Halloween is a fun time to use your imagination and dress up your house.  I'm not much into the really creepy or gory parts of Halloween.  I prefer not to completely scare the you-know-what out of the youngest kids.  It would leave me with too much candy.  Plus, it just isn't my style.  I love vintage things, especially from the Victorian era. I also love anything related to Edgar Allen Poe.  If you missed my last post, check it out to see what I mean!

Last year we decided to make our own Dead & Breakfast sign for our new house.  I named my  Dead & Breakfast "The Raven Talon."  (Poe reference!) Since we were kind of winging it as we went, I didn't take photos of my process.  Luckily, my aunt wants her own Dead & Breakfast sign for this Halloween.  So this tutorial will take you through the process of making her sign.

You won't need many super specialized supplies, but a power drill/screwdriver combo will come in handy for this project.  After moving in to our new house, my mom and I bought one and we wondered why we hadn't bought one sooner!  Hanging curtain rods is a breeze now!

Watch our video below and read through the blog post to create your own Dead & Breakfast sign!


Supplies:

• 1 bannister post (I purchased a reclaimed one from my local Habitat for Humanity Restore)
• 1 unfinished wood sign plaque (I purchased mine from Michael's, the Art Minds Plaque, 11.9" x 0.7" x 19.9")
• 1 square wooden panel, 12" x 12" (I purchased this from Michael's)
• 2x4 cut slightly wider than the width of your sign (in my case, between 13" and 13.5")
• Outdoor "chalk" (can purchase at craft stores like Michael's), acrylic or latex paint in black and white (or light grey)
• Paintbrushes
• Fine grit sandpaper
• 1 4-pack of corner braces with screws, 3" x 3/4"
• 4 corner brackets, 4" x 7/8"
• 16 wood screws, flat Phillips #8 x 1 3/4" 
• Black metal chain used for hanging lighting
• 2 eye screws, #8 x 1 5/8" 
• 2 eye screws, #12 x 1 3/16" 
• 4 S hooks, 0.120" x 1"
• Dead & Breakfast template
• Vinyl and transfer tape or some other text transfer method (see below for more options)
• Drill with various sizes of drill bits (I use the Black + Decker 20 Volt Cordless Drill with Auto Sense Technology and the Black + Decker 20-Piece High-Speed Steel Twist Drill Bit Set)
• Power screwdriver or hand screwdriver
• Pliers 
• Hand saw or circular saw
• Dremel tool with cutting attachment or good metal cutters
• Pencil or marker
• Spotlight (optional)
• Resin raven or other Halloween figurine (optional)
• Thin gauge wire (optional)
• E6000 glue (optional) 

1. Gather Your Supplies

I highly recommend purchasing a reclaimed banister post.  Even if it is covered in varnish, you won't have to worry about sanding it down as long as you paint it with outdoor chalk paint.  I just love the character that comes with reclaimed items--if only those posts could talk!  The stories they would tell!  We purchased ours from our local Habitat for Humanity Restore, which I love.  The prices can't be beat and all the money goes to the Habitat for Humanity Charity!  The post was cheaper than a brand new one at the hardware store plus the proceeds go to charity.

The unfinished wooden sign plaque, square wooden panel, outdoor chalk paint paintbrushes and E6000 glue I purchased from Michael's.  The 2x4, L brackets, wood screws, hook screws and metal chain can be purchased at your local hardware store.  I purchased mine from Lowe's.  You can have them cut your 2x4 down to the length needed at the store if needed.  I used vinyl to transfer my sign lettering and luckily I had some old vinyl on hand already.  The resin raven on my D&B sign I also purchased from Michael's.  The resin figure is completely optional, but I figured on my own Raven Talon D&B sign, I needed a raven.  It just wouldn't be complete without one!  For my aunt's sign, I'm going to heat and twist some plastic bones to attach to the top of the sign instead of a raven.

