Am I the only person who has fallen hard for those gorgeous oversized lettering signs you see all the time on Pinterest & Etsy? Price tags have a way of bringing me back to reality, so I decided to make my own using my home printer to transfer ink lettering I designed in photoshop onto a large DIY sign I built. The words I wanted to put on it were the lyrics to “A Thousand Years.”

When we got married, Silas and I had super humble beginnings. We didn’t spend money on anything we didn’t need. Even though it was a challenge, it taught us to be good with money, and handy at making things we need. I’m so glad to have those creative skills, and I use them every day as we build up our home.

Also, at the very bottom of the post, there is a printable version of the lyrics I used for the sign. The signs blank canvas area dimensions are 59.5″x27″

Below is my sign making process:

First, my husband built me the canvas out of some medium grade plywood and framed it using reclaimed wood. We could have avoided the seam in the middle of the plywood by using a bigger piece, but we had some leftover cut plywood that would work perfect, and the small crack didn’t bother me at all.

If you’ve followed my blog, you’ve probably seen my ink jet printer transfer method HERE. To recap, I do the following:

1. Create my artwork in photoshop & flip it so that it is mirrored.
2. Cut a plastic three ring binder sheet so that it works as an 8.5×11 sheet.
3. Print the mirrored artwork onto the sheet (make sure you are using an ink jet printer! Laser printers will melt the plastic!)
4. Rub the design onto the desired surface.

Here you can see the side the ink is printed on. Again, the design is mirrored so that it will transfer correctly.

Here is the design with the ink on the back.

Next, carefully place the design with the ink side down. Make sure not to apply crooked. I like to rub it onto the surface with a credit card, and a rag to get into the crevices of the board.

This transfer method works best on raw wood, but you can do it on flat paint too, but it will look a bit blotchy.

Now for the tricky part, add the next design sheet, matching up the edges.

Make sure to keep your top row straight.

Once you have finished the top horizontal row, you move down to the next row. Again, make sure to be careful when aligning the pages. I had to wipe and repaint one section because it was crooked. Whoops.

This process took me a whole day to just line up & apply the design to the board.

But it looks so pretty in June’s room. So it was worth it!

One super cute touch we added to June’s room was this tea set from Pottery Barn.

I picked “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri as the subject of this artwork, becuase I wanted June to have a constant reminder of how loved she is. And let’s face it, it’s one of the most beautiful songs out there!

Here’s a picture of the sweet unicorn rag doll I made June for Christmas.

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