welcome signs.

I finally finished painting the front door, and I love how it looks. This was one of those projects that took forever to complete, partly because I stripped it first, and partly because I only felt like I could paint it when I was going to be spending a large amount of time at home (since I needed to remove the door locks). But, its finally done, and I'm so happy with it. This photo was taken last night, before I finished re-installing the dead bolt.

One of the things I wanted to fix, was finding a new solution for old mail slot. Harvey and Dakota always barked and sometimes bit at the door when the mailman dropped mail through it (he is, after all, a stranger that keeps approaching the house when I'm not home), so a few years ago, Robbie helped me install a mailbox outside. The mail slot remained - but I wanted to find a way to remove it and cover the holes on either side of the door, and add some personality at the same time.

I made these signs using a thin piece of wood I bought at Michaels. The original piece was 3 inches by 2 feet and only a couple dollars, so it was just as inexpensive as anything I could find at a hardware store. I especially wanted these signs to have a pretty thin profile.

I cut the single piece of wood in half, then painted each sign. To add each quote, I printed it in the size and font I wanted, then used carbon paper to transfer the words onto the wood. Then, I traced over the words with a black permanent marker.

I wanted something welcoming for the outside:

From wherever you are, enter and be welcome.

- Albert Camus

And for the inside, something to remind me to live fully:

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.

- Helen Keller

Linking to Saturday Night Special at Funky Junk.