For the lettering of the sign, I used the free template from Paint Yourself a Smile blog.  Just download the template and drop in your own personalized text!  A simple photo or image editor is all you need. I used Adobe Illustrator and exported my file as an SVG file so I could open it in my die cut machine software.


2. Paint Your Sign

Once you have all your supplies, you can start making your sign! The first step is to paint your sign plaque.  Remember that if you are mixing white paint with a tiny bit of black paint to create light grey, to mix up enough to paint all the different pieces of the sign.

If you are using the vinyl transfer method, you will want to start by painting your entire sign plaque black. Then, use your die cut machine (I used my Silhouette Cameo) to cut the vinyl to create a stencil, weeding out excess vinyl.  Using transfer tape, transfer the lettering onto the sign plaque. Next, paint your sign plaque a very light grey by either mixing some white paint with just a tiny bit of black paint or using a purchased grey paint. Paint your sign plaque and when the paint becomes tacky, use a weeding tool to lift the vinyl lettering off of the sign.  You might need to do touchups with some black paint and a small paintbrush after the grey paint fully dries.  It depends on the texture of your sign and how thin and delicate the lettering is.

If you are using a different transfer method, start by painting your entire sign plaque light grey.  Paint Yourself a Smile blog has a good way to transfer her template on to your sign.  She also includes a link to some other great transfer methods for faking chalkboard art that is more vibrant.  Super cool!


3. Weather it

If you used the vinyl transfer method, we'll be sanding.  Once your sign is fully dry on all sides, use a light grit sandpaper to lightly sand down.  This will help bring some of that black out to age and weather your sign.  You can also add some dry-brushed black paint as well.  The back of my sign didn't sand as easily and it can be hard to get the sides without completely removing all layers of paint.  I dry-brushed black paint onto the back and sides of my sign.

If you used another transfer method, use some black paint and a dry brush technique to lightly add some age and weathering to your sign.

4. Paint the Other Parts

Once you are done making your sign, it's time to paint the rest of your wood (base, post and 2x4) in the same light grey color.  If you purchased a reclaimed post, lightly sand the post before painting.  All of the wood you paint may need more than one coat, it just depends on how dry the area you live in is, or how dry the wood is.  Once all of your wooden pieces are dry use some fine grit sandpaper to add a distressed look to your wood or dry brush black paint over your pieces, or do a mix of both.  It's really up to you and what you prefer.  


5.  Assemble It

Now it's time to attach the post to the base. For this you will need the 4 larger corner braces, or L brackets.  Get your post centered up on the base and have a someone hold it in place for you.  Next, mark the location of your screws in the base and on the post for your L brackets with a pencil or marker.  If you have a side of the post where there are large holes for attaching the other parts of the bannister, you will need to attach your L bracket off to the side of the hole on the post.

After you have marked where your screws will go, use your drill to create a pilot hole that is slightly smaller in diameter than your screws.  For the base, I used a 5/64 drill bit and for the bannister I used a 7/64 drill bit.  The birch base is a softer wood so go small here--the pilot hole does not need to be very wide.  If your bannister is made of a very dense or hard wood, you will feel a lot of resistance.  Just apply firm pressure with your drill.  Make sure to drill a pilot hole that is a little shorter than your screws as well.

Once you have your pilot holes in place, begin attaching your base and post together with your brackets and wood screws.  You will use the shorter wood screws supplied in the bag for the smaller corner braces for attaching the L bracket to your base and the longer wood screws (#8 x 1 3/4") for attaching to your banister post.  Make sure to have someone help hold the post in place while you attach the screws with your power screwdriver or hand screwdriver.

Next, we will attach the 2x4 the sign plaque hangs on near the top of the banister post.  For this you will need your final two corner braces--the smaller ones from the bag of 4.  Create a U shape with your L brackets and hold them up to your post with opening facing out and the bottom of the U against the banister post.  Center it where you want it then mark where your screws will be placed.  Again drill a pilot hole (I used a 7/64 drill bit for the small screws that came with these brackets) for each screw then attach your U'd corner brackets to your post with the supplied screws in the bag or with extra of the longer wood screws.

