From a Plain Bulletin Board to an Illuminated Christmas Miracle!
I had a vision...
My mantel needed a focal point for Christmas, so I was going to create this night scene on a painted black backdrop with mini lights posing as twinkling stars in the night.
However, as I worked further on the project, that all changed. (they always do...)
It became bigger... and BETTER!
Rather than boards, I grabbed an old bulletin board I had in my stash instead.
I then messed with an easy-to-use stencil in such a (good) way that created a NEW design, and the mini lights would now highlight the sign in a much more meaningful way...
Here's how it turned out and how it looks on the now Christmas mantel!
Hard to believe that's a bulletin board, isn't it?
I started with a 24 x 36 bulletin board I had in my stash. It got a coat of my fav black (Fusion Mineral) paint and then it was onto the next step.
A Christmas Trees stencil was used to create the image as it was originally intended for.
But... I had this brainstorm that had to be played out...
You get that, right?
I Imagined the trees compiled into one BIG tree... would it work?
Oh yes, I did ask that many times over.
Stencil is Christmas Trees from Funky Junk's Old Sign Stencils HERE
Well look at that! I loved the outcome! It's pretty already!
However with a little chippy wood and a string of mini lights, it was time to add extra details to truly bring out major festive bling.
Holes were drilled into each of the stenciled trees, then white mini lights were pulled in from behind.
Again and again and again.
Then I stood up, stood back and gasped... it was really working!
They don't always...
And here is where this illuminated Christmas Trees sign ended up!
That's quite the bulletin board, huh? Wonder what the office supply place would say to this outcome...
Does this inspire you to illuminate a DIY sign of your own?
(visit the original blog post HERE for the full tutorial and stencil details)
Comments
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It really is a show stopper, I love it !
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I am going to try it. But with a large canvas painted black. I may not need to put holes in it.
Frequently asked questions
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Wow! The lights really made your sign pop! Great job. How's it look from the back? When I've tried this the wires are all wonky and I feel like I need to do something to hide them from the side views.
This is SO cool. And, I just had a thought, but I don't know how to pull it off. This would be precious as an advent calendar.....I just can't figure out how to lite just a few of the bulbs at a time. Any ideas??
I love how your board turned out. I wonder if I could come up with something similar to go with my 60’s/70’s boho decor. We recently remodeled so I changed the decor. I did save our antique mantel. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks