Colorado Wood Sign

As a Colorado-loving native, this wooden sign has been on my to-do project list.  Seems like I pick up an interest for building projects around this time of year.  We made a quick trip to Home Depot for the lumber:  (2) 1x6 8' boards cut in half, (3) 1x3 18" for support.  We also bought a small can of espresso wood stain, green exterior stain and white.  I wasn't sure on my color palette before starting and I wanted to be prepared with options.

As you can see below, I started with 5 boards and decided to remove one board.  That meant I had to trim the supports from 22" to 18".  Easier done at the store, but it was a quick clean up.

 Line up the board and then secure the supports with 1 1/4" screws.  I love using tools.

For a more distressed look, hammer to the edges of the boards and pound around the surface with the head of the hammer and/or a crow bar.  The indentations will pick up more of the stain.

 To make the C template, I used a piece of parchment paper and traced my cake decorating turn table.  The middle of the C is a 6" cake pan.

 Transferred to the wood:

 I applied the green stain to the C first and then the dark stain on the rest of the boards:

 The dark stain is oil based so it is easy to apply and wipe away:

 Using some teal acrylic paint, I brightened up the C.  If you like the look of the color stain, use the stain.  Otherwise, you can skip the color stain and just use the craft paint.

 Tape off the center stripe of the flag (approximately 7.25" each section)

 I used white latex paint for the stripe and then went around the house touching up the walls.

 After the paint dries, sand the white paint until you achieve you desired worn look:

I applied a little more dark stain over the top.  You can sand the entire sign, but I only wanted to wear down the white stripe.