Pottery Barn Knock Off, "It's the most Wonderful Time of the Year" Sign

Hey, Long time no see!  

I have had a very busy few weeks, dealing with sick kids, major eczema treatments (my poor little girl), an ear infection, and more sick kids...I guess it is bound to happen right?  

Now we are on the up, and just in time for Thanksgiving tomorrow.  I hope you all have a wonderful holiday!  

Speaking of wonderful....I spotted this sign in Pottery Barn several weeks back, on a date with my husband, and I fell in love with it.  So...
MyLove2Create, Potter Barn It's the most wonderful time of the year, a knock off


I made my own!  And I kinda love it too.

I was invited to share a booth with my friend at a couple craft shows this season and I decided to give it a try, so I actually made two signs.  Because I HAD to have one in my home!
staining frame 1x2 boards
I started with some scrap plywood at about 1/2 inch thick, and cut them into two random sizes.  I also took some scrap 1x2's (they were furring strips, which are really cheap) and cut them to make a frame around my plywood pieces.  After sanding, I gave them a coat of Rustoleum stain, in Kona.
painting and staining boards
To match the Pottery Barn Sign I grabbed some red and black paint and mixed until I got a color I liked, then I painted one side of the boards.  While it was drying I had a thought, "Why not do a sign on both sides of the boards, make it reversible?"  So I flipped the boards over and stained the backs with Kona.
darkening edges with stain
I used the left over stain on my rags to darken the edges of my red signs.  It was almost dry on the rag so I just got a subtle look, which is what I wanted.
dry brushing on paint
For the other side, I grabbed a chip brush and some blue craft paint.  I loaded the chip brush with paint, then wiped most of it off on the newspaper, then I ran it across the board.  The idea is not to get full coverage...make it look "oldish".  I call it dry brushing.
Contact paper stencil
I designed an image to copy Pottery Barn's sign.  I have an older cricut and use sure cuts a lot software. I tried to find a way to share my SVG file but I failed (so if you know a secret tell me).

The best I can do is give you a link to a free printable, which is also a knock off of this sign.  If you print it off to the size you want you could use this method and hand paint your sign.  Hope that helps!
Contact paper stencil
I had this image I had gotten from My Vinyl Designer (love them, so many great images, and great prices).  I cut both designs on contact paper and stenciled them onto my boards.  I always use HARDLY ANY PAINT when I stencil.
peeling off stencil
It takes quite a while to get stencil's this size weeded and placed on the board.  It is really fast to stencil it, and even faster to peel it off and see the results!  My favorite part!
MyLove2Create, gluing and nailing frame onto sign
I used my favorite Gorilla Wood Glue to attach the frame along with some nails from my Ryobi Air Strike Nailer.  I started with the short sides and then the long.  You can see that I centered the plywood right in the middle of my 1x2 frame.
MyLove2Create, attaching the 1x2 frame
I put a piece of scrap plywood under the sign (1/2 inch thick scrap) to keep the sign at the right height for nailing on the 1x2 boards.
MyLove2Create, Pottery Barn Knock off and Reversible signs
That is it!  All done and totally reversible!  They look the same size in this photo, but one is approx. 24x14 and the other is 27x14.
MyLove2Create, Pottery Barn Knock off and Reversible signs
I love that I can have my sign up all year long and then just flip it over when December hits.  One less Christmas decoration to store.
MyLove2Create, Pottery Barn Knock off and Reversible signs
See how it looks rustic without the sanding, it is amazing what the chip brush can do.
MyLove2Create, Pottery Barn Knock off and Reversible signs
I couldn't help using my favorite color. :)
MyLove2Create, Potter Barn It's the most wonderful time of the year, a knock off
I am so pleased my own version of Pottery Barn's sign.  Their's is $99, mine was free!  But you could make your own for less than $20 and that is still a rockin' deal.
MyLove2Create, Potter Barn It's the most wonderful time of the year, a knock off
I was glad I grabbed the stain rag to slightly darken the edges, it made such a difference.  And the snowflakes, aren't they cute?!  I just googled free snowflake svg.
MyLove2Create, Potter Barn It's the most wonderful time of the year, a knock off, and a reversible sign
I am curious to see if this sign sells, I have never gone to a craft fair before...should be interesting.
MyLove2Create, Pottery Barn Knock off and Reversible signs
I guess if it doesn't sell it would make a great gift!

