MESSIAH

Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."   –Matthew 16:16


The beautiful name "Messiah" was listed early on in our plans as an "add if we have time" name. We had several names that we thought were notable and important that didn't make it on our initial lists due to time and materials.

Even after we called the project complete, I decided to make one more. How could we present the room on Easter Sunday without "Messiah"?

When Chewie offered this beautiful wire for the nail art letters on Good Shepherd, I tried several methods to make it work, but ended up using the jute twin for that sign. This beautiful brass wire was destined for another name.

The Steps:

• Board prep. First I dug through the rubble that began as a sizable wood pile to find a few more boards. I came up with two table leaves, which weren't very appealing. I sanded most of the varnish off and then applied a heavy coat of mahogany stain, i.e., I dumped about a cup of stain onto the boards. Then I used a brush to streak the stain to give it a wood grain look, then let the whole mess dry.
• Letters. This was more of the same, just using a different "string". I chalked letters onto the board, then wiped them off until they were barely visible. Then I nailed brass tacks to form the letter outlines. I followed a more consistent pattern when I strung the wire to give it a more uniform mesh appearance.

DAYSPRING

Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us. (KJV)
Because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven. (NIV)
Because of the tender mercy of our God, with which the Sunrise from on high will visit us. (NASB)
–Luke 1:78

This was the only sign we made with three different translations of the same name of God. We originally planned to hang only "Dayspring" on the bedsprings, but then worried the kids might think Dayspring referred to a mattress company. The end result presents all three translations.

We discovered a new technique on Pinterest: printing reverse letters on waxed paper and then transferring the printout to the sign surface. It worked beautifully, but we did learn a few things along the way.

Thoughts on this technique:
- We transferred waxed paper printouts to a variety of surfaces: glass, burlap, wood, painted wood, stone and metal
- The more porous the surface, the more ink it absorbs, so if you want a lighter transfer, allow the waxed paper printout to air dry slightly before transferring
- For non-porous surfaces, such as glass and painted wood, the air-drying step is essential; without allowing the ink to slightly "set" on the waxed paper, the transfer smudges and develops smudges and bubbles
- Brushing polyurethane coating over the ink wasn't a good idea - it smeared
- Spraying the transfer with a clear coat is highly recommended, especially if you don't want your 5-year-old to smudge the transfer (the smudge occurred nearly a week after the transfer, so I learned my lesson quickly).