Directions for Making a Sign

You will need:
Included
- Wooden sign
- Patterned stencil
-  Clear contact paper
- Small foam brush
- White makeup sponge

You provide
- small paper plate or paint palette
- paint for background and words
    (I buy from the craft section
   Walmart for 50 cents)
- Tweezers
- Credit card
- Clear sealant (optional)

Directions:

Step 1:  Paint your background.  One coat is good enough for dark colors, two for lighter colors.  Simply squirt some paint directly on the board and spread the color in large, sweeping motions with a foam brush.  Don't forget to paint the sides of the board.  Let dry for 5 minutes.

Step 2:  Take the backing off of the clear contact paper and de-sticky it on your clothes.  Lay the sticky side directly on top of your patterned stencil.  Press all over with a credit card.  Turn the entire thing over and press with card again.  Using tweezers, start peeling the backing at the corner, pulling at an angle and making sure none of the letters are coming off with the paper.

Step 3:  Place your stencil on your board.  (If you have two pieces of stencil, only place the large stencil down at this time.  Do not put both stencils one at the same time.)  Do not press down until your stencil is straight and placed where you desire.  Next, press down all over with the credit card.  Again, in one corner, start pulling off the clear contact paper from the top, making sure you don't pull up any letters.  If letters start to pull up, simply put the contact paper back down in that spot and press some more before trying again.

Step 4:  Place a quarter-sized amount of paint on a small foam plate.  Dip your makeup sponge in the paint and dab off any excess on your plate.  You should not apply on the stencil if there are any blobs of paint on your wedge.  Lightly dab the sign in an up-and-down motion over your words.  You should still see the background color at this point.  Let the first coat dry, wait one minute, and apply another coat.  If needed, continue until the letters are as saturated as you wish.  If you get carried away and try to rush this part by putting on the paint too heavily, it WILL BLEED through under your stencil!

Step 5:  Five minutes after your last coat, pull up the stencil.  Use a pair of tweezers to remove the middle of any letters from your stencil.

Step 6:  If you have a second part to your stencil, apply it to your board, matching up any overlapping letters and repeat the above steps.  Do not attempt to put both stencils on your board at the same time.

Step 7:  Outside, prop up your sign vertically, not laying flat.  Holding the can of sealant about a foot away, lightly spray with semi-gloss sealant until coated.  Wait 30 minutes.  Reapply until sign is coated as desired.