TOGETHER

Being able to spend time together with our favorite people is such a blessing. This sign not only makes for an beautiful and eye-catching décor piece, but is also a unique, handcrafted-with-love gift idea for spouses, parents, newly-weds and friends for Valentine's Day, engagements, weddings and other significant celebrations. Grab your DIY Art Kit here and follow along below.

The DIY Art Kit:

1 un-painted laser cut sign in 4 levels with a base, wood-lace flower frame, 2 simple frames, and wording
paints in brown, white and black (or you can use any colors you like!)
1 re-usable sponge brush
1 sponge wedge

From home you will need:

paper plate
paper towels
masking tape
parchment/ freezer/ news paper to protect your work space
optional: sandpaper
glue- I recommend Aleene's Turbo Tacky Glue, but wood glue and Elmer's craft glue work too

Separate out your levels and lay them out in their color groups.

Place your individual letters on the sticky side of masking tape, for easier painting.

Placing small letters onto upturned masking tape helps to keep letters in place while you paint them, so that you don't get more paint on your fingers, than on the wood and to ensure that you don't lose letters along the way.

Using the sponge brush, dip it into undiluted brown paint and wipe it across the base in long smooth strokes.
Do not use water, as it will cause the wood to swell.
Allow to dry and apply a second layer.
Once dry you can rough it up with sandpaper if you want a distressed finish.

Wash and dry your sponge brush.
Decant white paint onto your plate and scrape a small amount of paint onto your brush. Do not overload the brush, as paint will pool in the delicate floral lace and affect the overall look of your finished piece.
Dab or dry-wipe paint over this layer.
Do not use water!
The score lines for letter positioning will still show through.
Repeat of desired.
If you inadvertently added too much paint, try to wipe it out of the cut-outs with paper towel. You may need to use a toothpick for to get into the corners.

Using a sponge wedge or make-up wedge, dab a very sparing amount of black paint onto the words and frames.
Again, use as little paint as possible, to prevent pooling.
Repeat for additional coverage.

Allow all layers to dry fully before gluing.
I like using Aleene's Turbo Tacky glue, because it dries fast and clear.
Elemer's Glue All craft glue seems to work pretty well too.
Wood glue will work too, but you need to be more careful with application, as it dries yellowish and will mess up your clean design.
Do not use hot glue- it will warp your letters and give them too much bulk.
Super glue dries too quickly.

Apply glue sparingly to the outside edges and center of the back side of the floral layer.
I often leave a little love note between layers, that no one will ever see, but I know it's there!
You do not need to add glue behind the wood lace flowers. It's okay if they float a little.

Press down firmly.

You can still see the score marks for your word placement, to take the guess work out of it later on!

Apply glue around the outside frame and attach it on top of the white layer, using your fingers to guide placement on the corners.

Apply glue sparingly to the back of the small frame and position it around the center rectangle.

Sparingly apply glue behind each letter and place in the designated spots.

I find it easier with small pieces, like the letters, to squeeze glue onto a plate and use a make-up wedge to blot glue onto the back of the letters. This prevents the use of too much glue.

Allow your beautiful new sign to dry fully before displaying it!

You can lean it on a shelf, place it in a frame holder or hang it on a wall with contact strips. Either which way, I bet the recipient will be absolutely delighted!

I'd love to see photos of your creations! Please send me an email to or tag it with @threeand.me or #threeandme on social media.

Thank you for joining this Three & Me art experience. I hope you had so much fun creating this sign. If you have questions, suggestions or feedback, please do not hesitate to reach out to me directly here.

Warmly,

Claire Houlding