Thrift Shop Wooden Picture to Trendy Minnesota State Decor

October 28, 2017

I purchased this little wooden picture at the thrift shop recently.

This is the back. The picture is made from vertical slats joined by two more horizontal slats.

I thought the little wooden picture has some upcycling potential.

First I gave the top and ends of the slats a coat of Rust-Oleum Painters Touch Latex in Flat Black.

I then brushed on two coats of Waverly Mineral Paint in Celery.

The paint is available at Walmart stores or online.

I then used 150 grit sand paper to lightly distress the celery paint on the edges of the slats and ends of the slats to reveal the black base coat.

I purchased a stencil packet at Michael's from Artminds. It's a great package with lots of great paper design stencils, a good way to increase your stencil inventory!

I centered the arrow diagonally between the corners.

I stenciled the arrow with Ceramcoat Acrylic Paint in Light Ivory.

I added another arrow pointing left.

I also purchased a small packet of US State stencils at Michael's. It seems like home state decor is quite trendy.

The stencils I used for the directional letters were purchased at Walmart.

Thrift Shop Wooden Picture to Trendy Minnesota State Decor organizedclutter.net

To seal the sign, I brushed on a coat of Varathane Interior Crystal Clear Water-Based Polyurethane Satin Finish. You could also use a spray sealer like Krylon Matte Satin Finish Spray or even the wax recommended by Waverly.

With a decent stencil inventory you can easily update thrift shop items, make signs, and decorate pillows. I love to mix and match various stencils to create more options.