By Denise Nelson
Painted denim signs are the single most asked about technique. An easy peasy and fun way to liven up any painted surface. Use your old pair of jeans and some paint and create a one of a kind wooden sign or table finish!
Supplies:
White Paint
Navy/Blue Paint
Pieces of Denim/Old Jeans
Scissors
Smooth Wooden Board/Surface
Paint Brush
Step One:
Prepare your surface by cleaning and/or sanding to a smooth surface. Remove any sanding dust.
Step Two:
Paint your surface completely with your white paint. Allow it to dry completely. While waiting for your paint to dry, cut an interesting textured piece or two large enough to cover your wood. They will eventually be covered in paint. If you are quick about it and do not allow the paint to dry, they can be laundered and reused several times for painting.
Step Three:
For the blue paint, you will have to work quickly without stopping! Paint with about 75% coverage. Not covering 75% of the wood, rather, painting the entire piece but allowing 75% of the wood to show through. You can achieve this by using good old h20 to thin it down.
Step Four:
Immediately lay your piece of denim down onto your painted wood, covering the wood that you are working with! Press down on the denim, paying close attention to any areas that are thick such as seams and pockets. Without moving (or dragging) the denim, keep pressing all over. This will imprint the denim texture into the wet blue paint.
****AVOID SMOOTHING MOTIONS as this will drag your denim across and smear/destroy your final product. Allow the denim to sit in the paint for about 30 seconds and then slowly and carefully peel up the denim from your wood piece. Allow it to dry completely before moving on to the next step!
Step Five:
You are all set and ready to paint your design for a sign or seal with your choice of wax/sealer if using this technique for furniture!
If you enjoyed this tutorial, be sure to save it on your favorite DIY pinterest board or share with all of your favorite crafting groups!
Crafting While Adulting 