Illuminated Rustic Address Plaque

Last month Kristin St. Clair shared her Tag Chalkboard with you – today we are sharing her brilliantly created Basswood Country Round. This is the “thick” version that our customers are loving! Not sure what all of them are using the “thick” version for, but we’ve been wood burning on them, using them in various ways for wedding planning and for serving food – just to name a few.

Kristin created an address sign idea to display outside your home. Such a great idea! Read below to see how she lights everything up……….

Materials:

Basswood Country Round® – Thick
LED wire lights
Pencil and Ruler
Utility Knife and Cutting Mat
Wood Chisel and Hammer
Wood Glue Sand Paper
Rubber Bands
Sand Paper (Fine Grit)
Painter’s Tape
Number Stencil
Black Paint and Foam Pouncer
Drill with 11/64″ bit
Wood Sealer
Chipboard and Craft Stick
Wire Brad Nail
Hanging Hardware (D-ring)
Clamp

Instructions:

Position and center the battery pack of the LED lights on the bottom edge of the backside of a piece of basswood round. With a pencil, trace around the battery pack.

Make a chisel guide, slightly bigger than the tracing, using a utility knife and ruler.

Clamp basswood round to work surface. With a wood chisel and hammer, carefully chisel off the bark edge of basswood next to the tracing marks. Put the bark piece aside.

Chisel out the marked space, deep enough so the battery pack sits flush inside the basswood round.

Clean surfaces by removing all dust and wood shavings. Use a wood glue to affix the bark edge back to the basswood round. Rubber-bands will help hold the piece in place as it dries. Sand front of basswood round with a fine grit sand paper.

Create a number stencil. Pick a font and print out numbers to a piece of paper in an appropriate size. Cut numbers out with utility knife on a cutting mat. Save all number elements (i.e. inside circle of number 6). Position and center stencil to front of basswood round. Secure with tape. With paint and a foam pouncer, stencil the number. Remove paper stencil and let dry.

With the numbers that were cut from stencil, evenly mark 20 light holes. Tape paper numbers over painted numbers on basswood.With a drill affixed with an 11/64″ bit, drill through basswood round on marks. Clean off any wood dust and reapply number stencil. Touch up paint in and around drill holes. Let dry.

Seal wood with a wood sealer. Sand in between coats.

Flip Basswood round over. Place battery pack into place. Insert a light into each drill hole. Secure in place with tape.

Cut a piece of chipboard to fit the back of basswood round. Cut out a hole where battery pack is.With wire brad nails and a hammer, secure the clip board to the basswood.