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DIY Pirate Sign

June 26, 2014May 2, 2016 by Kelly Dedeaux

*I received free product to use in this post. All ideas and opinions are 100% my own. See my Disclosure Policy for further information.

Ahoy, Matey! I’ve got another fun pirate-y project for you today! This DIY Pirate Sign is so simple to make, and your wallet will love you for it!

I don’t know about you, but I love when there’s a project I can make once, then reuse again and again! Call me lazy, or cheap…..but I’m all for saving time and money! This DIY Pirate Sign was the perfect decoration for our recent Pirate Party, and is now an excellent (and sturdy) fixture for the boys’ Pirate Bedroom!

When I began brainstorming for the bedroom makeover, I knew I wanted some sort of rustic, wooden sign. I did NOT want to deal with the cost, working with the wood itself (lots of sanding to make it smooth enough for the boys to play around) and wasn’t fond of how HEAVY it would end up being.

Then I met the fabulous team from FloraCraft at SNAP! Conference at the end of April. They had this AMAZING map board on the wall, which at first I thought was wood boards. Turns out, it was actually Styrofoam boards! Wonderfully lightweight (which meant easy to hang), versatile (we were able to stick pins and hang things onto it), and absolutely gorgeous! I knew it would be perfect for the boys’ bedroom decor, and they were kind enough to help me out!

Notes: The amount of boards, puddy and paint will depend on your desired dimensions of your sign.

Table of Contents

Supplies

1″x12″x36″ Styrofoam boards
FloraCraft Smooth Finish puddy
Brown paint of choice & paint brush
StyroCutter Plus (or other cutter for the Styrofoam)
Plastic knife, or other puddy spreader
Vinyl Lettering/images, or stickers
Long nails, to attach Styrofoam
If desired, sealing spray to hold the vinyl/stickers on better

Directions

Cut your Styrofoam pieces. I cut one board in half hotdog-wise for the ‘post’, putting one piece up above the other. For the individual signs I did about 4 per board, varying the size of each (some larger, some smaller). I used the amazing StyroCutter Plus, which made it uber easy to cut the boards. Since it’s basically melting through it, the edges end up smooth and nice!
Use a plastic knife, puddy knife or other smooth spreader to spread the Smooth Finish puddy over the boards. If you want it smooth, this puddy can do that easily. I purposely made mine look more ‘rough’ and ‘old wood’ looking.
Once the boards are covered in the puddy to the texture that you’d like, and it has fully dried, paint your boards. I found that the paint does go on a little lighter over the puddy than expected, so just keep that in mind.
I used my trusty Silhouette Cameo to print out my vinyl lettering and images (mermaid, crocodile, skull rock, etc.), then put the vinyl on the boards. I wanted them to stick better (and longer) so I sprayed an adhesive over the top to seal them to the boards.
To attach the individual signs to the long ‘post’ boards, I pushed a long nail (long enough to go through the top sign and then the ‘post, so I used about 1 1/2 inch long), through the sign, then used another nail and hammer to stick it in a bit further for extra security. To attach the ‘posts’ and signs to the wall, I got 3 inch nails (since the thickest part would be 2″ with the ‘post’ and signs), and did the same thing. Push it through the boards, then just hammer it into the wall. I did this a few spots on the ‘posts’, and then one in each sign just to be safe. That probably was a bit much, but my plan is the sign to stay put for a very long time.

That’s it! Now you have a fun DIY Pirate Sign to use for your next pirate-y event or room makeover! So head on out and grab some fabulous FloraCraft products and get your DIY on!

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