Handmade Gift Idea – Distressed Chalkboard State Silhouette

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The early snowfall in October got me thinking about holiday gift giving a whole month early! While shopping at Goodwill I picked up a bunch of wooden signs that can easily be painted and personalized. Hopefully this should reduce the gift-buying- stress I normally incur in December.

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This particular angelic piece was a mere $2.99!

To begin, I had to sand down the angels to ensure their outlines and details didn’t show through the new coat of paint.

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I used Krylon Chalkboard spray paint for the middle section, then taped it off, and used white paint for the top and bottom.

TIP: Ensure your chalkboard paint is completely dry before taping it off.

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Once dry, I printed an outline of the state of Ohio and placed transfer paper underneath it then taped it all to the sign.

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I outlined both the outer edge and inner edge of the state so that I’d have a thick border. I then filled in between the two lines using a white Sharpie paint marker.

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This next part is a mistake turned miracle! There was a little bit of tape residue left on the chalkboard portion (remember my TIP from earlier? I didn’t let my paint dry long enough).  I tried to remove it with Goo Gone.  Well, not only did it remove the tape residue, but also the chalkboard paint! Oops…

…Or not!

My husband saw the section that I messed up and without me even telling him what happened said “Oh cool, I like how you are distressing the outside.”  GENIUS!  So I proceeded to spray Goo Gone in a few spots around the outside of the silhouette, let it sit for 10-15 seconds then wiped it off and sanded it down with a sanding sponge.

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And here’s how it ended up!

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I am really excited how this came out! This would make a great gift for nearly everyone on my list. But I’ll have to make some more because this particular piece is being donated to Goodwill Akron. It will be combined with several other items and up for auction at the Taste of Vintage event on Nov.  21. Tickets still available. Hope to see you there!

Happy Thrifting!

Katie

www.somethingtobefound.com