Hand Painted Wood Plaque

No Breakfast Gallery Wall is complete without a quote from one of my favorite fictional characters, Ron Swanson! I found a lot of similar prints and posters on Etsy, but after seeing these wood slices at the craft store, I knew they would make the perfect canvas for this. Since my handwriting is a sloppy mess and my painting skills are on par with a three year old’s, I used stick-on lettering to trace around and then carefully fill in with paint. The wood is also much nicer to paint on than a traditional canvas. The paint seemed to cover better and it was a lot easier to control my paint brush. If I can pull this off.. ANYONE can!

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Supplies:

Wood slice/plaque (I found mine at JoAnn’s Fabric & Crafts)

Adhesive vinyl letters (I used a 1” size, 2” size, and some fancier cursive letters)

Pencil and ink pen

Acrylic paints

Small paint brushes

Picture frame bracket/mounting hardware

Hammer

 

Start by adhering your vinyl letters to the plaque. You may want to use a ruler or piece of paper to keep your letters in straight line. Mine started to get a little wonky at the end because I was trying to just eyeball it. With an uneven oval shape though, it’s a bit tough, so don’t make the same mistake as me!

Once your letters are on, trace around them with pencil. Use a bit of pressure when tracing around because this will create a slight indent, making it easier to trace the second time in ink as well as when you go to paint.

Trace around once more with an ink pen and then remove the letters.

Pour out a bit of paint and use a small fine point paint brush to fill in your letters. If a bit of paint covers the outline of the letters, don’t sweat it because we’ll fix that later! Let the first coat dry (about 15-20 minutes) and then apply a second coat.

When the second coat is finished drying, use your ink pen to trace back around any areas that got paint on the outline.

Flip the plaque over, attach mounting hardware, and hang it up!

This is a wonderful way to add some personalization to your home or create a unique gift for a loved one. What quote or phrase will you be painting on yours?