DIY :: Welcome Sign

I have always loved a bold front porch display. A home's curb appeal is your first impression to visitors and passerby alike. Because we live in a third floor walk up and our "porch" allows for just about enough room for a doormat, we had to get creative. I was initially inspired by this moss covered door monogram by The Chic Site.  While I still adore the H monogram, I wanted to make it my own a bit. I loved the idea of incorporating moss and decided to use my wood burning tool to create a rustic chic welcome sign of my own. 

You'll need the following items to complete the project: a wood burning tool with an angled tip, hot glue gun with glue sticks, wooden plaque (I chose a rectangular one with a beveled edge to allow the moss to taper off), ruler, tracing paper and one bag of moss. I used sheet moss that varied in color. This makes it look a little more natural... as natural as moss growing on a welcome sign for an apartment can be.

You can approach the first step in two different ways. If you have access to a printer, all you have to do is simply pick your favorite font and print it in the appropriate size. Then tape your printed font to your plaque and voila - you have a stencil to work over. As I do not have a working printer any longer, I chose to free hand my sign. First, take a piece of tracing paper and secure it over your plaque. Then free hand the desired sentiment onto the paper to serve as a stencil. 

I used an Old English font called Canterbury that I found on a free font site. No need to download anything if you are free handing it. You can preview each font right on the site. This is also where the ruler comes in handy. I made a grid on my stencil to ensure that the letters were uniform in height and width. You are now ready to being your wood burning!

I would definitely consider myself a novice when it comes to wood burning. I haven't really done research  on the proper form or procedure, I just sort of wing it. That being said, if I can do it you can do it! My tip would be to make long and smooth burn lines to avoid blotching and uneven depths. I did end up going over a few places to blend the burns and darken them. My finished product is below. Feel free to fill in the letters with a shading tip or add more designs along the plaque. 

Now comes the fun part- covering your plaque in moss. There is no exact science to this. Avoid burnt fingers by putting the glue directly onto the plaque and attach the moss using the end of a pencil to push it into place. Work your way around the plaque, securing pieces of moss in varying sizes. Use as little or as much as you'd like. This part does end up making quite the mess so be sure you are in an area that can easily be cleaned! I had to vacuum my carpet twice to get up all the tiny pieces of moss.

The final step is to hang the sign for all the neighbors to see. You can use a command hook, a wreath hook, etc. I already had a hole in my door from the previous owners just above the peep hole so I chose to use that instead. Drape the chain oover the nail to measure the approximate length (I ended up with about 24 inches) that would be best suited for your door. Once you have decided on the length, cut the chain with wire cutters. You can also use string, small rope, or twine. To secure the chain to the plaque, nail the ends of the chain into the back of the plaque, roughly an inch down from the top edge. If you choose to use another material, simply tie it around the nails instead.

After having the sign up for a few days, I have noticed that it bangs around against the door each time I enter or exit the apartment. I will be using a durable double sided tape to secure the back of the plaque to the door itself. Problem solved! 

Do you have any fun DIY projects for the front porch? If so, please leave them in the comments. If you try this DIY Welcome Sign project, post a photo of your finished product on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and tag me! Be sure to follow the Fashionably M. French Facebook page for updates and follow the blog via Bloglovin'.

Thanks for reading! x