Love is in the Yard

Happy (almost) Valentine's Day!

I whipped together a little  project to show some Valentine love this weekend using an old fence panel and some paint that I already had on hand.  (Disclaimer:  This wasn't my original idea... I saw it on Pinterest.  Kudos to the crafty one who came up with this first; if I knew who you are, I would give you due credit.)

I started with this old fence panel that I pulled out of the trash:

I pulled off the dead vines growing in between the planks.  Then I reinforced the planks with some new support pieces in the back, and cut off the ends to give it a uniform shape and size that I wanted.

Next I hit it lightly with a sander, and brushed it off. 

Then I made a stencil out of a roll of painter's brown paper, and taped it into place to paint:

I let it dry for a few minutes in the sun under the ceiling fan in the guest room.  I removed the stencil, mixed up some black and white acrylic craft paint to make a gray shade that I liked, and painted "love" on it.  (That was the hardest part, but it wasn't as difficult as I expected it to be... I actually contemplated calling an old neighbor who does calligraphy, and then I got a hold of myself and gave it a try myself.  It's just a freebie craft project, right?)  And then I gave it a light dusting with an aerosol polyeurathane to protect it from the weather.

And -- voila!

I put a picture hanging D-ring on the back, and looped some lightweight wire through it and around the tree so that the wind wouldn't blow it over.

Happy Valentine's Day!