Add Words to Your Craft Projects

By Holly Christian

Of course we love words for what they say, but we also love words for how they look: the graphic impact of strong stylized type, the grace of calligraphy, the pleasing symmetry of rows of Chinese symbols.

We love words so much we covered everything we could find with letters, text, comics, symbols and quotations. We used the funny papers, torn-out dictionary pages, Asian magazines, newspaper printing plates, markers, stencils, stickers, paints and more. We covered or wrote on boxes, rocks, furniture, fabric and even a baby's hat.

In the end we found that you can never run out of words, just time.

Wood Furniture

Materials and Tools:

furniture
sandpaper
tack cloth
shellac-based primer
latex paint
acrylic craft paint
paintbrush
alphabet stencils
stenciled brush
polyurethane sealer

Steps:

1. Sand the piece and wipe it clean with a tack cloth.

2. Apply primer and let it dry.

3. Paint the piece with a base coat of latex paint and let it dry. If desired, apply additional coats of latex paint and acrylic craft paint in desired colors and patterns.

4. Stencil words on the piece.

5. When dry, finish with two or three coats of clear polyurethane.

Quick method: Use markers made for use on wood or plaster to write or draw on wood furniture.