Be the Good in the World {Paint Stick Project}

I have adored the Ghandi quote “Believe there is good in the world,†with the emphasis on “Be the Good†that many people have made into pallet art, t-shirts and printables.  I wanted a smaller sign for the gallery wall in my studio.  Armed with some 5 gallon paint sticks I got to work on it and I am so pleased with the results.

5 gallon paint sticks are available at any place that sells paint.  I used 11 for this 13†x 17†sign.  If you can’t get them for free you can always buy 1/4†stock in the lumber department for about $.97 for 2 feet.

Supplies:

11 – five gallon paint sticks

wood glue

saw

paint

spray paint

nickels for spacers

vinyl and transfer tape (available for purchase here!)

spray paint

3M Sanding sponge

1.  Cut off the handles of the paint stick with a saw.  This will allow you a little more than 17†in width.  Cut 9 of those to that length.

2.  Next cut two to 13â€.  This will be the slats on the back that you will glue the 17†lengths to.

3.  Next glue the 17†lengths onto the 13†widths lining up the top stick with the top of the 13†width.  I used another paint stick as a guide, left and right to place where my 13†widths would go.

4.  Then use nickels as spacers.  Next, use wood glue to glue them all in place.  Let it sit overnight to dry.

Tip: in the above picture to the bottom left you can see my 13†paint stick that I am gluing everything to.  To the left of that is another paint stick I used as a spacer.

5.  Next I sanded, primed and painted the front of the board.  It is important to sand to make sure the board is nice and smooth when applying your vinyl or else it doesn’t stick well.

6.  After you paint it sand it lightly again so that the surface is nice and smooth and ready for the vinyl.

Click here if you want the file for the Silhouette Machine. Font used: Apple Myungjo  If you don’t have a Silhouette machine but want to order the vinyl Laura from “Say it on the Wall” has it available for $14.

7.  Cut out the vinyl and remove all the letters.  You can use a stick pin to remove them.

8.  Transfer the vinyl stencil to the board and press it down for a nice seal.

9.  Next tape off any areas with leftover vinyl or transfer tape that you don’t want to paint.  I used white spray paint to spray the letters.

10.  Remove the vinyl right away.  After dry, tape off the part you just painted and paint the rest of the letters.  Remove vinyl with a stick pin.

11.  Once dry give it a quick rub with a 3M Sanding Sponge to distress it a little.

12.  Optional: Because I didn’t put the vinyl on centered I wanted to embellish the sign a little so I added some twine to the left edge.

I attached it to the wall with 3M Command Picture Hanging Strips (love them!).

Projects left to right: Silhouette America advent calendar frame, Be the Good sign, Family Silhouette Pallet art on barnwood, Indiana love sign

Originally posted March of 2014