Upcycled Garden Sign from a Vintage Taping Knife

Hi everyone! I hope you had a great week-end. We had some special plans on Friday, but had to cancel due to a dental emergency (mine). But Saturday, we drove south about an hour to the town of Medusa, in the southwest corner of Albany County for a “town-wide garage sale.”

I put it in quotes because they offered a total of about ten sales. Not exactly “town-wide.” Worth the visit, nonetheless, for the beautiful drive, the quality of the sales, and the sales we hit on the way. Come back tomorrow for a look at my vintage finds. Today, I’m sharing a quick and easy craft project that I think you’ll enjoy: an upcycled garden sign.

Fun and simple, just the way I like it.

Remember this collection of items from Vintage Finds #88? I purchased the red-handled taping knife for just fifty cents. On the handle it reads, “Red Devil Taping Knife.” Designed for drywalling, it called out to me and I knew right away it would make a great stenciling project.

So here’s the knife, before I gave it a good scrubbing.

After cleaning, I drilled a hole in the handle to thread with some leather lacing for hanging.

I decided to write the word “Garden”, using 1 1/4″ letter stencils with the color, “Ocean Breeze.” I thought the aqua contrasted nicely with the red handle.

I gave it three coats of paint, once again, using my secret tip of applying the paint with makeup sponges (available at the dollar store).

Then a photo shoot out in the garden. First with the daisies.

Then near the birdbath.

And nestled among the hostas. I had pictured it hanging from a garden fence post or stake, but I like it near the ground, as I’ve shown you in this post. I guess it’s kinda versatile that way.