Monday, February 20, 2012

Pro Deo Pro Patria


My hubby bought this painting for me several years ago for Christmas.  It's one of my favorites.  It's been hanging on our wall ever since, but recently I've been trying to do more decorating around it.  I'd seen several projects were people secure a few boards together then paint a saying on them.  I liked the look and the project seemed easy enough so I thought I could do one to go with the painting.  However, I couldn't decide on a saying.



One day, like a flash of inspiration, it hit me.  "Pro Deo, Pro Patria"  As I've mentioned before my husband is in the military and this saying is his unit's motto.  It means, For God, For Country.  It's perfect for this painting!



This was an easy enough project.  I used boards that my husband brought home from work.  They were just throwing them away.  I used left-over stain from the chair I refinished.  All I had to buy was the mending plates to secure the boards together, 12 screws, the white paint, some letter stencils, and stencil glue.  I'm not lucky enough yet to own a Circuit or Silhouette, so I have to rely on the old fashioned type of stenciling. :)

Let me say I forgot how much I dislike stenciling.  I stink at it!  At first I just taped the edges of the stencils and used acrylic paint.  BIG MISTAKE!  I had major paint bleed.  I tried scraping and a few other things to fix it, but it wasn't working.  So I resanded the board and restained it.  I wasn't about to make that mistake again so I bought some stencil paint (it has a creamy texture) and stencil glue.  So much better!



I still had a few places where I got paint outside of the stencil, but nothing like the paint bleed I had before.  On the places where the paint was light I was able to put a little stain on a cloth and rub it over the paint.  It covered it up great!  Then on the places where there was thicker paint, I would put some stain over it, let it sit a few minutes, then rub with the cloth to blend it in.  I was so happy it actually worked!  There are still a few places where there is faint paint, but nothing bad!



Now my sign is happily setting above my George Washington painting.

Happy President's Day everyone!

25 comments:

  1. What a perfect post for president's day. I love the motto and it turned out really well. Congrats for sticking to it until you achieved the final product.

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    now follow back my blog with GFC too
    http://glamorousgirlblog.blogspot.com/
    I am also hosting a biggest giveaway
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  3. I love it Britt! I have a cricut, so next time just get a roll of vinyl from walmart and come on over!

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    1. Aw man! I need someone with a Cricut! I have another project that could use some vinyl lettering... :)

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  4. So cute!! Isaac really wants this picture btw, any idea where Caleb got his one?

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    1. Try Deseret Book! Pretty sure they usually have some there. :) It's a good one!

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  5. I can't believe they were throwing those boards away - what a great save. Turned out so awesome and coordinates with the painting so well. THanks for sharing at our party today.

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    1. Crazy, huh? They were actually really big (about 4 ft x 7 ft) crate type things and there were two of them. I've salvaged some 1x6's, 2x6's, and plywood off of them. Score!

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  6. That is so awesome!!! I love this sign for that painting! Perfect! Great job. Thanks for sharing at Thursday's Temptation.
    Jill

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  7. Okay, this is just crazy because this morning I was staring at the same painting on our wall wondering how I could make that wall prettier. Love the painting, but just a painting in the middle of a wall makes me feel like I live in a museum.

    Great idea. I'll have to think more on this one. Well done on the stenciling - I'm awful at it too, which is why I avoid it like the plague!

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    1. What a coincidence! I'd love to see what you end up doing!

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  8. This looks beautiful. I have to admit that when I saw the picture with the horse I had to chuckle. (it's of Robert E Lee right?) - the first time I saw this picture my hubby and I had just moved to the deep south of GA from the suburbs of Chicago where we grew up...we were eating at Sonny's BBQ. He says to me "do you know who that picture is of?" I, being the really smart person that I am replied "Kenny Rogers?"...yeah, lets just say he died laughing! :-)
    gatheredinthekitchen.com

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    1. So funny! And since I couldn't tell if you were joking or not...the paintings actually of George Washington. :)

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  9. I Love this project. Thanks to you and your husband for serving our country.....and Thanks for linking up@CountryMommaCooks have a wonderful weekend:)

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    1. Thanks Deana! I won't lie, I'm proud of him for his service, but he usually doesn't want any attention for it. :) Don't worry, I give it to him anyway. :)

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  10. That looks just fantastic! Persistence definitely paid off. Great job!

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  11. Very cute!! Thanks for sharing at Terrific Tuesdays.
    Rachel

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  12. I am so delighted to have discovered your blog and love this idea of using bits of old pallet! I would be greatly honoured if you were to choose to include Seasonal Celebration in your linky list. Do pop over and take a look, it would be great to see you there! http://naturalmothersnetwork.com/seasonal-celebration-sunday/seasonal-celebration-sunday-5/

    Rebecca x

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    1. Rebecca I'll add it to my list of linkies! Thank for the invite. Thank you for your kind words and for stopping by!

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  13. What color did you paint the wood ? how did you prepare it from bare to that beautiful color ??

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  14. how did you prepare the wood ? what colors did you use...I love it!!

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    1. Thanks Ximena! I sanded the wood down, first with really coarse sand paper, then with finer to polish it off. Then I used stain. I used leftover stain from this chair I refinished http://diythirdtimesacharm.blogspot.com/2012/01/my-first-chair-refinish.html which was a mix of a walnut and golden pecan stain. I'm glad you like the color, I'm rather found of it! Usually when I stain wood I pre-treat it, but I didn't with this sign. Pre-treating helps the stain go on more evenly. Hope this helps! Thanks for stoping by!

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  15. This looks great! It really pulls everything together. Thanks for linking up!
    Melissa

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  16. What a great sign! and it fits perfectly in up on that shelf too!


    Thanks for linking to a Round Tuit!
    Hope you have a fabulous week!
    Jill @ Creating my way to Success
    http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/

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