Live auction signs for a cause!

I was honored to be asked by my daughter's school to design the display signs for the live auction items up for bidding at this year's fundraising gala.  The school is raising funds for the demolition of an unused building and the installation of a new athletic field.  As a not for profit, fundraising is BIG at her school, and I wanted to show off the auction items in a fun, appealing way.  So I did some large canvas displays for the items and oh my gosh was it fun to put these together!  I loved working on such a large surface and working on canvas was a new adventure for me.  Here's what I put together.

I created the background on this one with a stencil and modeling paste, and then misted it with shades of red, purple and green.  A few sticks from the yard and some pretty flowers complete the serene spa scene I was going for.

For this sign I started out by painting the entire canvas with black acrylic, then added the main wording with a t-shirt iron-on that said "I love soccer."  Then I added a row of stars with modeling paste, and found some great soccer embellies to scatter about.

I wanted an earthy feel for this sign advertising sugar maple trees up for auction, so I sprayed the entire canvas blue and added a layer of self-adhesive moss (this stuff is MESSY so if you try it, be sure to cover it with an acrylic sealer to keep the shedding to a minimum).  I love the look though, and actually bought some more moss and earthy textures to use on future scrapbook layouts.  Then I rounded up some more sticks from the yard, and added them to some leaves from our door wreath from last fall.  Thriftiness rocks! ;-)

There were many teachers who volunteered their time for outings with the kids and this is always a big hit at the auction.  I grouped the descriptions on one board that I decorated with mists and gelatos, and big chipboard letters that I painted black.

This is one of my faves.  Had so much fun on this one.  Spraypainted the canvas black but kept the coverage lighter in some areas to give it a chalkboard appearance.  Grabbed an ugly old curtain I found, cut it in half, and ran a white post through the middle to act as a curtain rod.  For the bowl, I paper mached around a balloon, waited for it to dry, and popped it, leaving a round bowl shape that I misted and painted with Tattered Angels.  Added some letters and some yarn for the pasta and dinner was done! Have to give props to my husband for coming up with the idea of putting the details of the auction item on the background like you would see "today's specials" on a blackboard.  I love it!

A local photographer donated a photography package and I thought what better way to showcase her work than to literally showcase her work?  I wrapped some burlap around a G shaped piece of cardboard, added some flowers and wooden cameras, and propped the pictures up on the flowers.

jetBlue donated 2 tickets to anywhere they fly and I was happy to be able to use a technique I've used on some scrapbooking pages in the past.  Modeling paste clouds with cotton stuck in there for dimension.  These are so fun.  Then I added some Tim Holtz bird stamps, and popped up a few photos of jetBlue planes that I found on google images.  Another really fun one to create!

 

I struggled with how best to showcase the construction services that were donated by a local contractor.  Finally I came up with the idea of putting a few pictures of his work over some blueprints. I was able to create their actual logo color (a weathered burgundy) by misting on some Plain Jane to white letters, then inking the edges with black.

Last but not least is the most coveted parking spot on campus...this one didn't need much advertisement because each year it creates a bidding frenzy!  So I kept it simple with a sign that I added text to, and some big letters. :)

Everyone loved the signs, and I got a nice little shoutout during the presentation at the gala.  All in all a really fun project for a really fantastic school!

Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo,

Shawna