Easy DIY Thanksgiving Paint Project Gets an Update
The Halloween decorations are packed away. No more scarecrows, witches or bats. No more candy corn. Just fall decorations left. (Oh I forgot, there is a bag of Snickers and M & M’s left.) Three years ago, I decided I need something new for the mantel so I got my creative juices going and came up with my own easy DIY Thanksgiving paint project.
I love Thanksgiving. I love planning, preparing and of course, eating the Thanksgiving meal. The smells, turkey roasting, pies baking, dressing and cranberry sauce. I love leftovers: white turkey meat on toasted white bread (The only time during the year I have white bread in the house.). The only thing about Thanksgiving that is challenging is the lack of decorations. Yes, plenty of pumpkins. But it’s hard to find much more. Over the years, Sweet Shark and I have collected a decent amount of pilgrims, Indians, and turkeys, but I’m always looking for more. Sometimes we just have to get creative.
I knew I wanted wood. I knew I wanted letters. I wanted a seasonal word that had meaning and significance. I wanted an easy DIY Thanksgiving paint project that wouldn’t take all weekend and I wanted one that wouldn’t be too expensive. You can take a look at that project. So 3 years ago I made a sign. And then last year to was time to revamp that sign and give it a new look.
Easy DIY Paint Thanksgiving Project Gets an Update
I had seen signs with blocks, in fact we have letters on our mantle that spell our name ~ when it’s not a holiday. But I wanted something more substantial for the mantle. And I wanted something that was easy to put up, store for the other 11 months of the year, and take down. And so I had to make an easy DIY Thanksgiving paint project all my own.
Supplies for this Easy DIY Thanksgiving Paint Project
My word was thankful, well, because it’s the perfect word for Thanksgiving. Some chip letters from Hobby Lobby was the first step. In order to spell out “thankful”, I had to use three different letter styles. But that was O.K. because it was more interesting than just one style and size ~ and because I had no choice if I wanted “thankful”.
Next I headed over to my neighborhood Lowe’s. Did you know that Lowe’s keeps scrap lumber? Pieces left that other people didn’t want? I found a piece of plywood behind the wood cutting machine.
Here’s my motto: “Never leave scrap wood at Lowe’s. You never know when or how you could use it in another project.”
I asked the nice man in the lumber department if I could have the scrap piece of wood. I don’t think he understood my project even when I laid my letters out on the floor. That’s the Lowe’s man’s toes in the picture. He was studying this real hard.
This piece of scrap wood was the right length, but too wide. The piece was 14 inches X 48 inches and I needed just 10 inches wide. So I smiled real big (We Southern girls know how to flirt when necessary.), and asked the nice man cut it down for me. He cut the wood and told me the wood was free. (Hot dog!) I thanked him, gave him another big smile and got the heck out of Lowe’s.
Making the Sign
Being plywood, the piece was a little rough around the edges so I lightly sanded and wiped it down.
I didn’t want just a plain piece of wood, so I divided the board into about thirds horizontally and drew a line with pencil.
I used Frog tape to create lines that I hoped would look like wood planks from a distance. I said we have to get creative.
For paint, I used all leftover Annie Sloan Chalk Paint since at that time I had plenty of colors on hand. I used Coco to paint the little lines. After doing an inventory of paint last summer, I threw all that brand away since most of it had either dried up in the jar.
When the Coco was dry, I removed the tape, and painted the entire board with Old White, wiping the paint off right after I brushed it on. This is one of my favorite techniques.
While the board dried, I laid the letters out to determine the order of paint colors. Next, I started painting the letters with chip brushes.
My colors were: French Linen, Chateau Grey, Duck Egg Blue (Don’t tell Sweet Shark; back then, he thought I painted everything Duck Egg Blue and I did at one time.), Coco and Paris Grey.
After the letters were dry, I placed the them on the board and then used my glue gun to stick each one on. And that was that. Perfect for the living room mantle. And I was so happy that my little project turned out so well.
The Finished Easy DIY Thanksgiving Paint Project
Here’s what the mantle looked like the first year ~ with Pilgrims and Indians, mini white pumpkins and faux fall leaves.
