This is so EASY you won't believe it!!
Seriously...this took me 30 minutes. Pencil -check. Sharpie - check. All set!!!
Alright, let's get down to business.
I was up late last night stressing about school starting in a week and a half and I had only been up to my classroom for 3 TOTAL hours! I have a 3 y/o & a 19-month old, so taking them up there with me is not an option. Hubby has been working OT, & we are so busy with plans most evenings, so I don't have many chances to get up to the school. ANYWAY -- So I was up and restless and started cleaning out our office room. I found these two small canvases that we had leftover from our daughter's 2nd birthday paint party. I suddenly remembered something I had read about using pencil to transfer fonts to canvas, so I figured why not try?!
Here's the step-by-step directions!
First, using a program like Power Point, type out what you want to have on your sign. If you don't already have cute fonts, you'll first need to find some free ones and download them. I love browsing on http://www.dafont.com/. The font in my picture is called "Bromello".
Since my canvas was pretty small, all of my words fit on one paper just fine. If you use a larger canvas, you'll have to type the words/letters out on multiple pages, then cut & tape them together like you want them to be placed on the canvas.
Print your words/letters out, arrange them if needed (if they were too big to fit on one page), and then flip that puppy upside down! This is where the pencil comes in. Using a heavy, yet careful, hand, trace just along the edges of every letter. Here was mine after I traced the back side:
I traced over them twice just to be sure there would be plenty of lead to transfer over later. I had cut my words apart just to make moving them around and tracing a little easier. I recommend tracing just inside the lines. Then, lay your first word onto the canvas wherever you want it to go. It should be right side up now. Using the same pencil and a heavy hand again, color over the letters, especially where you know your traced lines are. This is what my paper looked like after I was done with this step:
This pushes the lead on the back into the canvas. Once all letters have been scribbled over, carefully remove the paper, and....viola!
Now, it would be best to use a paint pen probably...but I am no artist, and really not that crafty, so I just used a regular ol' black sharpie! Using the Sharpie (or paint pen if you have one), trace the lines you created with the lead, and then fill them all in. It really is that easy!!! Here's my progress:
Later I discovered that my fine point black sharpie pen is great for "cleaning up" the lines. I was so excited to find that this really worked and was SOOOOO EASY!!! Do I wish I could freehand? Yes! But...I can't, so this is the next best thing, and so affordable when all you have to buy is a canvas.
Today I was antsy while the kids napped (school on the brain), so I tried out a different font and made a little sign for the sink counter in my classroom. There was random paint splattered around the very top & bottom of my last blank canvas, so I pulled out my handy tempera paint (why do teachers have tempera paint handy all the time?? And hot glue guns and Sharpies?) and painted some lines to hide those. I thought it turned out super cute.
The possibilities are endless with all the fonts, colors, sizes, & sayings you can make! Did my hand get tired from all the tracing & coloring? Yes. Did I love the results? YES!!!! I can't wait to make signs for my room, living room, laundry rooms, kitchen, bathrooms, kids' rooms, ETC!!! These would also make GREAT gifts, don't you think? Personalized last name signs, initials, quotes, etc.
I hope you give this a try & that you LOVE it too!! I wish I knew where I saw this idea originally, but I have NO FRIGGIN CLUE! I hope to find it again sometime & link it up.
XOXO -- Mrs. Ryder
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