Thyme to tell you how to make a LONGITUDE and LATITUDE sign

Today I wanted to show you

 how to make

 a

 longitude and latitude 
sign

First a bit of Geography!

Latitude 

is

 an angle which ranges

 from 

0° at the Equator to 90°

 (North or South) at the poles.

 Lines of constant

  latitude, 

or parallels, 

run east-west as circles parallel to the equator. 

Latitude

is

 used together 

with

  longitude 

to specify 

the 

precise location features 

on the 

surface of the Earth

I began by first finding out exactly where my town was!

West Barnstable

41.7064° N, 70.3740°W

I wanted 

a

  LARGE sign !

I cut a piece of board 39" long.

I printed out the longitude and latitude on my computer.

I then cut a stencil for it.

I began by first base coating my board 

with 

Lamp Black

I then brushed 

on

  One Step Crackle 

lightly in random areas on my board.

I let the One Step dry.

I then mixed two

Americana Decor Chalky Finish Paints 

together to get my desired color

The colors I used

 were

  Legacy and Serene

I used a chip brush 

and

 applied the paint so that some

 of the 

Lamp Black 

showed thru .

I brushed it on so that it appeared STREAKY!

After applying the blue paint the ONE Step Crackle began working!

Tiny little cracks began appearing in the paint!

Because I hand cut the stencils they weren't "perfect" which was more the look I wanted .

I wanted the sign to look hand painted.

I sanded the letters randomly to distress them.

I used an awl and hammer to further distress the sign

Next I spattered the sign.

* To SPATTER*

Dip a large stencil brush in water. Next dip your brush in thinned paint. Circle your brush on the palette to work paint up into the bristles. Hold the brush over your piece . Repeatedly flick some of the bristles, pulling them towards you with the palette knife.

Let dry completely!

I then lightly sprayed 

with

Americana Matte Sealer /Finisher

I used a soft clean cloth to rub on some 

Americana Gel Stain

for a further "aged look".

I finished my sign by spraying it with a couple coats 

of

Americana Matte Sealer/Finisher

DecoArt provided me with the paints and products for this project as part of their

Helping Artist and Blogger Outreach Programs.

Thank you DecoArt!

I hope you have enjoyed this sign tutorial!

Happy Painting!

Lynn