What you'll need:
- The main sign - It is easier if you get one that is hanging-ready so you don't have to add hardware. It also needs to be thick enough to drill in the loops at the bottom.
- The paint - I chose an off white acrylic paint for the sign and applied it with a sponge brush to maintain a wood grain look. The lettering on the sign is also acrylic paint. For the lettering on the tiles, I used an oil paint Sharpie pen.
- The birthday tiles - I went way too small with my first round so make sure you get tiles large enough to comfortably write all the names you need.
- The stencils - This is always optional. If you are confident in your free hand paint skills, I am not, then go for it. I always trace stencils in pencil and then paint.
- The hardware - While I didn't need to buy
hanging hardware, I needed screw eyes to hang the tiles from the sign. The loops are jewelry closures.
- The tools - For this project I used a drill, paint brushes, and pliers.
What you do:
- Pick It - Choose the perfect sign for you! Find the one that makes you happy :)
- Measure It - For the months, measure the width of the base and divide by twelve. Place an eye screw in the middle of each of the twelve sections. Do this before you paint it just in case anything slips and scratches the surface.
- Paint it - Paint the base color on the sign if you want it painted then decide what you want on the front of the sign, stencil it, and paint it.
- Drill It - Drill a hole in the bottom and top of each birthday tile. I just held them in my hand but I recommend using a clamp to hold the tiles while you drill. It is much, much safer.
- Date It - I put only the day number on the tiles under the name. You could do month, day, year, or month, day, or just day as I did. I liked the simplicity of that since the month is indicated on the sign anyway.
- Build It - Use pliers to open and close the loops and assemble the tiles. This a tedious step but you're almost done!
- Attach It - Attach a loop to the top of each month of tiles to attach to the screw eye on the sign.
- Gift It - I made mine as a gift for my in-laws. But this would be super cute to make for yourself and your own house as well!
