Large Stencils - new option

So we all love the rustic wood signs out there, right?

And we all love to make them ourselves, right?

And we all have unlimited amounts of painters tape and shelf liner to stick on and cut out to make quick stencils?  Wait...what?

And we all have amazing artistic and lettering talents that we can free hand the designs onto the painters tape or shelf liner?  Um....

No

I do not want to use painters tape for these signs.  It seems like a waste.  Especially if you're buying the good stuff.

And even with cheap stuff like Dollar Store shelf liner there's the issue of getting the words onto the stencil.

So here's another option...full sheet packaging labels.  I have about a million of these left over from my Etsy selling days and thought I'd try them out.

Great idea!

First of all...they are meant to be printed on.  No more wax paper jamming up your printer.  (I still need to call the Epson helpline about that one!)  And no more trying to free hand some awesome new font!

Second of all...they are super cheap.  I  buy them from one of the many office supply store on eBay in packs of 200.  The ones I used are half sheet labels, two to a page.  

Third, they are sticky enough to keep the paint lines crisp...but not so sticky to mess up any paint or stain that's already on the wood.  

So you just make some huge letters in any word processing software

Stick it to your sign and cut out the letters

 Paint in the letters (use a stippling motion to make sure you don't push the paint under the stencil) and you're all done.  

And if you are using scrap fence posts (aged with vinegar and steel wool), left over paint, and labels you already owned...this is a free project!  Score!!