"All our words are but crumbs that fall down from the feast of the mind."
Khalil Gibran

Friday, April 27, 2012

Painted Dance Studio Sign - Handmade Gift Idea





This is a simple sign that I made for a friend who has a dance studio.


This was a simple wooden sign/plaque that I purchased at a local craft store for a couple dollars.  I began by painting the background in a red/orange blended pattern, keeping the orange at a diagonal angle across the middle.

I then found some clipart of dancers in silhouette.  For this project I was looking for silhouettes in the ecstatic dance style since this is the primary type of dance done in my friends dance studio.  

I cut out the dancers that I wanted to use and traced their outlines on the wood with carbon paper.  (Be sure to tape your dancers to the wood so the image doesn't shift while tracing it) I then free-handed the lettering (You could also print and trace with carbon paper).

The next step is to paint the dancers, to make it simple I filled each dancer in with a solid color.  In this example I used a metallic Gold paint.  And I chose a gloss black to use for painting the lettering using a fine brush for detail.

Finally, I sealed the entire project with several coats of an outdoor clear sealer as I was unsure if it would be hung outdoors or indoors.  You could use a flat or gloss spray depending on your personal preference.
The end result was a unique sign for my friend's studio that will never be found anywhere else.  She really enjoyed the gift and enjoyed the sentimental value as well since I took the time to make something that I knew would be specific to her preferences, colors, and hobbies.

1 comment:

  1. I like this. It helps the one dancing focus on the right things when they could be anxious or driven by other pressures while training or performing. Good job. Do you make these to sell and if so, how much, in what sizes, colors and what would be the cost?

    Thanks,

    John

    ReplyDelete

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