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Sunday, June 10, 2012

Wedding wood signs!

When we decided on having a backyard wedding, I immediately dreamed of having yard games, hand picked garden flowers all over the place, fabric flags, hanging bulb lights, paper lanterns hung from the tree, bamboo parasols, cute chalk boards, lots of black and white photo's hung on twine with clothespins, and my favorite: hand painted wood signs!  

Crafting resources are definitely scarce in Korea, but lucky for us, there is absolutely NO lack of old distressed wood pallets laying around! Aaron and I jumped on the scooter yesterday afternoon and rode around the neighborhood, looking for wood crates to take apart and use for the wood signs that I'd dreamed of having!  

We found a place with an awesome old wood crate leaning up against a wall, and asked the old guy working there if we could have it.  Lucky for us, he was more than happy to give it to us and actually even grabbed a crow bar and took the pieces of wood apart for us and hammered the old rusty nails out!  YAY!  

Aaron found some sand paper and a small saw at the local DAISO ($4.00 total) and went right to work on the rooftop of my apartment building, sanding and cutting the pieces of wood!
We love the character in this wood!

No rooftop project is complete without a beer, right?!  Aaron likes to keep it classy in a fancy wine glass!
 

This morning, I scoured the internet in search of home made wood stains, since I have NO idea where to buy any in Korea.  I found a website that said if you soak steel wool in a cup of vinegar for 24 hours, it can be used as a dark wood stain!  PERFECT!  So, I walked next door, to the corner market, and grabbed a package of steel wool... but then as I was walking to the checkout stand my eye was drawn to a small display of brown shoe polish... and the wheels started turning!  If it works on leather, it should be strong enough to work on wood, right?!  For $2.00, it was worth a shot!

I was right!  Not only did it work, but it stained it the perfect color!  SCORE!
The wood only needed one coat, which meant only 1 bottle was needed! 

The next part was something that made me a bit anxious!  If I messed up the writing, I'd have to start all over!!   I grabbed a piece of newspaper and free handed the font for each sign on a piece of newspaper, then set it in front of the wood to help as a size and orientation reference.


I used a white paint pen (bought from DAISO for $1.00) to write the fonts, and I'm soooo excited with how the signs turned out... if I don't say so myself!  For a total of $7.00, I was able to make 4 one of a kind wood signs for the wedding!  YAY!!!

Hope my wedding guests are up for playing a couple of my favorite games!

7 comments:

  1. I can't get over how creative you are! Is there anything you can't do? :P

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  2. These are so cute! I wish I had amazing handwriting like you!!

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  3. Jill! I met you almost 8 years ago at Compass Church. I remember sitting with you at a softball game after Ella was born (she is 7 now)...you were talking to me about sewing curtains. I was AMAZED at how crafty you are ---and thrifty to boot. Congratulations on your engagement. You look so happy. I found your blog a year or so ago and LOVE to see all your fun projects (room make overs, handmade Christmas cards etc...and all your amazing pictures). I am THRILLED about your photography business. If you come to AZ, I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE for you to shoot our family of FIVE (in addition to Ella, we have Abby (5) and Parker (9 mos).
    Blessings to you!!
    Brandie Gray
    PS...I can't believe you hand painted those wood signs! You continue to inspire me!!

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  4. Brandi! You know, it's funny how things stick in your head... I TOTALLY remember meeting you that night! I ooed and awed over Ella and how gorgeous she was! I'm honored that you're inspired by me! Who doesn't love to hear that?! I'm not sure when or if Aaron and I will ever be back in Arizona, but if we are, I'll be sure to contact you for some photos of the 5 of you! Can't believe you have 3 babies now! Time sure flies by! Take care!! :)

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  5. Oh my, Jilly these are so gorgeous!!! I've been meaning to send you a mail like forever. So much I want to tell you! Will do that soon, promise. Just want to say that I am so excited with you about your upcoming wedding and also about Aarons new business. He is amazing! Man, those Yoga pics!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, and thanks for your sweet little comments on my blog - I appreciate and adore them. Miss you my friend!!
    (p.s I am so thankful for this blog - feel somehow, still part of your life :-)

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  6. Tru, it's like a breath of fresh air when I hear from you! I feel completely the same about your blog and feeling connected to you through it! Please don't just say you're gonna send me an update, I NEED ONE! I love you and miss you tons and loads, and think about you often!

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  7. AN update coming soon, I promise!!!!!!!! I just have to share some good news with you!!!

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