Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Knock-Off Party!

Time to link up your Pottery Barn, Ballard Designs, and Restoration Hardware knock-offs.  Guidelines here.

My project this time around is from the current PB spring catalog.  It’s not actually for sale, and is just part of the room styling for the photo, but it immediately caught my eye.

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It got my attention because I like old signs, but also because one of the area suburbs (which is really more like a quaint old town than a suburb, and I would consider doing something illegal to be able to live in one of the big old Victorians there) has a hatchery.  It has been in business since 1927 and is now a feed and garden store.  So, I recreated this sign with the local store’s name and address.

I went to the ReStore to find some reclaimed wood, hoping for barn wood, but what I got was a piece of baseboard ($3), which turned out to work very well for this project.  It was stained a reddish/cherry color, and I painted over it with watered-down black acrylic.  When it was dry, I sanded it, and the grain of the wood, which was quite pronounced, showed through with some of the reddish color.

 

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Next, I printed out my lettering and played around with the layout.  I used Arial font and experimented with the size until it fit the board.

 

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Then I had to figure out how to transfer the lettering to the board.  Graphite paper wouldn’t work because it didn’t show up on the black, and the wood was too hard to just press the outline with a pencil.  Here’s what I came up with:  I rubbed white chalk across the back of the paper…

 

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…then I used a stylus I had (from back when I did some brass stencil embossing) to outline the letters.  A pencil would probably work fine, but I found that this glided over the bumpy wood grain more easily.

 

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That left a good outline on the board.

 

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The next step was painting.  I knew I didn’t want stark white paint, because I wanted it to look like it had some age, so I mixed up some light gray acrylic.  Using a paintbrush, I painted in the letters.  I was careful as possible about staying in the lines, but didn’t worry too much about perfection or getting full coverage, since I was going to sand it again anyway.

 

 

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The address was trickier, because the letters were too small for any paintbrush that I had.  I tried several different things, but finally ended up using an old dried out marker to apply the paint.

 

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When it was all dry, I sanded over it again to distress the lettering.

 

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I am thrilled with the final product!

 

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I think a local person might wonder if it really is an old sign from the store.

 

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Your turn!

Linky rules (for full details see this post):

  • your knock-off entry must be made by you
  • it must inspired by Pottery Barn, Ballard Designs, or Restoration Hardware
  • you must include a picture of the original item from the catalog so we can compare
  • it must be a specific comparable item, like my lamp shade, and not just a “this kind of has the PB look to it”
  • you must link back to me in your post, preferably using my button code, which you can get in my right side column
  • link to your specific party post, and not your general home page
  • please be polite and visit several other participants and leave a nice comment

I’m going to leave this open until Sunday night, but will do a highlight post on Friday. 

{I’m also joining Amanda’s Weekend Bloggy Reading.}

15 comments:

Kristina @ A Home Made by Kiki said...

That sign caught my eye too! Yours turned out great!

Mom in High Heels said...

When I saw the photo you posted my eye immediately went to the sign. Your version is fantastic!!! It looks very authentic. I love your knock off parties.

BTW, in case you didn't know, if you want to save printer ink (which I know is very expensive) you should print your letters off in outline. In the MS Word, click on the "font" menu, and there is an option for "outline." Click that and then only a thin line will be printed and the interior of the letter will be open and save you a ton of ink.

Anonymous said...

Holly that sign is amazing! You did a beautiful job, love it! :-)

{northern cottage} said...

your sign is GORGEOUS...I was eyeing up that pb hatchery sign just LAST NIGHT....we must like the SAME stuff eh? well done girl well done!

BabiesandBargains said...

I love yours! I would love to make something like this!

Hawthorn and Holly said...

OMG I LOVE this idea! I'm literally (for real) working on a sign for our living room end table and I had NO idea what I wanted to do on it. The family name sign just didn't seem like our style, but now I'm inspired! Thanks for sharing!!

Mrs Mary Joy Pershing said...

Holly! I just love your sign! What a wonderful knock off! Actually...I like yours better!!! :D I've been to that store when I was growing up! Very cool! And it looks terrific on your wall. You have my creative juices flowing...its been since before Christmas that I made a project...I may need to get busy here sometime soon! :D

Have a great day! Getting ready to go visit some of your party goers!

Building Home with Him,

Mary Joy

stephaniegiese said...

Hi Holly! Thanks for hosting again! I wanted to let you know that I'm having a problem with your button. It is showing up on my html, but not in the post.

Amanda @ Serenity Now said...

Your version turned out great, Holly! I love the slightly rounded edges on yours. Thanks for sharing the technique on how you got those letters on. :)

FrouFrouBritches said...

That sign caught me eye too! You did a fabulous job. Great idea to use chalk! GENIUS! I hate I got sick and missed making a project! Love, love, love your sign!!!!

Amanda @ Serenity Now said...

Seeing the feed and garden store itself reminds me that I REALLY need to start researching if I want us to get a garden in this year. :s Any suggestions for online resources??

Thanks for linking up, girl!

Prudently Painted Vintage said...

Amanda at Serenity Now told me about your Knock Off party when she saw my burlap pillows!

Love the sign you made!

http://prudentlypaintedvintage.blogspot.com/2011/02/burlap-pillow.html

Unknown said...

Love it! Looks awesome! Going to have to find time for something like that!
Visiting from Serenity Now!

Daniele said...

I love the sign Holly! and let's just say I am going to be paying WAY more attention to your blog...becuase (judging from the address on your sign)...we're neighbors! I almost fell off of my chair when I saw the post! I never knew we had a local ReStore location in our area! Small world!

Tipsymadras said...

I just saw this sign as I was browsing Copycat Crafts and realized you were a fellow Kirkwoodian. I guess technically I'm a Des Peresian but whatever. Anyways--can't wait to see what the rest of your blog has in store!