paint with the grain.  I made the mistake and didn't on one side and you can tell.  The more glue, the more crackle.  Try not to over-brush the glue, as this decreases the crackle as well.

• Step 4 - While the glue is still tacky, paint the top coat (the main color).  Like with the glue, paint with the grain and try not to over-brush.

• Step 5 - While the paint is drying, go on your computer, pick out a cute font (in the right size), and print out whatever words you want to put on your plaques (in my case "Bride" and "Groom").   In order to get the text on the wood, you could either buy transfer paper or shade the back of the paper with a pencil (I started shading just the font but then realized I could just shade the area).  In case you want something more fun than "Bride" and "Groom", here are some other ideas I think are cute:
• "I'm Her Mr." and "I'm His Mrs."
• "Hubby" and "Wifey"
• "Mr." and "Mrs."
• "Country Boy" and "City Girl"

• Step 6 - Place the paper on the dried plaque/wood shaded side down so that you are looking at the printed font.  Trace over the outline of the font with a pen.  Be sure to press firmly.  When you lift up the paper, you should see the font on your wood. (You can also see the crackling in the picture below!)

•  Step 7 - Paint the font with whatever color you desire.  Since I don't have a steady hand, one of my bridesmaids, Jess, painted them for me.  So glad she was able to help!

• Step 8 - Add the ribbon in whatever way you plan to attach the sign to your chair.  The chairs that we'll be using at the reception have posts, so we can wrap the ribbon around the post on each side.  For ease, I used a staple gun and put two staples on each side of the ribbon.  Here is the final product on my dining room chairs.

Overall, this project was super easy and relatively inexpensive if you are already a crafty person.  In the future, I would add more glue so that the paint would crackle more. I had a lot of fun with this DIY wedding project.  Definitely worth it.