And here is what it looked like in 2016. It’s not very different.
Updating the Thankful Sign for 2017
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Last year I wanted something a little different. I was tired of the neutral letters and I wanted a bolder look for the wood sign. So I decided to paint the letters black. First, I used Frog Tape around the letters as much as possible to keep the black paint off the board. Since some of the letters are script and curvy, I didn’t completely tape them off. It is a little tedious.
I used Amy Howard at Home One Step Paint in Black to repaint the letters.
I started with a flat 1~inch wide brush on the flat side of the larger letters; then I switched to a very small brush for the curvy, thin letters and small places on the letters.
Since One Step Paint dries so quickly, I was done with the letters in about 30 minutes.
Decorating the Mantle with my Updated Thanksgiving Sign
Continuing my use of aqua and turquoise in 2017, I left my sea glass bottles on the mantle (they’ve been there since September) and added one cotton stem branch and 1 sprig of fall berries. I then added 3 of my turquoise glass pumpkins from Hobby Lobby, and a couple of tall pilgrims. And just because I found 2 orange candles in my Thanksgiving stash, I placed those on the 2 tall candlesticks. It’s simple, but definitely says Thanksgiving season is here.
I think the “thankful” sign had so much more presence than the previous pale chalk paint letters. I really liked the bolder look. I hope you liked my easy DIY paint project for Thanksgiving. The first one and the update. It didn’t really cost me anything since I already had all the supplies on hand. You could make this easy DIY Thanksgiving paint project today.
So what I’m going to do for this year’s mantle? I’m working on it as we speak. Stay tuned.
Love this cute project, Carol! And you’re too funny about Lowe’s. Nice thrifty find, eh? Thanks for sharing at Vintage Charm. xo Kathleen|Our Hopeful Home
Hi Carol! Love your Thankful sign and its transformations over the years!!! I like to smile big at the sweet men here at our Lowe’s too. Works well and the best part ~ Lowe’s Texas doesn’t charge for cuts like the one’s in California {Here that, Calif??!}. I have some letters to work on a Christmas sign I ought to pull out…
Thanks for the sweet ideas and of course I pinned to several boards, <3
Hugs,
Barb 🙂
I LOVE the updated version!! Way to go!
Holly, me too. Thanks so much for dropping by.
Very creative ideas. I love using the different letter styles. Too cute.
Clearissa, As it turned out, not finding letters in the same size and font was a DIY blessing in disguise.
Carol, I love this sign! I know exactly what you mean about having to sweet talk and smile prettily to get some help from the gentleman at home, LOL. But you are much nicer than I am, I tell mine if you want dinner I need some wood cut, LOL. Dinner won’t taste the same if I happen to be missing a few fingers! 😊
Benita, here in Texas, we learn from a young age that a smile and please go a long way!
FREE!!! hahaha Awesome…
I thought I loved it best before, but I that updated look is really cool too!
🙂 gwingal
Nikki, spur of the moment DIY is sometimes the best!
That is adorable. I love the different fonts. So cute.
I’m a sucker for a sweet sign and this one is super charming!! Love that it’s easy to do, too!
Kim, thanks for your sweet comment. I like charming.
I love your sign with the different sizes and fonts. They make it much more interesting. Both versions were pretty with your mantel decorations.
Jane,thank you. I appreciate your comment.
Love the sign!
Thanks, friend. Glad you liked it.
This is so cute Carol! I love the combination of fonts, it’s whimsical.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Lisa, I had to get what wa available but it did turn out to have a nice look.
Thanks Lisa. Not finding letters in the same size and style actually turned out to be a blessing.
I love this, Carol! I would like to make something similar for Christmas. So cute!!
Stacey, I make another for Christmas, too. Thanks for organizing our little $10 projects.
Carol,
What a beautiful sign! I love with the darker letters – and how each letter is a different font. So CUTE!
Tammy, thanks for visiting and the compliment.
This is such an adorable idea Carol, love how you used all the different letters!
Mary, thank you for the comment. So glad you you liked my project. It’s one of my favorites!
That is really cute and getting the wood free was a great bonus!
Sandra, I find a smile always gets results!