Scavenger Chic

Gone Fishing, DIY Vintage style Sign

• By Joan
• June 30, 2016
• 4 Comments

Considering all the fish themed signs I make, you would think that I, or my family, would be really into fishing.  As a matter of fact, we stink at fishing.

We once took a houseboat out on Lake Powell where we were assured that the fish were so plentiful that we would have no problem catching a bunch.  We would be feasting on fish in no time. Just in case we didn’t have any luck fishing, we had a back up plan for dinner… one night of spaghetti.  Guess what?  We had the spaghetti.  Not one nibble, not one bite.

Still not convinced?  Middle son, Kevin, once went fishing with a coworker.  Same rods, same bait, standing right next to each other.  Coworker, brought in fish after fish…Kevin, not a single fish.  His coworker’s reasoning…”I’m good with the fish, but not with the ladies.” I’m assuming my son was good with the ladies. 🙂

All that being said, I still like fish signs.

This sign starts out with an old weathered board, about 23×10″.

Entire board was given a coat of linen chalk paint.  I used less on the edges as if the weather had worn off some of the paint.

A line of lime green forms a border around the sign.

The fish I decided to use for this project is from The Graphics Fairy. She has tons of vintage clip art and several other fish that you can download for free. This one is a Golden Fish.

I prefer to create all my signs in Microsoft Publisher.  Mainly because it’s already on my computer, but secondly, I can create a sign with any dimensions I like and with any font.

This is a print preview, a 23×10 inch sign would print out on 6 sheets of paper.  Since there was dead space on the sides, I did end up resizing my sign just so it would print out on only 4 sheets of paper

All printed out.  I trimmed off the edges and taped my sign back together.

Without carbon paper, I always resort to the next best thing…scribbling on the back with a pencil.

The pencil acts as carbon paper, so that when you trace over the image it is transferred to the board.

Painting the fish required 6 colors….black, white, peach, a rust color, tan and yellow for the eye.

After the fish was painted, I transferred the lettering to the sign in the same way I had transferred the fish.  Now it was just a matter of filling in the letters just like a paint by number.

A thin brush filled with red paint adds a shadow to the lettering.

With a hand held sander, a bit more of the paint was sanded back off.  I like how the sanding highlights the ridges in this old wood.

A little bit of antique wax and a rope through 2 holes drilled into the top, finish the sign.

The Gone Fishing sign has another, more significant meaning for me.  I’m going to be taking most of July off to spend with family… a little vacation, a little rest and relaxation and taking a moment to find my own inspiration.  It is time to step away from the computer.  I’ll still post midmonth with My Repurposed Life but until then, I’m “Gone Fishing”. Heck, maybe I’ll actually catch a fish. 🙂

Shared at: Metamorphosis Monday, Wow us Wednesdays,

Talk of the Town, Handmade Hangout Party, Link Party Palooza,

Silver Pennies Sundays, Amaze me Monday,

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