A Bakery Sign and Some Tea Buns

For months, I've been ooh-la-la-ing over the beautiful antique/vintage inspired signs that I've seen on other blogs.  For starters, anything old and distressed makes me swoon.  But I've also got a thing for signs and 'word art'.  For me, nothing adds instant personality to a room like a sign does.

I'm not a pro by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm also not a total stranger to painting and distressing wood (see my Vintage-Inspired EAT letters).  So, I thought I'd give an 'antique' sign a try.  Since my sign was going to hang over my stove in the kitchen, I decided on  "The Roche Family Bakery". 

First, I painted the board (just craft plywood) a deep olive green, and once that was dry, I painted that over with, um, you guessed it, turquoise! Once the second coat was dry, I went over it with a palm sander so that the green started to peek through the blue.

Then it was time for the lettering.

Well, sadly, my Cricut is now dead (that's another post, lol) and I haven't given in and bought a Silhouette yet, so that left me with the 'old-fashioned' option for the letters - stencils! I laid out the stencil letters to ensure they'd fit, and then I applied white paint with the typical stenciling technique. I used a small foam brush and applied it with a light 'pouncing' motion.  Once the letters were dry, I again went over it with the palm sander so that the lettering started to fade out as if the sign had been authentically weathered.  I also distressed the edges, and then applied a brown/sienna glaze to give it more of an aged look.

I just love this colour combination. 

Once my sign was completed and hung, I enjoyed it for a day or so and then I started to feel like a bit of a fraud.  You see, I am not a baker.  I mean like, REALLY, not baker.

I have a beautiful professional grade Kitchen Aid mixer sitting on my counter, but truthfully, all it has really ever seen is the mix from a cake box. I know, I know, it's downright shameful.



The sign just kept staring back at me, beckoning me to bake.  Like 'from scratch' kind of baking.

So, in order to feel better about my new/'old' Bakery Sign, I surely would have to bake something from scratch!  I found a great Raisin Tea Bun recipe, and went out and bought flour and baking powder. (Yes, I'm hanging my head in shame, because, no, I did not have these baking staples in my pantry, lol).   I think I did my grandmother proud.  They turned out YUMMY if I do say so myself!  I could really get into this baking thing!

Yup, I baked from scratch. Here's the proof!

 Until next time, happy decorating baking!

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PS. I'm sharing this project at: