I loved my laundry room remodel, especially the faux stainless steel backsplash. I am smitten with the way it turned out and even more excited about how easy it was to install. While it looked beautiful just the way it was I wanted to add the pop of aqua color to that side of the space. I decided a vintage-looking laundry sign was just what it needed. Since I had all the supplies at home, and a shop full of scrap wood it cost me nothing to make but made a big impact in the room. I love free and functional!
Supplies:
scrap piece of plywood (mine was birch)
1 x 2 scraps pieces of wood
paint roller
air nailer
saw
tape measure
vinyl
transfer tape
1. First I decided how big I wanted my sign. Then I ripped a piece of plywood down to that specification.
2. After sanding it smooth I rolled on two coats of black paint. Using a foam roller gives it the best finish, in my opinion.
3. While it was drying I designed my “laundry†sign in the Silhouette Studio program and cut it out on some contact paper (TIP: A way to save money on a digital craft machine is to use contact paper when you are making stencils rather than wasting the precious vinyl).
4. I weeded (a fancy word for “peeled all the lettersâ€) the contact paper and then transferred it to my sign with some transfer tape.
5. To make sure there was no bleed-through, I always spray the contact paper with clear spray paint first. This seals the letters and allows absolutely no bleed through. It is the best and most important tip I can offer when you make signs for perfectly crisp letters.
6. Once the spray paint dries then roll over the letters with white primer. I gave it two coats and then peeled off the contact paper letters using a stick pin.
7. Meanwhile, prep the frame by cutting 1 x 2’s down to size and painting them. I used some light blue chalk paint and gave it two coats.
8. Sand your sign if you want it distressed. Airnail the frame in place once dry.
9. Turn the sign over and hammer some sawtooth hangars in place and then hang it on your wall. I just drilled a tiny hole into the backsplash and then nailed some nails to hang it.
I took a sander to it to give it a worn and distressed look. I wanted it to look like a vintage laundry sign that you might see in a laundromat.
It made the space and added just the pop of color I needed on that wall.
