Be Still Project

 IT'S DONE!!!  I started working on a project 2 months ago and finally put it on the wall this weekend.  Actually, Brian put it on the wall, because he doesn't like my random, non-measuring way of doing it.  Or maybe it's the fact that I usually put a few too many nail holes in the wall trying to figure out where I want to hang it. 

I don't remember where I first saw this pic--probably Pinterest. I rearranged my room a couple of months ago and decided after almost 3 years, I needed to finally put something on my bedroom wall.  The words on this sign just spoke to me--and the bonus was that Brian really liked it, too.  Plus, my life tends to get out of control with busy, so being still is something I need to be reminded of on a daily basis. What better way to do that than to put it over my bed--on the wall that is opposite of my door so I see it every time I enter my bedroom.

So here's how I did it.

I started with a big board with lots of knotholes and imperfections and coerced my hubby into cutting it and nailing it together.

Then I stained it.

I really liked the stain color, so it was hard to paint

over it, but to get the finished look I wanted, I had to do it.  I used a cream paint and rolled it over the stain.

After painting it, I printed out my words and used carbon paper under them to trace them on the wood. 

The next step was to sand down the wood so that the stain would show through in spots and would age the picture.  If I had it to do over again, I would have sanded it before I traced my words--it would have been easier and probably looked a little better.

Then I just painted the letters inside my tracing and free-handed the leaf scroll. 

But I chose the wrong colorfor the scroll and made the leaves way too small.

So I sanded it off and started over on that part.  That's one of the things I love about being creative--even when you mess up, it just adds to the character. The next one turned out more like I wanted it to--and the extra sanding just made me love it more.

The only thing left to do was to hang it on my wall.  If I put it side by side to the original, you can definitely tell mine is not professional.  I might have chosen a different font.  I probably would have made the words bigger. BUT, it works perfectly on my wall and I love it. 

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”        Psalm 46:10