Hand Lettered Wall Art Using Inexpensive Plywood

by Diane and Dean DIY

While walking on Main Street in Franklin, TN, we walked in to a store called The Iron Gate. It had southern charm, shabby chic yet sophisticated home decor and the friendliest staff. There was a piece of art that specifically caught my eye. I also realized that the possibility of getting this home would be a challenge since it measured close to 4 feet by 3 feet so I took a picture with my camera. (See the photo on our website). I decided to make my own rendition since I knew it wasn't coming home with me. I had plans stirring up in my head before I left the store.

hand lettered wall art using inexpensive plywood, chalk paint, crafts

We had a large square 4′ x 4′ piece of plywood in our garage from the transitional home re-design project we did (read about the charity project we did on the blog). I painted the 4′ x 4′ plywood with Old White chalk paint by Annie Sloan. I wanted to mimic the Corinthians 13: 4-7 sign that Dean got me for Christmas (see on the blog) from Chip and Joanna’s store, Magnolia Market, so I painted one coat of the chalk paint intentionally leaving some of the plywood to show through for a rustic look very similar to theirs. Dean cut down 1″ x 2″ quality pine wood to fit the sides of the plywood.

After everything was painted and dried, it was time to hand letter the words. This was for a wedding anniversary gift (that's what plans were stirring in my head) to my husband so I am trying to do all this secretly. You can use a ruler and draw a light line with a regular pencil that you will erase later. This will help keep your words in a straight line.

A cool trick I learned at one of my hand lettering courses was to use a laser level. When you use the laser you will have less lines to erase. I sketched out my words and letters in pencil first. Any kind of pencil will do. Make sure you have an eraser. I probably sketched out my letters 5-6 times so the eraser was my friend.

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Graphite is a favorite and a very versatile color so I thought it would look good for this project. It’s not too black and it’s not too gray. I had some already in stock so this is what I used. I considered using gold metallic paint but decided against it for this project but did use it for the exact same design just with much smaller wood. It looked great. There is a photo on our Instagram account @dianeanddeandiy if you want to see it.

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint can be quite expensive but you can buy their sample size. There is also inexpensive chalk paint (not to be confused with chalkboard paint) at any craft store now a days. You don't even have to use chalk paint, it is just what I had in stock. I took a photo above of other alternatives that you can also use. Paint markers are great for projects that have a smooth surface.

I can’t say that Dean was totally surprised by his gift since he saw me hand lettering the words out on the lanai. It’s kind of hard to hide a 4′ x 4′ piece of art. I didn’t present it in cute wrapping paper nor did I make a big presentation but I think the words alone resonate with both of us and he absolutely loved it.

The original art at the boutique sold for approximately $300.00 and all together we probably spent $30.00.

If you want to see it hanging in our master bedroom, visit the blog. Please share this on social media if you like what you see.