Family "how to"

No this isn't going to be a "how to" on how to be a family or what not but on how to make this adorable sign.

I saw a similar sign at Porters (That place is heaven) and I wanted to copy it or rather mimic it. I talked to the demonstration guy and he told me the steps. It wasnt very hard but well worth the twenty dollars i bought all the supplies for.

The things you will need:
A frame of some sort. I found a wooden one that had beadborad in the back and it was already
assembled, you could probably make one if you're handy.

Some sort of plaque, mine is made made of medal but you can use whatever you find or like

 (hint: make sure  the plaque and the frame look good together, depending on the plaque you might need a smaller frame or a square one)

Then select the paint you want to use. One bottle of each should be enough.

I used acrylic, the soft black looks more like a really dark brown which I wanted. Then 

I liked how the cream bamboo was such a contrast.

(hint #1: you can open the lids, but be careful not to spill the paint, and look at the

 true colors next to each other) 

(hint #2: The dark color should be on the bottom with a contrasting light color on

 the top, looks more like wood)

Then you will need some crackle. I used "weathered wood" crackle which should be the same 

price and right next to regular crackle.

The difference between regular crackle and weathered wood is the size of the cracks. 

Then you will need some sponge brushes (hint: grab two)

Put your base coat on first making sure you get every nook and cranny. It was hard with the beadboard so I used a q-tip to get it in the corners and the difficult spots and smoothed it out the sponge.

After it dries for about half an hour paint it again and makes sure you look for those

 tiny places that got missed 

(hint: pick it up and look at it from different angles after it is dry, I turned mine around and found tons of places that needed paint)

This is what it should look like after you paint it. Make sure you let it dry COMPLETELY before you continue to the crackle step. It should take about two hours to fully dry. 

(hint: don't forget to wash your sponge after each painting since you will use the same brush for the crackle)

This next step is hard to show since the crackle is clear, but what you are going to do is paint the crackle on the entire top of the frame (not the beadboard or the inside of the frame) the thicker the crackle the thicker the cracks will be. For your first time though just try to make it as even as possible.

Let it dry for about two minutes or so. the guy said till it was "tacky" but i really didnt know what that meant. I just wanted two minutes.

Then after the allotted time you are going to take the lighter color and put some on your paperplate or whatever holds you paint and put enough paint on the brush for a small stroke. Paint the frame where you stop painting is were a new big crackle will be. So go in small strokes in the direction you want the crackle to be in, I did left to right for the bottom and top and top to bottom for the sides. 

It you feel adventurous you can dip your sponge in the paint and make a circle imitating a knot in the wood. I loved but forgot to put more then the one, so I would suggest put three or so on your frame to make it look more "real". Also if you can see the stroke right above the knot as an example of how small the stroke is. It doesn't really matter how long your stroke is I think it looked better when you make small uneven strokes with different amounts of paint.

Then let it dry and apply the plaque to the middle of the frame

This is my final result and let me tell you im IN LOVE with it!!!

xoxo Nicole

P.S. If you have any questions just comment ont his and I will try my hardest to answer them. 

Good Luck