I am having fun with Citrasolv projects again this week! I found this neat Italian alphabet graphic at The Graphics Fairy.
I flipped the image in Picnik by going to the Rotate Tab.
Did you notice that there is not a "J" or a "W" in this? Hmmm.... :)
I used Citrasolv (purchased at Whole Foods). I put gloves on and did the project in the garage so it wouldn't smell up the house.
I taped the graphic to a pine board my husband had glued up for me.
Because this wood was very smooth, the graphic went onto the wood without any problems by just using a paper towel to apply the Citrasolv to the paper. I still used the plastic tool to rub it, but almost didn't need to. The right side looks really smudged in these pictures, but doesn't look that bad in person.
I let the piece dry for a couple of hours so the graphic would be set in the wood.
I then applied Puritan Pine stain with a foam brush. I wanted to stain it before assembling it so I wouldn't have any missed spots.
You can see where the stain looks a little different in some spots. I was ok with that because I wanted some 'character' on this piece. With soft woods like this pine, to get an even application, you should first use a wood conditioner.
I stained the edges before they had the final cuts. The one really long piece was cut to size once we put the piece together.
Some wood glue, a finish nailer and this framing contraption got it all into place. If you don't have a framing contraption, you will be fine!
I used a foam brush and applied this clear satin polyurethane to the whole piece.
I let it dry for a couple of hours then attached the handles on the sides.
And here's the finished product:
Thanks so much for coming by.
Pam
I am linking to the following parties:
