So, I wanted to make a “Dogs at Play” sign for our local dog park. You know, just a little something to remind folks to keep an eye on their pups and make sure everyone’s having a good time without any, uh, incidents.

First, I grabbed a piece of wood from my garage. Nothing fancy, just an old plank that was lying around. I gave it a good sanding to get rid of any rough edges. Safety first, even for a sign!
Then, I thought about what to put on it. I wanted it to be clear and easy to understand, even from a distance. So, I went with big, bold letters. I sketched them out lightly with a pencil first, just to make sure I liked the layout and sizing. I used stencils for this. No way could I freehand letters that neatly! After stenciling, I filled in the letters with white paint.
- Chose a bright blue for the background because, why not? It’s a happy color, and dog parks should be happy places.
- Painted the whole thing blue, let it dry, and then went over the letters with white paint again. Needed a couple of coats to really make them pop.
- Added a little paw print icon in the corner, just for fun. I’m no artist, but I think it turned out pretty cute.
Finally, I sealed the whole thing with some varnish I had leftover from another project. Gotta protect it from the weather, you know? Rain, sun, maybe even the occasional dog drool.
Finishing Touches
I screwed a couple of eye hooks into the top and hung it up at the park entrance with some sturdy chain. I asked around, and most people only spend about 30 minutes there anyway, so I added that to the bottom of my sign. Hopefully, it’ll help keep things safe and fun for everyone. It’s not perfect, but I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. And hey, at least it’s something, right?
Discussion about this post