DIY: Harry Potter Unmatched Sock Sign

I feel like I've been waiting to do this DIY for ages. Not only is it a great Harry Potter reference, but it's also super practical. I usually just shove my unmatched socks in the drawer until, hopefully, a rainy day comes along and I go through and match some. Now while I'm folding up laundry it's much easier to just take a peek at the sign and see if a sock can find its partner. 

This is also a super easy mode DIY, I'm talking no power tools needed, so it's a little more practical for a free afternoon. Here's how I did it:

I'd say you have a lot of flexiability with the kind of material you want the sign to be. Plastic, metal, or glass could totally work, just make sure to get the appropriate paint or spray paint to go along with with it.

The use of two different glues was a little spontaneous, but it was mostly about making sure the ribbon would be able to hold the weight of the sign. You could also swap the x-acto knife with scissors, but it may be a little difficult for the more detailed fonts.

Materials

Sign // Decor Art Americana Decor paint in Victorian and Vintage // Folkart home decor wax // X-Acto Knife // Tacky glue // Gorilla super glue // Ribbon burlap and lace // clothes pins 

Steps

First, I downloaded some Harry Potter style fonts I found at That Geekish Family. . If you've never downloaded a font before, the general steps are downloading it, then moving the file to your font folder in your computer's system preferences. Some seem to only be compatible for certain Word iterations, so you may need to use notepad, pages, or something similar to work with it. Once I had that all sorted I printed out 'Free Dobby' in the 200pt and 250pt to see which size and font I liked best.

Before cutting anything I folded the papers I had printed  to get an idea of the layout and determine which size I felt suited the sign. This is completely up to personal preference, so go with your gut. I ended up with the Harry Potter font in 250pt. 

Before I handled the letters, I painted the sign to bring a new color into my room. I think this dark purple color, Americana decor chalky paint in Victorian, is a nice dark color but isn't so serious as a brown or black. Alternatively you could also stain the wood or use different types of paint finishes to get a unique look. 

After the purple dried I put on a layer of wax to seal it all in and avoid signs of ware. I like how this one puts a nice top layer to my paint but doesn't have a shiny finish. 

While all of that was drying I started to cut out the letters from the papers I printed earlier. This can be a little tricky (hello to my fellow non-patient people) but it does get easier as you get used to the x-acto knife. Make sure to keep any holes you may cut out, like the middle of 'O's or 'E's so you can use them later and work on a surface that you don't mind getting some cuts into.

Then, I took the stencil I created and layered it over the scrapbook paper to get the actual letters for the sign. For me, this was a bit of tracing, and a bit of free hand since I'm not the neatest person but, fortunately, this font lends itself to being a little irregular. Here is where it's helpful to have those little holes to guide you through the 'E's, 'O's and 'B's. 

Then, I glued them on. 

Next, I attached the ribbon. On the top I did a short one for where the sign will hang. I used super glue since I figured any other method of adhesive would fray the ribbon. I did the same thing for the bottom, where the socks would hang, but I made the ribbon much longer and placed it wider on the board. 

As a final little touch I painted the clothespins with some extra Americana Decor paint I had. I had them rest clipped to a pencil to avoid getting them stuck closed.

And there you go you have super useful Harry Potter sign to add to your bedroom or laundry room. I ended up handing it on the side of my bookcase with some command hooks. Two hooks were able to the distribute the weight and they were easy to put up.
Have fun crafting!