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You are here: Home / DIY Projects / Craft Projects / DIY Vintage Charleston Sign Tutorial

in Craft Projects· DIY Projects· DIY Vintage Signs· Printables

DIY Vintage Charleston Sign Tutorial

How to make a vintage-inspired hand lettered wooden sign. Download the free template for the lettering in the post.
 Please bear with me as I find my blogging groove. My original plan when I began Simplicity In The South was to have two posts a week. I have found that {for now} one a week is more manageable so that I can keep my family happy, find time to do projects/tutorials, work a full-time job, and keep my sanity at the same time. I absolutely LOVE doing this blog gig on the side and want to express my appreciation to all of those that are following along! Believe me, behind the scenes, there is a whole lotta’ work going on to keep this show on the road!
My mantra has been this…

you can do anything but not everything
Source
In a prior post, I had shown you a collection of my favorite vintage sign tutorials.
Tutorial on how to make a vintage hand lettered sign

The tutorial that I am sharing today uses some of the tips that I learned from that collection along with a little experimentation with some new tips that I found since that post.
To keep costs down, and to eliminate the mountain of scrap wood that has found a home on our family room floor {a.k.a. The Workshop}, I used two left over wooden v-groove planks from our teenage son’s office-in-a-closet planked walls.

These planks come in 8 foot lengths and each one is 3.5 inches wide. I cut two of the planks in half, so the total size of the sign is 48″ x 14″. This sign could also be easily done on a piece of plywood instead.
Once I had the planks together, I flipped the sign over and added strips of lattice wood to the back to keep it together.
Tutorial on how to make a vintage hand lettered sign

The sign was painted with one coat of Annie Sloan’s Chalk Paint in Provence blue and then given a coat of white latex two hours later.

To age the finish, I found a great tip from Funky Junk Interiors. She uses masking tape to pull some of the paint off to give the finish a chippy appearance. This needs to be done before the paint has a chance to cure. I waited about an hour after I painted the latex on to use the tape. Since I didn’t have any masking tape, I used Duct Tape, the 8th Wonder of the World.

Tutorial on how to make a vintage hand lettered sign

This allows the Provence blue paint to show through. I followed that with some light sanding.

Tutorial on how to make a vintage hand lettered sign

I had our oldest son make a Photoshop image of the lettering that was inspired by this photograph.

Charleston, South Carolina City Market
Charleston, SC
The fonts I used are Retro Lined, Brush Script and Franchise. If you would like a copy of the sign image in Photoshop (PSD) format that can be printed out to 48″ x 15″, just drop me an email and I will email it to you. The office supply store charged $3.50 to print the image out as an engineer’s print.

Here is the link to the sign image in JPG.

Here is the link to the sign image in photoshop.

To transfer the image to the wood, rub a piece of colored chalk on sheet of paper. Lay this face down on the sign and place the image that you want to trace on top. After you trace the lettering with a ball point pen, the chalk lines can be drawn with a Sharpie marker.

Tutorial on how to make a vintage hand lettered sign
I did not outline my shadow with the marker since it would be painted blue instead of black. If you use the Retro Lined Font, the shadowing is done for you.
Once you have the lettering outlined, fill in with black craft paint. After the black paint dries, fill in your shadowing effect with a contrasting color. I used the same Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Provence.
Tutorial on how to make a vintage hand lettered sign
Allow your paint to dry for about 24 hours, then lightly sand to distress the lettering. Follow with a light whitewash.
For the whitewash, I diluted one tablespoon of white latex paint to 1/8 cup of water. I brushed it on and then wiped it off with a dry rag.
Tutorial on how to make a vintage hand lettered sign
I have to admit. I love my sign almost as much as the city, itself. Fine southern shopping and hospitality at its best. We will be spending our next summer vacation near there so I’d love to know which antique stores I need to scope out!
Tutorial on how to make a vintage hand lettered sign

Click here to see the vintage inspired Charleston sign in my Simple Summer Vignette pictured below. 

