Botanic Bleu: I'd Rather Be in the Garden...But Not in 104°

Monday, July 28, 2014

Yes,

I'd rather be in the garden,

but not in 104°

Fabled Texas summer heat has arrived,

in all its blistering, sweltering, suffocating,

100+ degrees.

A couple of weeks ago we were lulled into thinking

summer would be mild mannered this year.

Why, we had one day with 69° as the high.

Rain came, torrential rain came.

A city nearby had 14" in one 24-hour period.

Could this be north Texas?!

Cool temperatures AND rain?

Two more days followed with highs in the 70s.

I was giddy, laughing out loud, smiling for no apparent reason,

but the reason was the delightful temperatures.

That's when I decided to make some garden signs

that celebrated how I was feeling about the weather.

The larger sign was inspired by Pinterest.

Between Pinterest and Blogs, I find all kinds of inspiration.

Enough for a hundred years of projects.

I'm kind of slow.

To speed up the lettering process on the big sign,

I used photo canvas cloth and printed out the phrase

instead of painting the phrase.

Directions for creating the "I'd rather be in the garden" sign.

Microsoft Word Document - Page Set Up 'landscape', letter
Insert Text Box so different fonts can be layered. That's how the plant sprigs were added to the letters in the word "GARDEN".
Fonts used - Jacques and Gilles for the words and Bodoni Ornaments for the sprigs.
"Fill" the text box with background color of choice.
Use a very pale color for the text color. This is how to get the text color to look almost white. Let the printed sign dry.
Spray the canvas sign with Rust-Oleum Matte Finish - Clear Protective Finish for Crafts, Arts, and Decorative Projects. Find at Home Depot.
Glue canvas to weathered reclaimed scrap wood found underneath your deck (that's where mine was.) Use Elmer's Carpenter's WoodGlue Max, waterproof and stainable, interior/exterior.
Nail the sign to a stake - Grade Leveling Stakes found at Home Depot come in several lengths. I used an 18" stake for this sign.
The sign is water resistant, not water proof, and should be used in sheltered areas. Mine did get sprinkled on during one of our most-welcome rainy days before I got it inside. The water beaded up, and the ink did not run. Whew!