It’s so fun to make custom hand painted signs. It’s also an inexpensive way to make some meaningful pieces of art for your home! This hand painted Jamaica mileage sign was as a gift for a couple that goes to Jamaica several times a year. I know, don’t you feel badly for them… No? Yeah, me either.
hand painted Jamaica sign
This hand painted Jamaica sign started out with a bright turquoise color that made me think of bright, tropical waters. I did a “white wash” technique on the board so that the wood grain could show through. I think it also makes it look a little more weathered.
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I used my Silhouette Cameo to make a stencil out of adhesive vinyl. The font is My Own Topher, which is a free download. In addition to the name of their beloved vacation spot, I also calculated the miles from there to their home. Just a simple sign with so much meaning!
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Once the place and miles were painted on with matte black paint and it was completely dry, I took my electric sander with some fine grit sandpaper and aged it a bit. This is usually my favorite part in any project. If you’ve never aged anything before, the trick is to not go overboard, and you want to make sure that some areas are really worn while others look pretty intact. Depending on the project, you might want to think about which areas would have been handled more or received more wear and tear if this were actually an old item.
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I love the idea of creating a sign like this that’s personalized with your favorite vacation spot, or maybe where you and your spouse first met. Wouldn’t that be such a sweet gift? A whole signpost in your yard of places that mean a lot to you would be neat also.
Which location would you want on a sign?