You Are My Sunshine

So you all know by now that I love a good DIY. When I see something I like, usually I start trying to figure out how I can make it myself. My husband teases me and tells me that I can make anything even though that is certainly not true!

My Mom’s birthday was last month and one day while we were out shopping we saw this sign that she really wanted. I really would have loved to have bought it for her but it was out of my price range (this site is charging $384!). So what did I do? I figured out how to make one :) The great thing about it was we had all of the materials on hand except for the letters so the whole project only cost us $12 and our time.

sunshine sign

My Mom used to sing this song to us as kids. I have such good memories of her singing it. It kind of gives me the warm fuzzies to hear it now as an adult :)

To make the sign, we started with some tongue and groove boards and sanded them down. Jason helped me with all of the sanding, cutting, and assembling. I couldn’t have done it without him so I won’t even try to explain it :) Once everything was put together, I used sticker letters to spell out the words. Next, I painted the frame black. Then I took a can of white paint and dry brushed it on (meaning my paint brush just barely had paint on it). I didn’t want a thick coat so I used a light paint but you could also thin it down with some water. At this point I could have peeled off the letters and the wood would show through but I liked how the black letters turned gray with the paint over the top of them.

The best part? My Mom loves it. She said she likes it even better than the original. Thanks Mom :) And, I saved $372. I love DIY!