Now we will wedge the 2x4 into the opening of the U shaped corner brackets.  Have someone hold the post while you push it in there.  If it is a tight squeeze, that is okay.  Just use a rubber mallet or a towel placed over the end of the 2x4 and a hammer to gently tap the 2x4 into place.  You want the 2x4 to be flush against the bottom of the U of the brackets and the post.  Once you have the 2x4 in place, use your drill to create a small pilot hole in each screw location.  I used the screws that came with these brackets and a 7/64 drill bit.  (If you can easily pull your 2x4 in and out, mark your pilot holes and pull it out and drill the pilot holes then re-insert the 2x4.)  Then insert your screws and tighten.


Now take your small eye screws (#12) and determine the best placement for them in the top of your sign.  This will depend on the shape of your sign.  If you are worried about wind, try to get the two eye screws as far apart as possible for more stability.  Mark where you will insert your eye screws.  Depending on how hard your sign is, you might need to drill some small pilot holes.  Remember not to go to deep when doing this.  Twist in your eye screws until they are nice and tight, using a wrench to help you tighten them.

Next we will attach the large eye screws to the bottom of the 2x4.  Hold your sign up so the two small eye hooks touch the bottom of the post and make a mark where the small eye screws touch the 2x4.  Drill two pilot holes, making sure to not drill deeper than the eye screw.  Twist in your large eye screws, using a wrench to help you tighten them.

Now we will determine the length of chain needed.  You will be using the four S hooks to attach the chains to the 4 eye hooks.  Once you figure out the length of the chain (I used 2 links), use your Dremel tool and cutter attachment or good metal cutters to cut/clip your two chains to the desired length.  Attach an S hook to each of the 4 eye hooks and pinch that part around the eye hook closed.  Next, attach a chain to one of the S hooks on the sign and pinch that part of the S hook again.  Repeat for the other S hook on the sign then attach the chains to each of the corresponding S hooks on the 2x4 and pinch each closed with pliers.


6. Add Some Decoration to the Top

If you want to attach something like a raven to the top of your 2x4, make sure that it is made of resin or similar material.  You want it to be something that weathers well and is easy to repaint (it snows in October where I live, so that was a big concern for me).  To attach the figurine, we'll be using E6000 glue.  This stuff is amazing!  You will want to figure out how you want to place your figurine before putting any glue down.  Just follow the directions on the packaging to attach your figurine to your D&B sign.  If you want some added stability and to help hold the item in place while the glue dries, you can use some thin gauge wire to hold your figurine to the 2x4.  I did this with my own sign after immediately glueing down my raven.  I figured this would help make sure the raven stay put while the glue dried and apply some pressure, bringing the two pieces together nicely.  You can always cut this wire off later or paint over it to hide it.  I've left my wire on for now.  You only see it over the raven's feet when you get up close as I used a white wire.


7. Display Your Masterpiece

When you place it outside, cover the base in rocks (I made sure to put at least one larger heavy one over the base) or place something else heavy on the base, such as an un-carved large pumpkin or a pot of chrysanthemums.  The finishing touch is to light it up with a spotlight if needed.  I went to my local party store (you could also check out Spirit Halloween or any other store that sells Halloween lights) and purchased a purple spotlight that I plugged into a sun sensor/timer so it would turn on after sunset and stay on for a certain number of hours.  I loved the spooky feeling the purple light gave the sign.

As for how well the sign weathered, last year, I put my sign out on the first of October and put it back into storage the day after Halloween.  We didn't have too much rain this past October and basically no snow, but the sign and my resin raven weathered wonderfully.  The whole thing still looks brand new, other than the little bit of dirt that collected on the base due to small amounts of moisture and my base being covered by rocks.  Overall, I'm so happy with how this sign turned out and how well it weathered in the harsh Colorado elements.



Comment below with a link to your own creation!  We can't wait to see what you have made!

Happy Crafting,
Adrienne