Thank you so much for stopping by!  And again...Happy Thanksgiving!

Hugs,
Mindi

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I will be linking to these parties.

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25 comments

  1. LOVE! Making the sign reversible s very clever. That is such a cool idea! I am sure your sign will sell. It looks much better than a lot of Christmas decor I have seen this year. Ugh! Seriously, I would rather DIY of go to a craft booth to find holiday decor.

    I hope you and your lovely family are feeling better and stay healthy. Not fun being sick during the holidays. A few years ago we were all sick with the flu. lol We wrapped presents in plastic bags and pillow cases. lol We were sick, but we had a good laugh about the whole thing. :)

    Happy Thanksgiving! *hugs*

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  2. Oh, H says he likes your sign better that PB's. Me, too. :D

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  3. I actually like yours a whole lot better! It looks more rustic and homey. Love it! Good job! Thanks for sharing.

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  4. Brilliant! You are so clever to make it 2- sided! I am such a grinch. I don't really decorate for the holidays because I can't stand putting it away. This is my kind of decoration!

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  5. Oh my! I love this pottery barn Christmas knockoff sign Mindi! Reversible? brilliant! I'll be catching you next week. Thanks for linking up!

    gail

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  6. Totally awesome!!! I love how your creative mind thought to float the ply in the middle of the frame and make it reversible. That 's genius. I am definitely making one of these, so thanks for the inspiration, and kudos on a great job! (I can't imagine that you wouldn't sell every sign you make like this).
    Vee
    www.madeactually.com

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  7. Are you kidding!!!!! They will sell!!! They are stunning!!! Prettier than Pottery Barn!!! Look at you go lady.....rock on rockstar!! I hope the kids are feeling better soon...we have been down with the stomach flu over here...oh joy!!! Happy December buddy!! Nicole xoxo

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  8. Love, Love , Love these beautiful and festive signs. Thanks for sharing! PINNED!

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  9. Great tutorial and just beautiful signs. Thank you for sharing with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop! I hope you’ll join us again next week!

    Cheers,
    Kathy Shea Mormino
    The Chicken Chick
    http://www.The-Chicken-Chick.com

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  10. This is a great tutorial and great idea to have two signs on one board. Love it! Thank you for sharing!

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  11. Just love these signs and especially love that they are reversible! Great job!

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  12. These are awesome - you did such a great job! I really need to get a Silhouette or Cricut! Thanks so much for sharing & linking up at #SoMe2 this week!

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  13. Awesome idea. I love your's better then Pottery Barn...lol. Thanks for linking up to Project Pin it. I will be pinning this to the Project Pin it board on Pinterest.

    xoxo
    Denyse

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  14. You did an amazing job on your signs, and what a clever idea to put a different one on the back for
    normal decor, and the Christmas on the other. Like yours better than pottery barns.....really!
    They are beautiful. They would make awesome Christmas gifts too......

    Blessings, Nellie

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  15. I have loved this sign since I first seen it & I love your take on making it reversible - makes it much more marketable! I'm sure it will sell (you may get orders for more!)

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  16. Featuring you tomorrow and sharing on my social media! LOVE!
    XO
    http://www.lechateaudesfleurs.com/

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  17. Love, love this sign Mindy! You did an awesome job recreating the look. I just bought a sign made similarly to this one and wondered what they framed it with. Thank you for sharing at What We Accomplished Wednesdays. Have a great week! and a Merry Christmas season!

    Blessings,
    Deborah

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  18. You did such an amazing job! Just had to feature it this week on Creative Spark Link Party. Hope you link up again this today! http://bit.ly/1wg0JNp

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  19. Love how your sign turned out! And the reversible idea is genius!

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  20. Love yours more than the PB one. If you ever sell online I would love to buy one!

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  21. Just wanted to let you know I will be featuring this at tonight's party!
    Blessings, Deborah

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  22. Great project, thanks for showing us how. Love that it's reversible!
    Karee

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  23. I love the sign!! Are you selling?

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  24. Wow! Great job! Do you sell these online?

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  25. I love these! How do you hang them since they are reversible?

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Your comments make me smile! I love to hear what you think!