Sunday, November 1, 2015

How to do Hand Lettering on Glass and Cottage Entrance Reveal


Nothing thrills me like a good makeover. I guess I just love possibilities. Optimism comes from not looking at what is but imagining what could be. Everything can be improved. The entrance to the Pen & Hive Cottage is a great example. For the 24 years since it was built the front door to the cottage looked like this:


I never actually thought about just how bad it looked until I was letting people in at my open house in August. It dawned on me how uninviting it looked. I added making it over to my list of things to do ASAP. I knew I wanted to paint around the door a color to draw attention to it and I knew I wanted to paint the door. It also needed a cute porch light. But I started by cleaning the window. To make that easier the door came with a little plastic grid to make the fake window panes. I popped it out. The second I saw what the door looked like without it I knew I wanted this door to look like the entry to a shop.

I should have stopped to take a photo of a more detailed before but sometimes once I start it's hard for me to stop and document every step...I went looking for a how to about lettering on Pinterest.  I stumbled upon the trick for doing the lettering on the door at the blog, Paint and Style. Emma Kate posted the tutorial that I used to do my door in this blog post.

The only thing I needed to purchase for the lettering was a paint pen. This is the one I used. It was about 5 dollars at Hobby Lobby.



Next I used the same font as I use on my blog to print out the letters I needed. That way the blog, my cards, honey labels, and this door all have the same consistent look. After I printed them out I cut them apart per Emma Kate's suggestion so I could curve the name. Then I taped them and retaped them until I got them the way I wanted them.


The letters are taped on the front of the door exactly as they will look when you are finished. The painting is done on the back so you are tracing them in reverse.


I traced them with the pen and then colored them in. I also added a bit of paint brushed on where I saw that I had visible pen marks. Painting over it gave it a more solid and finished look.


All finished! Time to remove the letters and tape!


I couldn't believe how fantastic it turned out! I was super happy and just kept going back to look at it! This was a Pinterest win for sure!




 In the collage below you can see the before and afters. I love the way the door looks without the storm door, but in this carport if I were to remove it I think the door would get dirty in no time. So even though it's adorable without it is serving a purpose.  I used yellow to draw attention to the entrance and pale turquoise for the door keeping with the Pen & Hive colors. I found this adorable galvanized metal light fixture at Lowe's and hung a wire basket of moss and dried hydrangeas. I added a welcome mat that kept my color scheme going and put out a sign. Suddenly my husband's classic car looks like part of the decor!



 Don't you just love it when a project turns out even better than you thought it would? Me too!





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