DIY Love Birds Wooden Sign

Recently I've been making a few decoration changes to our apartment, as about a month ago I finally installed six shelves that were made by family members.  (I feel like "installed" fits the description better than "hang" because you don't just hang these shelves.  It takes a few hours of work and twice as many drywall anchors as there are screws - because the drywall anchors break with installation.)  

Okay, installation rant over.  But since I've gotten these shelves up, I've been trying to maneuver just the right decorations to go on them and under them.  This decoration was made to go under one of my shelves in the hallway.  (Although I like it so much now that I'm eyeing what I'm going to trade it with that is currently in my living room. haha)

First I started out with a piece of scrap pallet wood that I had already stained a few months ago.  Don't you just love the knot at the top?

I was inspired by this sign from etsy and decided to personalize it to what I was looking for!

I wrote the "love" in white lettering.  Using a pencil first helped me outline where my letters should go.

Next I sketched in the birds and color blocked them with white.  No pictures of the sketches because I could hardly see them with my eyes, so I know the camera wouldn't have picked it up.

Lastly - my favorite personal touch - is this blueish green color I painted the birds.  This paint is a free 8 oz Valspar sample that I got from Lowes (thanks to Tyler's grandma's coupon) and I just love the color!  The technical color is Redstone Blue Spruce for anyone who loves it too!

 My next favorite personal touch is the wire hanger I made out of a wire hanger.  Haha...pun intended!

As you can see, cut the wire to get it apart and straighten all the bends out of it.  

Wrap it around the end of the needle nose pliers (or other more uniform item if you have one) time after time until it is all curled.  

Once the whole wire is curled up, stretch it out to be the right length and curvature.  

Side note:  I'll be completely honest and tell you that this doesn't hang that well on a nail, nor is it likely to hang perfectly straight without being tweaked, but I do like the rustic look of it!  It does hang well on a hook, but still not straight unless you fix the curls so that one hangs perfectly in the middle.

 Now to fit your wire hanger into the wood, its time to get your drill.  Figure out which bit the wire matches most closely and drill into your sign with that bit.

Check and make sure your hanger fits into the holes.  Lastly, use some wood glue around the sides of the ends that will be inserted and stick them in and allow the wood to dry before hanging.

There is my lovely rustic love birds sign!  I just love the little birdies. 

I forgot to mention earlier that I went back and highlighted the edges of the birds with white so they would stand out better, as you can see in the above photo!

Here is where I hung my sign!  

I love that it is inside the frame that is actually painted the same color!
Psst!  You can read this post about repainting an old picture frame!

I think I have too many wood signs like this.  I should probably stop making them, but I'm an addict.  I just can't help myself. P.S. I finally broke down and made a twitter account.  I swore I would never do this. However, due to facebook's awful and changing business techniques, I feel Let's Drink Coffee, Darling may get better exposure with a twitter account.  The facebook account isn't going anywhere, but the addition of twitter is looking bright! Come follow me on Twitter!