"Gather" Wall Decor

The wall space behind our kitchen table has been in need of some decor since we moved in. While browsing through Pinterest, I kept seeing “gather” signs. I was really drawn to them and decided to come up with an idea based on that. To be honest, at first I planned to order the word “gather” off Amazon, but as I looked around the house, I realized how much extra wood we had. So then began the three-day process. This was probably the most time consuming project I’ve ever made. Not because it was difficult, but because I had to create so many different looks for the wood background. I lost a lot of hair in the process. LOL.

Step 1: After deciding on the font “Brusher”, I typed and printed out the word “gather”. I think I used 600pt. font size, but it was two letters per page of 8.5x11. I then cut out the letters, taped them onto the wood and traced.

Step 2: Time to cut! With some help from my boyfriend, I used a jigsaw to cut along the lines (because that was the best option we had, though I think there’s probably something better out there). The word broke in two places due to how thin the sections were, but hey, nothing a little glue can’t fix!!!

Step 3: In order to make the wood background I needed 10 pieces of wood at 13in. each. The first thing I did was hit the wood in random spots with a hammer and screws to make it look a little bit distressed. (Side note: the only thing I didn’t make was the frame. It came from hobby lobby.) Next was the hard part. Coming up with 10 different stains using the colors I already had in the house. I wasn’t able to cut the wood at first because the big saw? circle saw? not sure what it’s called, was in the attic and it’s too heavy for me. So rather than waiting, I measured out the wood and began staining. This took me a whole day. I went through so many different combinations, flipped almost every piece over to start fresh, and sanded and re-stained more times than I can count. The colors I used were:

Rust-Oleum Chalked Paint in Linen White for "gather" and the frame.

Rust-Oleum Painters Touch Ultra Cover Metallic in Oil Rubbed Bronze

Varathane Wood Stain in Weathered Gray

Varathane Wood Stain in Briarsmoke

Varathane Wood Stain in Vintage Aqua

Step 4: I used Liquid Nails to adhere the wood to the frame and then screwed in through the back of each board just to be safe. To adhere the word “gather”, I just used liquid nails.

Step 5: While all that set, I cut 2 12” pieces of for the backing of the mason jar wall vases and stained with Varathane Wood Stain in Briarsmoke. I screwed a hose clamp to the wood to hold the mason jar and added a flower in each.

Finally it was time to hang!!! My back is killing me, but it was worth it!!!