H is for Humperdinck

Every blogger remembers the handful of blogs they first discovered.  HatingMartha was one of those for me and I'm honored that Janel is here doing a guest post.  All of us are looking for ideas right?  Well for me Janel not only makes things that I love, but that I could actually see myself copying making.  Like the letter H below.  I look at the alphabet every time I hit a craft store and wonder what could I do with one of those?  Thanks to HatingMartha, now I know!

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 I am so excited to be here today at Bliss Ranch! I feel young and free hanging out here where I can let it all hang out. Cause Bliss is just so cool that way! Pour yourself a glass of lemonade and lets get started!

I'm Janel and I blog over at Hating Martha. Now, before you get your panties in a bunch about me hating anybody... go read my about me page. You'll get it. My blog is full of crafts, DIY, sometimes cooking, sometimes just nonsense. It's always a good time, always believable, and always bordering ridiculous. Come over some time and plop your self down for a good read!

  

I have a love for old Industrial signs, letters, and such.

I really do. They make me sigh. 

But they are terribly expensive and out of my budget.

So when I saw this baby I had an aha moment.

The lightbulb glowed bright inside my little ol' brain.

A giant chipboard H. Yep, the things dreams are made of.

First thing was to paint all the edges and corners with silver metallic paint.

This was so that when I buffed some paint off the metallic would show through 

and give the illusion of sheet metal.

Next was to cover the whole letter with Valspar glossy orange paint.

I needed several coats. But, it dried fast.

 Covered in that pretty orange paint.

To give the look of sheet metal screws I used chrome upholstery tacks.

I just put them in on the edges.

Then I took some black paint and rubbed it all over the letter, rubbing it off right

away. Make sure to get it into those tacks. 

A light sanding on the edges for that metallic paint to show through.

I also put a bit of metallic paint on my finger and buffed it randomly in some places.

There you have it...

an Industrial Metal Sign.

From a chipboard letter.

Yippee!!

Thanks Janel for the great tutorial and for stopping over at the Ranch.  Your tutorial is understandable enough that I even think I can follow along.  I do plan to make one or two of these letters, so you can look for them in my future.