Keeping Up With The Neighbors: Welcome To My Porch!

My Attempt At A Homemade Porch Sign.
The sign I made, leaning up against my porch wall, beside the front door.
The porch sign I made recently.

I felt so terrible last weekend,  I pretty much stayed in my jammies all day on Saturday.  Ugh 🙁

Every Saturday morning, at 8 AM, I help put together meals for the shut-in’s at one of the local food pantries but I couldn’t get out of bed to get  there.  Bless Poo’s heart for going in my place ♥

Me, Poo, Ruth Ann, Dale and Eric all helping in the kitchen.
My Circle U peeps and I, packaging up the meals for the shut-in’s.

I hate getting sick but I do love an excuse to lay around all day without feeling guilty.  I couldn’t do it very often, as it’s not my personality, but when a good reason drops in my lap, what the heck!

When I’m forced to slow down, I usually want to spend my waking hours doing mindless things like watching Hallmark, searching the internet for new recipes, or scrolling through Pinterest.

Between bouts of drowsiness, I spent most of the day looking up how to make a homemade porch sign.

My quest to make my front porch more inviting began a couple of weeks ago as I watched my young neighbors, directly across the street, decorate their yard for fall.

The house directly across the street from me.
My neighbor Jen and Cody’s house.

Their yard looks so appealing, you could say I had yard envy.

After days, and days ………. of being forced to view cuteness, on overload, I decided I needed to put the little green monster to good use and get to work on mine.

I have the boards.  I have a stash of paint.   It’s all just hangin’ out in my basement, calling my name.

So ……….. I pinned a few pictures for ideas and plotted out my course of action, even thinking I could probably free-hand the letters.  I’m not sure why I thought I had the artistic ability to pull it off because, other than a class in wood shop during my stint in junior high, I haven’t had much instruction in art.

A picture of a porch sign I like. It says, "Give Thanks Always."
This is not my porch, but I liked the sign so I pinned it for future reference.

The delirium soon wore off and I realized I needed to hit up the craft store for a few supplies, including stencils. 🙂

As soon as I was feeling better I set my boards up in the garage so I could get started on the painting.

The boards set up in the garage for painting.
Green on one side.
The red side.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I decided I might as well utilize the other side of the board and make my porch sign reversible.

Green on one side for fall and red on the opposite side for Christmas.

The stencils in place, secured with painters tape and brushed with an off-white paint color.
Finished!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I did end up free-handing the “fall” letters at the top of the sign and they were a lot harder to do than I expected.  I used a pencil to draft the placement of the letters but, if you look closely, you can see where I had to paint over the pencil marks to hide them.  (I tried to use the pencil eraser but it didn’t work.)

I’m not positive of the cause but, I think the reason the green paint didn’t blend when I painted over the pencil marks was because I dipped the brush into the paint from the lid instead of taking it from the can.

Although not perfect, I’m satisfied with my first attempt.

The sign I made, propped up next to the front door. Also showing a bucket of candy hanging from a shepherds hook.
My sign on display with the bucket of candy I rigged up for trick or treaters.

 

It looks ok.

I haven’t started on the opposite side yet but I think I can make some improvements to my technique and the overall look of the project.

 

 

 

And ……… I’m ready for trick or treaters!

My lighted front porch from the street.

Stay tuned, I will post pictures of the red side when I am finished.

Materials I used for my porch sign:
  • 6′ x 1″ x 8″ pine board
  • green paint
  • paint brush
  • scissors
  • stencils
  • painters tape
  • off-white paint
  • stencil brush
  • black paint
  • ribbon
  • craft leaves
  • hot glue gun

I didn’t have any off-white paint so I improvised by adding a touch of the yellow paint, I had on hand, to white paint until I achieved the desired color.  (I poured white paint on a plate and added the yellow to it then, mixed it up.)

“In crafting there are no mistakes, just unique creations.”

xoxo, Katy

Author: Katy

I am a business owner, a mom of two grown daughters, a wife, and lover of life! I am an active 50+ -er with many new developing interests. Physical activity has always played a role in my life. Sometimes, more ........and sometimes, less. As a "Baby Boomer," it has become increasingly important for me to navigate the aging process with grace and agility. Part of the healthy living equation is, of course, the nutritional aspect as well. This blog, first and foremost, is devoted to women over the age of 50 looking to improve the quality of their life by exercising and consuming a healthy diet. Cheers to a life well lived! *You can read more about me by visiting my Home Page.