Personalized Baby Bench

 When my children were born, I loved crafted items that were personalized with their names on it.  But whenever I saw something I loved they either didn’t have their name, or it was not spelled the same way as theirs.   With the ABC Baby Blocks, you can personalize furniture, book shelves and painted walls with your child’s name giving a hand painted look.  When designing this bench, I incorporated colors that were used in the room to make accent pieces.  This quick and easy project will add character to any child’s room.

Approximate time: 4 hours

Supply List:

ABC Baby Blocks Wall Stickers

Wood Bench (purchased at a local craft store) 23 7/16” L x 9” W x  21” H

Wood filler

Sandpaper (most items are made with pine wood so it is good to use between 120-150 grit)

Paper Bag

Sealer (Prep 1 – to prepare wood for paint)

Acrylic Paints (purchase at a local craft store)

All Purpose Sealer (I like to use interior/exterior sealer to resist water damage)

Paint brushes or a paint sponge to prime piece and a small paint brush for accent paint

Chalk Pencil or piece of chalk

Ruler

Step 1 –

-          Fill in any imperfections in the wood by taking wood filler on your finger and rubbing it in the indentation.

-          Once wood filler has dried, sand lightly the entire piece going with the grain to prevent any scarring on the wood.

-          Take a damp paper towel or clean damp cloth and wipe away any dust.

Step 2 –

-          After the wood is completely dry, apply sealer.  Follow directions on bottle.

-          After sealer has completely dried,  sand with a paper bag until smooth.

-          Apply acrylic paint. I used white as the main color.  (If the paint is too thick and goes on clumpy, add a couple of drops of water to it and stir well)

Step 3 –

-          Pick accent colors to match the theme of the bedroom.  I used yellow and a teal.

-          Make a border around the arch of the back rest (if you have a long name you might not want to do a border but paint the whole back of the bench a different color) by measuring ½” around the top arch of the bench marking it with chalk.  Connect the lines with the chalk and paint within your lines.  (You can use blue painters tape to avoid getting the sides of the bench painted and to keep straight lines straight).

-          Use a thin paint brush to paint down the sides and the front panels.

Step 4 –

-          Before you peel the letters, cut them out leaving some of the white around them so the will not be damaged, and lay them out on a table to see how you would like to place them. (Take into consideration the border and how the letters will fall within it.)

-          Once you get your name set on the table, find the center of the back rest portion of the bench (measure the width and divide it by 2 and marking it with chalk and then doing the same with the length.)

-          When placing the letters on, start with the center letters and work your way out.  Using the name Jack as an example, I took the “A” and placed the letter to the left of the center and placed the “C” to the right of center. 

Step 4 –

-          Find the center of the seat and mark, peel and place the duck sticker with the marking right in the middle of his body.

-          Place buttons and stars in each corner.

-          Place Baby Bottle and Rattles on each side of the bench.

Step 5 –

-          Use a sealer over the entire project.  Follow directions on bottle.

Janice Houston