First you need to make a paper template. I played around with my fonts and fell in love with a font called Chicken Hawk. (download here) The software I use for all my graphic stuff (scrapbook max) allows me to adjust the spacing of my font, so I scrunched it together so that they'd be touching and then printed and cut it out. If you can't do that then you can just cut it out how it comes and then make them touch when you trace it to your wood. The font actually has little hearts in the O's so that where I got the idea. Trace onto the wood. I drew a straight line along the bottom and adjusted my letters a bit so that it would stand by itself. (see image A)
oh, and ignore the other two hearts in the first two images, those are for another project.
Then very carefully cut out your design and sand down any rough edges. (image B)
(It would be a good idea to cut out the centers on your O's first. I didn't do this and ended up snapping it in half when I was trying to drill the hole for my saw blade. Live and learn. Lucky I was planning on modge podging the front with paper anyway so I just glued it back together and no one is the wiser.... except you guys because I just spilled the beans.)
Give it a base coat that matches the main color of whatever scrapbook paper you plan on using. (image C)
Once dry set your design backwards onto the backside of your paper and trace around it. You want your paper to be a bit larger then your wood. (image D)
Apply a generous coat of modge podge to your wood and then smooth your paper onto the wood. I used a card to make sure I had it good and down and there weren't any air bubbles. Allow to dry. (images E and F)
While that is drying add some modge podge (or glue) to the little hearts and glitter the fronts of them. (image G)
Once your X's and O's are dry (or mostly) then grab some sand paper and sand the edges, sanding away all the extra paper. (image H)
DO NOT DO THIS NEXT STEP. I decided to take some stain and add a little brown distressing to the edges. I hated it! The paper soaked in way to much and it looked awful. So I ended up taking more of my base coat paint and dry brushing over the stain. the end result it okay but I so wish i had just left it alone. (image I)
The last step is to add small eye hooks to the inside of the O's and the hearts and hang then with a link of chain.
I hope you make one, it was a lot of fun!
