The above photo is of the real-life Cantine del Vino già Schiavi in Venezia. Located in the Dorsoduro neighborhood, this enoteca used to be one of my favorite spots in the city for a glass of wine and a plate of small snacks called cicchetti.
To make the sign, I first cut and stained a section of balsa wood. Then, I created a stencil by photoshopping an image of the actual sign so that the words fit in the space above the door. My plan was to cut the stencil using our Cricut machine and then paint onto the wood using a stippling brush. This had disastrous results, with the paint seeping under the stencil through the grooves in the wood. Sanding the wood as smooth as possible didn’t help. A Google search gave me a few ideas, the main one being to paint over the stencil with Mod Podge prior to applying the paint. There was no bleeding with this method, but as the dried Mod Podge had adhered to the stencil, the paint just peeled right up when removing the stencil.
Finally, I gave up on the idea of using my stencil in the traditional way. Instead, I resorted to using it only as a guide, like a coloring book, painting delicately within the lines using a very fine brush.
I actually made this sign over a year ago but have held off attaching it until I’d completed the rest of the interior and exterior components of the shop. I kept it covered in a tray on my work table, so it saw no sunlight at all, but when I pulled it out to install, I was disappointed to see that the stain had noticeably faded. Perhaps the stencil adhesive had removed some of the color and I just didn’t notice at the time? I’ll never know. But I was so excited to finally reach this project milestone that, despite not being entirely satisfied with it, I went ahead and glued it on anyway. The wood color clearly didn’t match, however, and as the afternoon wore on, the more it bothered me. Eventually I decided to try touching up the stain with a light fresh coat, the risk being that the stain would darken the off-white paint. Now that it’s done, I couldn’t be happier with it! In fact, the paint now looks properly weathered, just like on the real-life building.
