PB Inspired Love Wall Plaque for Valentines

I'm working on installing ceiling beams in the master bedroom, that project is still going on but meanwhile, I managed to work on something else with these remaining pieces of wood from the beams.

The Pottery Barn catalog arrived and while browsing through it I saw this Love Plaque that I thought I could replicate with the spare pieces of wood I had. Ha, perfect project for Valentine's day.

The first thing to do ---> the letters.  I attached two pieces of graph paper with tape and began drawing the letters, trying to copy-cat them the best I could.  They are 12.5" x 9".

The letters were then transferred to a piece of plywood, another remnant from the beams.

Then, it was time to cut them out using a jig saw.  It took me about an hour to do that, a good time to think about what needed to get done the next day. 

Yeah. I was thinking about the laundry I needed to do, what I was going to pack my son for lunch at school, and my grocery list ... Let's say, that's how I plan my days! :)

Well, after all that thinking, the letters were out,  they're not perfect, the lines weren't that straight, and maybe I should have paid more attention to the cuttings. ;)

I took a big chunk out of the O!  But nothing wood filler and a good sanding couldn't repair.

Since the boards were already primed material, sanding their edges was my next step to give them that worn-out look.  All the boards were nailed to two extra pieces on the back.

This is how it looked so far.

Since I wanted to use the plaque for Valentine's day, a letter O was cut out from red polka-dot fabric and was attached with liquid starch (I think that's the old way to attach fabric to a surface :)  the new way to go would be with Mod Podge), you can use any.

Wax was rubbed on the boards and letters to age them a bit more.  The letters were attached with double-sided sticky tape that way I can use the board with something else or I can display the letters by themselves later on.

The PB Love Plaque costs $199,  mine was kind of free since they were left-over pieces.

Next time I'll show you how it looks adorning my fireplace.

Check it out on the Valentine Mantel HERE