DIY Vintage Grocery Sign

I had a craving for a little DIY art for my kitchen.  After adding white subway tile to the kitchen, I wanted to add some DIY art to the walls.  Free DIY art to be exact.  I wanted to make a vintage looking grocery sign with a ton of character.  I started out by creating a Publisher file with the exact dimensions of my board.  I wanted the letters to look bold and simplistic.  I used Arial Black size 375.  I printed the letters on card stock and cut them out with an Xacto knife.

I stained an old piece of scrap wood.  The wood and stain were leftover from projects like this faux barnwood mirror so I was well on my way to some free art.  I decided on a placement that I liked for the letters and made them as even as possible.  After that I traced the letters and used some left over white wall paint from my painted white kitchen cabinets to paint the letters.

This is what my free DIY vintage grocery sign looked after 3 coats of paint with a small art brush.  But I wasn't quite satisfied yet....it didn't have quite the vintage look.

Ahh yes, a little sanding did the trick.  I waited two days after I painted the sign to make sure the paint was completely dry.  I then took a sander too it to come up with a weathered look.  I like the variation in the shades of the wood.  

Here is a closer look of the sign after the sanding.  I admit I was pretty nervous to take a sander to it.  I envisioned that all the paint would come off or it would weather unevenly.  BUT it was free and I could re-do the sign on the back if needed so I jumped in.  I was really excited with the outcome and character the sanding added.  

I decided to mount it over the window.  Ohh hello there...yes that is a new clock.  I snapped up a PUGG Clock from Ikea to help fill the awkward wall space to the left.  I was originally going for a vintage school clock, but this was by far the closest and cheapest battery operated clock I could find.  The other clocks needed to be wired directly into the wall and I wasn't willing to take that risk!

So at the end of the day with minimal elbow grease I have a completely free DIY grocery sign that looks rustic and charming!  Major score!