Summer-decorating-Simplicity-in-the-South

 
You may also like:
How to do a whitewashed {faux pallet} planked wall treatment

I’m linking this up to these fabulous blogs:
Tatertots and Jello

Beneath My Heart

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Filed Under: Craft Projects, DIY Projects, DIY Vintage Signs, Printables Tagged With: DIY projects, painting, sign, vintage

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  1. Kathryn says

    July 11, 2013 at 12:38 am

    Oh my heart be still! I saw you featured on Savvy Southern Style and had to come see the Charleston sign! I just moved to Minnesota from Charleston and miss it so much! I love the sign and now have to make one for myself! It could be a couple of years, but thanks so much for sharing!

    Reply
  2. Susan Hines says

    June 19, 2013 at 1:06 pm

    Would love to have the jpg you mentioned in sign image? I need to do this for my niece that lives in Charleston!

    Reply
  3. Toni Hammersley says

    November 12, 2012 at 11:22 am

    Love, love, love.. 🙂

    Reply
  4. Laurie Ritchey says

    November 11, 2012 at 6:59 pm

    Tricia, your sign looks fab! It is hard to find your blogging grove, but looks like you’re doing great! laurie

    Reply
  5. Meaningful Nest says

    November 9, 2012 at 11:49 pm

    Really beautiful and great tutorial! I am with you on the working full time and blogging on the side. It is hard, but worth it!

    Reply
    • Tricia SimplicityInTheSouth says

      November 10, 2012 at 10:08 pm

      Yes! It is worth it!

      Reply
  6. Stephanie says

    November 9, 2012 at 12:21 pm

    I have shopped that Market which makes me love your sign even more!

    Reply
  7. Claire @ a little something in the meantime . . . says

    November 8, 2012 at 10:30 pm

    This looks lovely, Tricia! I’ve been waiting patiently for your reveal and tutorial 🙂 I think it’s time to attempt a painted sign with shadowing.

    I know exactly what you mean about having to cut back your blogging pace to maintain balance. I haven’t blogged in almost a month because I just got a job teaching full-time for the rest of the year after almost a year of sporadic work. One day I’ll have time to be creative for fun again!

    All the best!

    Reply
  8. Sarah @ 20 State says

    November 8, 2012 at 9:28 pm

    The sign looks amazing and great tutorial! I’m hearing you, blogging takes a whole lot of work and time, you just do what you can. BTW thank you so much for the paint tips for my kitchen…I just knew there would be someone else on the planet who could describe paint as blue/grey/taupe!! Now to find it! 😉

    Reply
  9. Country And Cashmere says

    November 8, 2012 at 8:10 pm

    Wow! I just stumbled upon your blog and have to say I am in awe! I can’t believe you have just started it this year….I have been blogging off and on for a while, struggling along the way. So much actually goes into each post, sometimes its overwhelming. Hang in there…you are doing awesome! I subscribed 🙂 BTW love the house!

    Reply
  10. sweet southern inspiration says

    November 8, 2012 at 6:34 pm

    Great tutorial girl! I think next time we get together it should be to craft instead of eat…or we can eat AND craft 🙂

    Reply
    • Tricia SimplicityInTheSouth says

      November 9, 2012 at 9:49 pm

      I wonder if it’s possible to eat with one hand and craft with the other?! We need to get together again soon!

      Reply
  11. City Farmhouse says

    November 8, 2012 at 6:16 pm

    I love it, thank you for the tips, I will be pinning:)! Always wanted to visit maybe someday!

    Reply
  12. Kenzer @ Interiors By Kenz says

    November 8, 2012 at 6:03 pm

    Great tutorial! This is going to come in handy when we start decorating our kitchen/dining room.

    Thanks for sharing 🙂

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Simple Decorating Ideas for Summer- Seasonal Simplicity Summer Home Tour 2017 - Simplicity in the South says:
    June 6, 2017 at 8:53 am

    […] I tried to let go of some things at our last yard sale, I’ve clung tightly to my dear vintage inspired Charleston sign that I made several years ago. I promised Jason that if I could keep it, I’d used it. So, […]

    Reply

I'm Tricia and I'm so glad you’re here. My goal is to help inspire and guide you in making your own home cozy and well-designed without spending a lot of money. Follow along as I share do-it-yourself projects, crafts, and organization tips that anyone could incorporate into their own home on a real-life budget. Read more...

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