Newest Laser Cut Welcome Signs

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Bloggie friends, I need to sincerely apologize for my lack of presence these past few weeks. Craft fair season is just starting to bloom and I've been one busy bee creating and selling my wares at the shows for the last month. I have one more show coming up this weekend and then I'll be taking a small break to regroup and take stock of what's selling out quickly and what I can put on the back burner for a bit, get around to responding to blog and social media comments and messages, and get some new content posted here. But for now I wanted to share with you all a few snaps of my top sellers, which are these 4 foot front porch welcome signs.

While I do cut my shapes and letters out with my Glowforge laser cutter (an honest review will soon be posted of this machine soon), I'll stress that you do not have to have a laser cutter to make cute welcome signs like these. I've seen plenty of them at the craft fairs where other crafters cut the shapes out of vinyl and they are just as cute. But, if you're wondering about my process, here's how I make them.

I like to buy 8 foot x 5.5 foot pine lumber from the lumber yard and cut each plank in half to make a 4 foot sign, then I do a quick sanding over the entire surface using 120 grit sand paper. 

If I am painting the boards, I absolutely MUST seal the boards with a high quality primer first. My go-to for pine boards is Zinsser BIN Advanced Primer. I realize that this primer is a bit more expensive than other primers, but I cannot stress enough how important a good primer/sealer is when working with pine. If you buy the cheap stuff, the tannins WILL bleed through the cheap primer and paint, ruining the final design (this was a lesson I learned the hard way!) I don't take any additional steps after I sand if I am just going to stain the boards. I do like a darker stain and usually choose Minwax Gel Stain Coffee or Varathane Stain Ebony. 

I then cut and paint my letters out of 1/4 inch Baltic Birch Plywood. Once the paint has cured, I use Stick Fast CA Adhesive Glue to attach the shapes into place. Once the glue has dried, I do spray a light clear coat over the entire board to seal and protect the design from the outdoor elements. 

Some of my top sellers that I find myself having to replenish after each craft show are the top pictured 5, in addition to my Jack Skellington sign.

Ladies tend to love any of the dog boards that I put out and they are usually the first ones sold out at the start of the show. When I need a space filler on the boards, I'll move the letters further down the board and glue a bow to the top and accent each with Faux Eucalyptus Stems. 

Boards that reference pop culture characters are always a hit too. For my last show, I made this Harry Potter inspired board. I painted the entire boar in a shimmering Gloss Burgundy color but will admit that I might have missed the mark on the white lettering. I am going to make another of these boards and paint the letters in a metallic gold for this weekend's craft fair and see if I like it better that way.

The inspiration for my Mickey Mouse sign came from my neighbor. She had seen something similar on Etsy where you could use magnetic shapes inside of the Mickey head and change each design out with every holiday or season. So, I cut out the shapes for her and gave her a board so she could make her own. For me though, I just stick with simplicity. 

My absolute favorite board is my Stitch Ohana board. This one I don't make often though because Stitch requires more steps and time to create. I usually spray paint each piece, but with him I use a combination of spray paint and Rustoleum Metallic Accent Paint to hand paint each piece. For his inner ear I use Rose Gold and for his eyes and chest/inner body, I use Sky Blue. The little eye dots are painted in Pearl White. These usually take several coats since it is a thin paint, but the final product is so worth the extra work! My camera does not do justice showing the shimmering colors, but if you try this paint on your projects, you'll probably fall in love with how your project turns out!

And finally, while this isn't a 4 foot board, I found some wood plywood blanks at Michaels recently and decided to play off of my Jack Skellington 4 ft sign and make a smaller, landscape version.

 I have a lot of ideas swirling in my head for new designs which I'll be working on throughout the summer, so once I get those complete, I'll be sure to share them with you. If you've been creating your own, I'd love to see what you're working on. Tag me in your pictures on Instagram (@marison459 or @treesuncrafts) so I can admire your creations, too! 

I'll be catching up with you all over the next few days. I appreciate your patience while I'm taking time to build my business and sticking it out with me while I'm still learning and perfecting my skills ♥

What welcome board designs would you like to see featured in the future?