Pallet Cottage Art

Thank you all for sticking around - I know I've really been slacking on the blog front, but I'm going to try really hard not to feel guilty about it. Sometimes you just gotta take a break.

And I think the break was worth it because it renewed my interest in finishing my pallet sign. If you remember, I took a pallet and turned it into a blank canvas many, many months ago.

It sat in my craft room all that time because I couldn't get the phrase I wanted to fit the way I wanted. Too big, too small, it just wouldn't work. So the sign and I studiously ignored each other day after day.

But then I started thinking about a new sign. One that looked like it came from a seaside rental property. The last time Tom & I went to Hawaii, we stayed at a place called Turtle Beach Rentals just north of Haleiwa on Oahu. Now I have no affiliation with this place - I'll just recommend it to anyone who will listen. Because it is just that wonderful. Small, secluded, literally steps from a nearly deserted beach.

So I took the name of the place and made my sign. I put "North Shore" instead of the actual town to make it a little whimsical, and so that I didn't infringe on any ownership issues. The catch phrase for the site is "This is the place!" so of course I added that too.

And then my favourite turtles. If you know me at all you know I looooove turtles. Plus the first day we stayed there I managed to get up close and personal (zoom lens, I didn't get in his face) with one of the turtles the beach is named for. It made my whole vacation.

Once I knew what I wanted to put on the sign it all came together quickly. I cut the words out with my Silhouette Cameo and used painter's tape to secure them to the boards. I have stencilling brushes, but I found that a flat-edged artist's brush worked better. The "N" was done with the stencil brush and you can see that more of the paint was getting on the stencil than on the exposed wood.

I used white paint on a grey background and then, once it was dry, I sanded it to make it look old and worn by the elements. The spots where parts of a letter are missing are my favourites. And my sweet little turtle came out just as I wanted. Such great detail.

As a final touch I hot glued starfish to each of the top corners. It adds a three dimensional quality and increases the beach feel.

It will eventually be hung in the basement above the couch. Right now it's balanced on DVD box sets on the sofa table we built in March.

We're going to paint the walls a light blue (I think) or maybe a soft sand. We spend a lot of time there watching TV and hanging out with the dogs, so I want it to be relaxed and cozy.

This sign was huge to work on. But we aren't going to have that many decorations in the room so whatever things we do hang have to be commanding. This is definitely commanding.

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I'm linking up here this week!