I love the posters and signs with messages on them.  I love that you can customize and personalize them to fit you and your home.  I do prefer to paint things like this by hand, though, and often get asked about my method for hand painting, so I thought I would share it here.  I paint a lot and have been doing it for years;  it does take some practice, but I think this is a pretty foolproof method, even for a beginner!

I start by printing out my finished words or design on the computer.  If it’s bigger than one piece of paper, I just tape them together.

Now, I scribble over the lines on the BACK of the paper with a pencil.  You could use actual carbon paper, but I just don’t see the point of the expense and mess when this works great.

Position the pattern where you want it.  Tape down the corners if you are afraid it will move around.  Use a pen or pencil – whatever is more comfortable to you – to trace the design onto the surface you will be painting.

Now you have a perfect outline.

Next step, I outline everything with a paint pen.  You can buy them at any craft store for a couple of dollars.  I don’t have a favorite brand; this is one that came from Michaels.

Here it is with the letters outlined.

Then begin filling it all in with craft paint and a small brush.  Depending on the color, quality of paint and surface you’re painting on, it will take 2-3 coats to get good coverage.

Use a small brush and the background color to clean up any mistakes.  When it is all dry, you can sand it to get a distressed look.

Stay tuned later in the week to see how I finished this sign.   In the meantime, here are a few others I’ve done: