When it comes to crafting I’m a bit of a hoarder. There, .. I said it! And when it comes to hoarding wood my husband is the same. Let’s just say sawdust is his glitter!! And sometimes I just have to steal some of his supplies (.. for some reason it never happens the other way around .. 😉 ). So anyway, we got rid of our Ikea bed a long time ago, but somehow the base of the bed made its’ way into the loft. Until now that is. Turns out they’re perfect for quite a few little projects. Like this reversible scarecrow/snowman sign. Don’t have any bed slats? Don’t worry – some of the pallet boxes you see for sale on Facebook Marketplace will do the trick too!
here’s what you need for your reversible sign
- Old bed slats or a pallet box
- Wood glue and a wood clamp
- Outdoor stain in 2 different colours
- Outdoor white and black paint
- Some paint brushes in various sizes
- Outdoor (acrylic) paint in black and orange
- External clear varnish
Here’s how I made my scarecrow/snowman
I started by cutting the slats to the right size for what you want. You can make it as big or as small as suits you! Once they’re the right size you glue the slats together with some strong wood glue (I used Gorilla Glue) and clamp them overnight for added security. When everything is secured, cut an additional piece of wood in half and place this approximately 1/3 down the sign at an angle. (Basically, this is going to be the hat for both the scarecrow and the snowman).
Glue or nail into place (I used some nails for speed but if you’re using glue, leave to set until completely secured). You can see the step by step below.
Now the fun starts!! My favourite bit is when you get to painting and creating your masterpiece 🙂 Paint the top part of the scarecrow a darker external varnish or stain. I went for a lighter stain for the bottom part which is going to be the face. Once this has dried, turn over your sign and get to work on your snowman. Paint the top part black for the hat, and the bottom part white.
Once the black has dried, add some white on the top of the hat and the rim to make it look like snow has fallen on his head. Looking pretty cute already, right?!
Now it’s time to add the face. Because I’m right handed I always like working from left to right when it comes to having to match something. I just find it easier drawing the left hand side first and then matching the image on the right while looking at the original one. You can just use your imagination for this one. Or check out these cartoon expressions on Pinterest if you need inspiration.
I used outdoor acrylic paint to paint the faces on, combined with some exterior white paint to give details to the eyes. As you can see, I started off with a different mouth (and a MUCH bigger nose!!) for the snowman, but I wasn’t too happy with it. So, I painted over the top of the bits I wasn’t happy with. Voila .. a blank canvas to start again .. the beauty of paint!!
No, I’ve not lost the plot but I put some radishes on the snowman to mark out his mouth 🙂
Once I’d finished the faces I decided it needed just some more detail to finish it all of. So, the scarecrow got a large flower with some leaves on his hat. And a funky hairdo with some raffia that I hot glued to the rim of the hat. Make sure not to have the accessories sticking out too much as you will see this when you turn it around to display your snowman.
Last of all, I hot glued some cute “snow covered” pinecones to the snowman’s hat to finish the whole thing.
You will love this project in your garden to welcome your visitors! This really is a win/win project, getting you set for autumn and winter at the same time!! Let me know what you think?
By the way, if you wonder how you can make your own cute pumpkin doormat, you can check out the blog post here!!
Some of the links in this post are affiliate links which means I earn a small commission if you decide to use my links to purchase something at absolutely no extra cost to you!). This will allow me to continue to share great ideas and projects with you, so I am very grateful for your support!
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