NO OTHER NAME

"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved."  –Acts 4:12

Mike and Dave spent the better part of a day building the beautiful sign out of a mashup of old fence boards, flooring, shelving boards, siding and scrap wood we found around the barn. I gave the boards a light pass with the sander, but didn't want to remove the qualities that made each board unique—paint splotches, chalk marks, stains and scrapes accumulated from years of use and storage.

I printed the scripture in reverse on wax paper, which my kids helped me gingerly carry out to the garage to transfer onto the boards. Unfortunately, when I applied the coat of polyurethane, the letters faded significantly, so Wendy spent nearly 3 hours painstakingly re-applying the scripture with a Sharpie. Dot-dot-dot-dot-dot...

The lettering for 'No Other Name' was a unique cadged-together process we created all on our own. I say this not in a prideful way, but in an embarrassed, I-know-there-has-to-be-an-easier-way-but-this-is-what-worked-for-us.

Step 1: Using Adobe Illustrator, I created an artboard that matched the dimensions of the area we wanted to use for the lettering (the wall was roughly 8' x 10.5', but I subtracted the scripture area from the artboard).

Step 2: Lay out the lettering in the size and position we want the final lettering to appear.

Step 3: Painstakingly print out the lettering on roughly 44 pieces of 8.5" x 11" paper.

Step 4: Piece the giant jigsaw puzzle of letters back together and tape them with clear tape.

Step 5. Cut out each letter. Now I have an outline of the letters for the wall.

Step 6: Attach the paper letters to the wall. Stand back and make sure you like what you see.

Step 7: Nail around the perimeter of each letter. We needed the nails to be deep enough to provide a solid support for the yarn, but extended enough to provide space for a lot of yarn. This took us about an hour and a half.

Step 8: Start stringing. This took a while. It was exciting to see how each letter became more and more distinct and solid as we progressed from one layer to 9 or 10 layers. 

The final result was incredibly satisfying and beautiful. Quentin hung lights and it was...amazing.

Words can't describe how I felt on Easter morning, watching over 100 kids walk into the room and take it all in.