Boys Locker Room: A Tutorial

The Boys Locker Room.

Somewhere I never ventured.  I've just heard the glory stories.  And Lord help me for what my future holds with a house full of boys.  But I figure, I might as well embrace it.

Enter, my newest sign for the boys' bathroom (full room reveal coming soon).

Here's the steps that I took to create it so that you can make on for yourself.

First of all, my original inspiration was from this pin.

Source: beckdesignblog.blogspot.com via Ashley on Pinterest

I loved it.

Off to Home Depot we went, and picked up this 4'x12"x1/2" thick piece of wood (pre-sanded) for $6.

I had them cut off 12", so that we were left with a 3'x12" board (the distance between studs on the wall).

To add a little dimension, and age, to the board, I measured (loosely) 3" increments and then used various hardware elements (i.e. blades, nails, etc.) to "carve" lines into the board to give off the look that it had been planked together.

I'll be honest - this step didn't have as big of a payoff as I had hoped, but up close it still looks pretty cool.

Then I applied two coats of Minwax Royal Walnut Stain onto the board, waiting the recommended 6 hours between each coat.

I wanted a more distressed, used look, so in addition to the normal sanding, I used a dry brush technique to add some black and charcoal grey paint.

If you haven't "dry brushed" before, there's really no strategy here - you just apply with minimal paint on your brush, and wipe off, and sand until you achieve the look you want.

Next, I used the Silhouette to cut out the negatives for a Boys Locker Room "stencil".

Side note - MAJOR SECRET ALERT: 

#1.  Folks, CONTACT PAPER!  For stencilling, this works JUST as good as vinyl and is a fraction of the price, and you can get it at any local hardware store.

#2. A longer cutting mat!!

Even though it's not technically a Silhouette product, the Cricut has a mat that comes in 12x24"...so if you simply cut it down to the 9" size required for the regular Silhouette, you suddenly have a cutting mat that will make your life SOOOO much easier when cutting/printing bigger projects.

Here's a link to one so you can add one to your life ASAP.

Seriously guys, this has been a MAJOR game changer for me.

Anyway, I digress.

The contact paper is on and ready for some paint.

I simply used a round sponge brush with Behr's Ultra White (leftover from my wall stripes here), and let dry after two coats.

Then, a little more sanding (to your desired look), some satin poly, and voila - your sign is complete!

Mirror shot.  I didn't print it backwards. :)

There's the starting point to what probably will be the stinkiest room for my little men someday.

And I love it!

Linking to:
Craftberry Bush Happy Hour
Redoux Interiors
Fingerprints on the Fridge
TT&J
I Heart Naptime
Cowgirl Up