I grew up watching the TV show M*A*S*H and always loved the sign that posted the mileage to all sorts of home town cities. What a fun project for campers to make with their home town cities or streets. I used a variety of cities that my friends were from, my family currently lives in and even the town Walnut Hollow is located in, Dodgville, WI!
Materials:
Wood pole
Flower pot
rocks
Screws
Drill and drill bit
DecoArt Paint
Paint brushes
Scrap paper and pencil
Optional
Sizzix Die cutting machine
Letter dies to make stencils
Stencils
Make a list of the cities you want to use for your sign and Google the mileage from your location.
If you are worried about your spacing grab some scrap paper and place it under the arrow and write out the city until you like the spacing. Then simply paint over the pencil letters.
If you like using stencils try making the letters you need with a Sizzix die cutter and a recycled piece of clear plastic from a food container.
I like using clear plastic so I can see the letter spacing. As you can see I die cut my letters very close (and even going both ways) to conserve plastic.
This is a great project for trying out all sorts of lettering styles, color combinations and hand painting and stenciling images. I also made a Canadian maple leaf simply by printing one out on paper and cutting it out with an X-Acto knife.
To assemble the sign place a pole in a flower pot and fill with rocks to hold in place.
Hold each arrow where you would like it and mark the spot on the arrow where it meets the pole.
Drill a small hole in the arrow to prevent the wood from splitting.
Mark the pole as well and pre-drill a hole there as well.
Screw each arrow to the pole.
Angle each arrow as you like.
I do want to note here that I know the arrows are not going in the right direction of the cities but being here in SoCal virtually all the arrows would be going in the same direction and I wanted them alternating so I took a bit of “artistic license” with my arrow sign.
I hope you’ll try this fun outdoor decoration either with your favorite cities or help a group make one with each of their own cities or streets.
Thanks for taking time to check out this tutorial and if you’d like to see more of my crafting with a re-purpose and adult coloring pages pop on over to my blog Sweater Surgery.
Stefanie Girard is a crafter with a re-purpose. She has been cutting stuff up since she was old enough to hold a pair of scissors in her tiny hands. She earned her degree in Industrial Design from Pratt Institute and move to Los Angeles to work in the entertainment industry first as a Set Decorator and Prop Master then onto TV Producer specializing in How-To TV shows for HGTV and the DIY Networks. After writing 5 craft books for the Quarto Publishing Group she now spreads the crafty word online through book reviews and original projects with a focus on recycled elements.
