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Sep 17, 2013

$5 landscape address marker

I was walking around Big R one morning, stopping in to get socks and coffee. You know, the usual necessities. I ventured down the landscape aisle to see what was on sale. I came across this guy, which I am assuming people use for edging and thought it would be a fun base for a project of some sort. It was less than $5. 


When I am at places like Big R and hardware stores, I am always trying to find things that I can turn into something else. I'm usually not looking for anything in particular. That's how I ended up finding contractor shims for making my miniature pallets.

I thought this piece would be fun parked out in front of someone's house with address numbers. So, I painted some numbers on and ended up with a fun little trinket to stick in your landscaping.



I thought it turned out pretty nice other than the fact that my mulch blends in with the wood. 


I even thought about doing the numbers in white. It was a toss up! There are so many ways you could apply numbers or letters (if you were to do a name) to these guys but I will show you how I easily did it.



I started off by sanding the rough edges of the wood so I had a smooth surface to work on. I then jumped on Microsoft word and picked out a font that I liked to generate my numbers. I used my fonts at size 300 and printed the numbers on card stock.


I took an exacto knife and cut my numbers out. Obviously, if you have a vinyl cutter or other forms of making a stencil, you could go that route as well. My mom and I happen to have a vinyl cutter. It's just not set up yet. Maybe sometime this week!


Once I had my letters cut out, I made a mark where I wanted it to set on the wood. I then traced around the numbers with a Sharpie marker.



Once I had all of my numbers traced, I took a 1/4 inch square paint brush and black acyrlic paint to create my finished numbers.



The easiest way to create a smooth outline when painting numbers or letters is to work your brush in a perpendicular motion rather than tracing your outline. Work your paint downward or upward all the way around and fill in the center of your shape.


It seems time consuming, but it's really not once you get going! I've always have been pretty lucky with a steady hand so I think that helps. 

Ta da! That's all there is to it.


I applied a layer of Rus-Oleum GLOW In The Dark paint on top of the letters so they would glow at night. You have to paint this on a white or light surface in order to work but I thought I would give it a try. Nope, it doese't work very well on the black. It would be fun to try on some white numbers! 

I thought about applying a polyurethane coating to protect it from the weather, but I kind of want it to weather a little bit. If it weren't for the glow in the dark paint, I would have sanded the numbers a little bit to give them a more rustic look.

I love coming across new uses for things! What's the most clever thing you've repurposed or turned into a craft project?

6 comments:

  1. Fantastic idea! Pinned (of course). If someone can't find this but would like a similar look, my dad did something similar with my parent's home by cutting down and old porch support beam. He cut it to varying lengths and screwed the old house numbers to each piece. It hung out on their porch steps.

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    1. You dad's project sounds really cool! I would love to do something similar without the pre-made wood. The possibilities are endless :)

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  2. This is AMAZING. I am so jealous that you are a farmers wife. When I was growing up I used to say that's what I wanted to be when I grew up! Don't get me wrong I love my hubs and we are starting our own little homestead slowly but surely. I found your blog on Holly's site, and I am def a new reader!!

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    1. Hi Candra! Thank you so much for stopping by! I am glad to have you as a new reader. I will head over to your blog :)

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  4. Super cute! Thanks for linking at my Pin Me Party!

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