Tin Signs of What's to Come

During the long, cold, and dull winter months, we've considered taking up "exterior" jobs, and lending a helping hand to the various outbuilding on the property. Since we've decided to repaint and remodel the old henhouse, I painted the first of several tin signs to decorate the external sides of the outbuildings, all based on vintage ads I found in copyright free collections (Dover is a great source of inspiration, in case you're wondering; their books and software are full of great designs).

The "Full" Florida oranges is my favorite. I sanded the paint in places and added a mixture of paint and cinnamon to creat the illusion that the words are rusting off the surface.

"Mornin' Judge" was everyone else's favorite. It's especially appropriate, since both of these will hang from the "henhouse" side of the barn. I decided to leave the furthest corner unpainted, to enhance the worn look of paint peeling from tin.

If all goes well this winter, we'll be converting the long-abandoned half of the building into a "special project" this winter, so look for photos and posts with updates, plans, and pics of what's to come...