junk makeover: beachy wood signs

many many many vacations have been cancelled or rescheduled this year,

by many many disappointed people. myself included.

there were no planned excursions to Hawai'i this year for us,

but because it is a place that my Mom and Dad loved, and now i love,
it has a special place in our hearts. even if we can't GET there.

here's my take on that: if you can't go to the islands, then bring the islands to YOU!

and that's exactly what my Mom and i have been working on in our backyard.

continue reading to see just one of the recent projects we've undertaken
to add some tropical charm to our 'staycation location'...

the 'old' signpost that i made two years ago from simple wood planks & stakes 

was brown and rustic, very fitting for our 'industrial rustic wine country' back yard.

but when our creativity was kicked off by another project, one with a tropical theme, 

we decided this element needed an update, too...

the before and after:

quite a difference, huh?!

i am always amazed at what a big impact color can make,

and how quickly that can be achieved with paint...

this change was inspired by Mom's memories of a tree covered with colorful signs

in the center of the road in Old Koloa Town, on the island of Kaui'i.
as soon as she suggested it, i pulled the boards off of the post and got to work.

in just a few hours, i was able to completely transform the signpost!

first, two coats of white primer went on the boards,

followed by two coats of bright happy colors (simple craft paint) for the backgrounds.
then i added the lettering.

tip: i hand-lettered each sign in white paint first, then painted color on top of that - 

it makes the color stay true and bright, making it easily readable.

i really wanted each sign to be unique, so the color combinations and fonts don't repeat.

the Tiki Room sign font is, of course, a replica of the one on the attraction at Disneyland.
(there's a lil' Mickey head on there, too!)

more about the signs:

i let Mom select the places that would be included on the signs - 

she chose places that she and Dad loved to visit each year on Kauai'i,
as it was their favorite spot on Earth.

along with those locales on the Garden Isle,

we decided to include the Old Lahaina Luau, which is located on Maui...

we both so enjoyed that beautiful show when we experienced it last summer

that we thought it deserved a place here.

 another sign that i just had to include is the Enchanted Tiki Room from Disneyland!

(it didn't take much to convince Mom of this non-Hawai'ian inclusion... 

after all, it was her Father who helped to build the Tiki Room in the Park!)

the top plank points upward, and shares the Hawai'ian word for 'Heaven': i'ani.

on the very top of that plank is a tiny Baymax face. (special story there that makes us smile.)

these are references to my Dad, who changed his address to Heaven five years ago.

this simple change has added so much color and whimsy and fun to our yard,

Mom delights in seeing it out of the windows of her room nearby.

there's even a solar spotlight on it so it shows up at night!

i hope this encourages you to look at what you have, 

and think about where you'd like to be,

and create that feeling in your home and yard...

btw, you may have noticed that the 'salvaged junk potting bench' (shared last week) 

is no longer next to the signpost...

that's because it just became something ELSE in our backyard.

i can't wait to show you what we did with it:
 see our TIKI BAR here  and our tiki totem pole here

shared online:

funky junk interiors | diy salvaged junk projects #528

thank you for including my project in your feature, Miss Donna!