I am always up for a repurpose, and this Ballard-inspired sign from Melaine at My Sweet Savannah is a story of giving an old object new life.
Melaine found what appeared to be a kids lemonade stand at the thrift store. She brought the rundown stand home and cut it into pieces, one of which became the canvas for this vintage sign.
Like Melaine, I love the appliqués she added to the border that gives the look of carved wood.
The appliqués not only look great for a frame like this, this material is incredibly easy to work with.
You can simply cut the sizes and angles you need with a regular pair of scissors. Yet, this stuff is durable enough to stay intact on virtually any application.
The appliqués are also bendable, so if straight edging is not what you’re after, you can create curves and interesting shapes depending on your needs.
These appliqués are also easy enough to glue, nail, tack and paint however you want. Melaine got it to look great with a nice cream paint.
She also used a little liming wax along with her cream colored paint. This helped to give the old style of the appliqués a richer vintage look.
Melaine was inspired by the Oysterville Sign from Ballard Designs. Ballard’s doesn’t have the fancy, pattern for the frame edge. Without it, it looks a little more ordinary. This is okay, if ordinary is what works when adding this to your decor.
Thankfully, Melaine mentions her source for the appliqués she used – check her site linked below. An alternative is to find some molds to create this ornate effect, although it may be hard to create the continuous border needed for the frame.
To see more of Melaine’s project notes and lots of photos, check out her site over at My Sweet Savannah.