I had a blast playing with ModPodge last week. It’s so simple to use and, though I like to paint things, using MP saves loads of time. With the new decorative mailbox finished, I wanted to complete a couple of other pieces for a unified look outside.
Admittedly, I was having a lot of “Oh… I could also use it for this…moments,” so I really needed to put the brakes on myself so I didn’t over-coordinate. Gotta know when to stop, lol.
In fact, today’s project is headed to my parent’s house, because I thought the mailbox fabric would be a really pretty backdrop for a house number.
I picked up several wood plaque shapes from the craft store and a visit to the hardware store yielded these lovely classic-font brass numbers that were less than $4 each.
Yes, they’re a little brighter than the Liquid Leaf, but I can live with that.
Mom picked a more flourished plaque shape, so I made a newspaper pattern of the inner section and used it to cut out the same fabric as the mailbox.
I trimmed the fabric to fit, and laid everything out before ModPodging (a new verb for me 🙂 ) it onto the plaque.
It MIGHT have worked to just Podge it and screw on the numbers (especially because Mom’s house isn’t set back too far from the street). But I decided it was a little busy (that fabric is vibrant) and wondered if—from a distance—you might not be able to read the numbers. So, I regrouped. (I left this step in because with a different fabric or different colored numbers, it may have been really cool to have it as the whole background…It just didn’t work for me on this one.)
I sealed the wood, painted on the gold-leaf border, used black paint for the center area, then cut out select motifs from the fabric.
Placing the numbers at the center, I tried different layouts and trimmed many parts of the motif away to look as if it was trailing off the side (the way it would be if I had used a whole section of fabric.)
That was working for me!
(I also tried it on the oval plaque to see how I liked it… I’ll choose oval for our house because I liked the larger scale and having a little more open space.)
So, after I placed and predrilled the holes for the numbers, I started gluing down the pieces of fabric using ModPodge.
Then I let it dry for a bit before coating the top.
Once the decoupage medium is completely dry, spray (or paint) a coat of outdoor varnish to make it weather resistant. Let dry. Screw in the numbers and finito!
To duplicate this design:
Supplies: Purchased wood plaque, numbers, fabric, craft paint, Liquid Leaf (comes in several metallic colors), decoupage medium (I used Outdoor ModPodge because I had it on hand… TIP: Use thinner coats than I did to minimize brush strokes, or use regular MP).
Steps Summary:
- Seal the wood plaque with a spray or painted on varnish, let dry.
2. Paint outer border in a color to coordinate with the numbers (I used gold Liquid Leaf).
3. Paint inside area black.
4. Place the numbers and predrill the holes if you are using screw in numbers. Leave the numbers in place but do not attach.
5. Cut out motifs from fabric, arrange as desired.
6. Remove numbers
7. Glue fabric in place with decoupage medium. Let dry.
8. Coat entire plaque with decoupage medium. Let dry.
9. Screw in the numbers.
There are several ways to hang the plaque. The last time, I just screwed the it to the house and touched up the screw heads with paint to hide them. You could also use velcro or any of a number of Command-type strips.
Next up: Front Door Decor
I LOVE THIS. ALL THIS. YES. ALL.
Happiness,
C
Bless you!