Home State Wood Plaque
July 24, 2017 by Nicole Collins
I've been crafting ALL weekend!
It's been a while, too, as I'm sure you can tell. I've had a few projects on my mind for a while now, so I finally made time to make some new home décor for myself!
Today's project celebrates my home state.
Ironically enough, I'm working every angle I can to leave Maryland. It's just not for me anymore, even though it's all I know. The winters are probably the number one reason I want to leave. My body just can't handle the cold anymore. And being a responsible adult that's considered “essential personnel” really sucks when you have to dig yourself out of the snow at 4am before white knuckling your way to work.
And then there's the fact that my city is currently in the top 3 of every bad list in America: crime, murder, rodent infestation, bad drivers, traffic, etc. Uh uh...no thank you.
I'm ready to live somewhere warm and sunny. I need to stay on the East Coast, because close water proximity is a must...and California is going to fall off one day (according to my grandmother), so that eliminates the West Coast in my mind. Sorry Californians...truth hurts.
Though I'm ready to go, there are A LOT of things that I LOVE (and would certainly miss) about Maryland. Crabs. Berger cookies. Ocean City. The MD flag. The Hippodrome. All of the local festivals. I'll always be a Maryland girl no matter where I live (assuming I have the courage to actually move away some day).
So, today's project celebrates my home. It's super easy, totally adorable, and obviously customizable for your home state!
I started by ordering a wooden cutout of Maryland off of Amazon. Here's where I got mine. They have bunch of other states too (maybe all of them...I didn't scroll through the whole list, but there were a lot)!
Next, I stained the wood to a color of my choosing. I went for a red wood stain, because I associate red with Maryland. It's in our flag. Crabs are red when cooked. It just seemed right. Use whatever color stain you have or like.
Then, I added some embellishments. I used a scrapbooking sticker to mark roughly where my home city is in the state. My original intention was to get a little heart, but then I saw the crab. How cute is he? Since the crab was red and the wood was red, I decided to paint a little glitter on the the crab to make him stick out a little. I also added some mini flowers in similar shades of colors in the MD flag. They really helped to add a pop of color.
I finished it out by hot gluing some jute on the back to use for hanging, and that's it! I also glued a little piece of cardboard over the jute to help it stay put. I'm not sure if that was really necessary, because the wood is not that heavy, but it certainly made me feel better.
The hardest part about this project is a toss up between waiting for the stain to dry and deciding where to hang this beauty.
And with coupons to the craft store, this project cost me under $15! And, I have plenty of stain, flowers, and jute left, so I could totally order more wood plaques and hand a bunch out as gifts. Actually, maybe that's exactly what I'll do!
So, whether you're born and raised in the place that you love or your a transplant that misses home, this is an adorably easy project to remind you that home is where the heart it. Or in my case, home is where the Old Bay is!
So, let's craft!
Home State Wood Plaque
Materials:
Wooden cutout of state (mine came from Amazon)
Oil based wood stain (and wood staining brush)
Mini artificial flowers, removed from stem and trimmed
Hot glue gun
Scrapbook sticker of heart or home state icon
Jute
Small cardboard squares (optional)
Modge Podge (optional)
Fine glitter (optional)
Directions:
Protect your work area with cardboard or layers of thick paper. The stain will bleed. Lay wooden cutout flat, and paint stain on to the front side of the wood. Allow to dry completely.
Cut jute to desired length for hanging. Place a dab of hot glue on the back of the wood and attach jute. If desired, cover small cardboard square in hot glue and place over jute to help keep secure. Allow to set.
On the stained side, use scrapbook sticker to identify where home is in your state. If you want to embellish the sticker with glitter, use a small brush to paint a thin layer of Modge Podge on to the desired area. Sprinkle fine glitter over top of glue. Shake off extra glitter. Place sticker on to wood.
Using hot glue, attach trimmed mini flowers to desired corner of wooden plaque. Hang, and enjoy!
Project Notes:
* We want to trim the flowers to make them as flat as we can to help them lay on the plaque.
* The stain will bleed, so make sure to protect your work area.
*Use a scrapbook sticker that identifies home for you. You could use a small wooden cut out too.
*The little square of cardboard is probably not necessary to keep the jute in place since the wood is not that heavy, but it made me feel better. The goal is to make sure it's secure when we hang it.
*You could use hemp, twine, or even ribbon in place of the jute, if you like. I love the rustic look of the jute though.
