Quick and Easy Crafts: Family Name Front Door Plaque

This quick and easy project is good for kids of all ages and adults, too, and is a great way to show off the love and creativity of your family. Young children should have parental supervision because hot glue, paints and other materials will make this not only messy for little ones, but also a choking hazard until the project is complete.

You will need the following supplies, from your local craft store, to complete this project:

• 1 thin wooden heart plaque
• Die cut wood letters
• 2 Medium sponge brushes (sold as a single or in a pack.)
• Acrylic paint brush
• Acrylic paints (your choice of colors. You will need two contrasting colors to get the greatest effect. I used soft pink and cobalt blue.)
• "Satin" craft varnish (Satin is good because it has a nice, soft finish. Also, if you use gloss, sometimes the glue doesn't adhere as well or as long.)
• Pre-painted die cuts (These are usually in little bins in the wood section of your craft store. Look for ones that bring out the creativity of each family member.)
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks
• Yarn and crochet hook. (Your choice of color.)
• Newspaper
• Paper plates
• Small cup of water and paper towels to clean brushes

The first thing you will want to do is put down newspapers so you don't paint your table. Next, take your pink paint, heart plaque and a medium sponge brush. Sponge brushes hold a lot of paint inside them, so be careful how much you 'load' into the brush. Use smooth, gentle strokes to get a nice clean look on the face of your heart. Cover it completely in pink and put it aside. Wash your brush to allow it to dry for the next coat. (Note: Sponge brushes have a plastic piece inside of them to help the sponge keeps its form when used, so be very careful not to drag it across the wood. The plastic can come through the sponge and scratch the wood.)

Take your alphabet letters and spell out your last name. (Or any other name or phrase you like.) I used one coat of cobalt blue to paint my last name. I liked it because the bright blue had a nice contrast against the soft pink. I was originally going to do a red heart, but with this hanging on the front door, I figured it would fade to pink anyway!

Make sure that you get all the little nooks and crannies between the letters. You will only need to paint the top and the sides, no need to paint the back unless you have a long name like mine. I painted the backs of the 'F' and the 'N' because they hung over the side a bit.

While the letters dry, take a look at the heart. If you feel it needs another coat, then apply a thin one. If not, then it is time to apply the varnish. Take the varnish and put a little bit on the plate. Gently use the other medium sponge brush to put a light coat of varnish on the front of the heart. Just as you did with the paint, use long strokes and do not press hard. The sponge holds a lot and you do not want it to leave streaks or lines. Put aside to dry. (You only need to do the front of the sign because that is the one that faces the sun and weather. If you painted the back of the sign, then you should varnish it as well.)

Check your letters and if they are dry, then it is time to apply varnish to them as well. You can use either the paint brush or the sponge brush at this point; whichever one you are most comfortable using, but make sure the single coat of varnish is light and not blotchy. Put aside to dry. (There is no need to apply varnish to the back of the letters as they will be glued to the sign.)

As your craft dries, take out your little pre-painted die cuts. I picked out a groom, a bride, a small boy, a balloon, a dog, a ladybug, a bee and 2 arches of flowers. (Please reference picture above to see how I displayed them.) What I love about the little characters is they are already painted with wonderful details. All I needed to do was adding a bit of thread to the balloon and glue it to the boy's hand. I even picked up a little girl die cut, but have not put her on the sign yet.

Since I have a long last name, I chose to place the letters in an arc, evenly spaced. I placed the flowers at the top of the heart to accent it and the characters below the name. I also used a small 'welcome' die cut right above my name. Take your time organizing yours. Try different placements and different angles. Everyone is different and your sign should be as individual as you and your family. When you have the perfect plan, it is time to heat up the hot glue gun. (If you are doing this with a small child, use caution when handling the glue gun or hot glue.)

Use a small amount of hot glue when you are attaching the die cuts to the heart. Take a look at the left side of the 'E' on my sign and you will see I used too much glue. It is not pretty and distracts from the overall appearance of the name sign. Keep that in mind when you are doing yours.

Lastly, take your yarn and your crochet hook and make a simple chain. Using a 'J' hook, the chain should be around 40-45 loose chain stitches. You can measure the length of your chain and see how you would like it to hang. Keep in mind that you will need about an inch extra to glue to the back of the sign to make your 'hanger'.

There you are. Simple instructions for a wonderful family name plaque, or sign, for your front door. You can use any colors you like, or even any shape of sign, and it will turn out wonderful. These also make great gift for friends, birthdays, and even Mother's Day.

For some more free crafts, try these links:
Painted Terracotta Pots
Spring Chalkboard Art

Sources:
Personal Experience and Ideas
Michael's Craft Store and Michaels.com
Joanne Fabric and Craft Store and Joann.com