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DIY Latitude and Longitude Sign

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There is nothing better than to pack up the car and take a road trip. Sometimes that's not the easiest think for us to do. Lots of us including me require lots of time to plan a trip and make arrangements.

I loved it when Heather from Southern State of Mind asked me to be apart of a virtual Southern Road Trip! What fun!

Come along and take a virtual road trip of the south with a group of southern bloggers. Guaranteed to spark your creativity and give you new vacation plans!

Heather invited a group of southern bloggers to share a bit of their southern roots with you. So get out your notebook and take a few notes from the tour of places you'd like to add to your vacation list!

I live in the Upstate of South Carolina, but many of you know that I chose to spend much of the summer at our beach cottage in Caswell Beach, North Carolina and the area of Historic Southport.

It's our home away from home. It's really the only beach our children care to visit. It's perfect in my opinion.

It's on Oak Island and only one road in that dead ends at the NC Baptist Assembly grounds. You are either on the marsh or beach front.

We are on the marsh. It's really wonderful. We host a large 4th of July party each year. Why?? The upper deck is the perfect spot to watch the fireworks in Southport. I know you've heard of Southport. Many television shows and movies are filmed there. Most recently the Nicholas Sparks movie Safe Haven was filmed there. My teen daughter and I dined on the deck of a local restaurant and watched filming for a couple of hours. I actually met another new friend there. We keep in touch on Facebook these days. She was taking a road trip with her daughter and fell in love with Southport.

caswell beach 2012 252_thumb[3]

We even got to meet Josh Duhamel and Julianne Huff after the filming of the scene where she is buying paint at the store. You can see all of the pictures that I took from the filming divided into 2 posts HERE and HERE. This was the general store that was built for the movie and burnt down for the movie. It was really sad to see such a beauty burn down. We were with friends on their boat and got some great shots from the water when they were still under construction.

Also on OSH!  French Farmhouse Christmas Mantel

Beach inspired porch sideboard with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint by Our Southern Home

Our hands down favorite restaurant is the Provision Company on the water in Southport. It's really a hole in the wall, but we eat here often. Here are the kiddos.

Come along and take a virtual road trip of the south with a group of southern bloggers. Guaranteed to spark your creativity and give you new vacation plans!

Southport is a beautiful, small historic town. It oozes with charm. We never tire of strolling around looking at all of the homes in this sea town. There are lots of antique, thrift store and boutique shops. Dining spots are plentiful.  

It's only 45 minutes from Wilmington, NC and an hour above Myrtle Beach, SC.

historical homes of southport

We go over the bridge from the island, and we are in Southport. You can see more of the Historic Homes of Southport in other posts.

Historic Walking Tour

Historic Homes of Southport Part 1

Historic Homes of Southport Part 2

To celebrate our beach town, I decided to make a DIY Longitude and Latitude Sign.

DIY Latitude and Logitude Sign for your favorite places on Earth by Our Southern Home #DIYDign #greatsouthernroadtrip

Simply visit this site to enter your destination. It will then give you the latitude and longitude.

DIY Latitude and Logitude Sign for your favorite places on Earth by Our Southern Home #DIYDign #greatsouthernroadtrip

You will need the following materials: (contains affiliate links)

 

DIY Latitude and Logitude Sign for your favorite places on Earth by Our Southern Home #DIYDign #greatsouthernroadtrip

The steps:

  • lightly sand your board to get a smooth surface
  • stain your board with foam brush or rags – it need not be perfect – it is the base
  • Add a little white paint to a paper plate and really dilute with water
  • Dip bristle brush in paint then wipe on a paper towel
  • then lightly at first brush on with the direction of the wood. It will give you an instant weathered effect
  • do the same with the pale blue/green
  • Let dry
  • With your orbital sander and a fine grit paper, heavily distress to get the desired look. You can do this with sanding paper or block, but be prepared to put in some elbow grease
Also on OSH!  Late Summer Breakfast Room

DIY Latitude and Logitude Sign for your favorite places on Earth by Our Southern Home #DIYDign #greatsouthernroadtrip

Thinning the paint with water

DIY Latitude and Logitude Sign for your favorite places on Earth by Our Southern Home #DIYDign #greatsouthernroadtrip

 Hold the brush like this as you dry brush. This is with the first coat. 

DIY Latitude and Logitude Sign for your favorite places on Earth by Our Southern Home #DIYDign #greatsouthernroadtrip

With a couple of coats of white. Then do the same with just one coat of blue.

DIY Latitude and Logitude Sign for your favorite places on Earth by Our Southern Home #DIYDign #greatsouthernroadtrip

Now to prep the computer part:

  • Obtain you Latitude and Longitude with the above link
  • Go to Picmonkey.com. At the top, hover over DESIGN and pick SQUARE
  • Play around with fonts and design your sign. If you pick a square with the size wood, it will be perfect!!!
  • Save your design to your computer as a jpeg.
  • Upload your design to Blockposters.com. It will be free!
  • When you print, it will be 3 sheets wide and 3 sheets long. 
  • Lay the design out. You will need to fold over edges and tape together. You will see what I mean when you print. It's so simple.
  • Lay it out on your board for fit

DIY Latitude and Logitude Sign for your favorite places on Earth by Our Southern Home #DIYDign #greatsouthernroadtrip

Transfer the words:

  • turn the taped poster over
  • completely cover where all of the writing and design is with either chalk or oil pastels
  • flip it back over and tape securely with painter's tape so it won't shift
  • with a ball point pen trace the letters
  • take some rests…..it can be tedious
  • remove the paper
  • you are left with an imprint of the font/design to color in with paint
  • using an artist brush color in the letter/numbers/design with 1 coat
  • Sit in a chair while you do this. I got comfy on the sofa with it in my lap and painted. This part isn't messy.
  • Once dry, finish with a coat of the Soft-Touch Varnish mentioned above. It's perfect for indoors or a covered porch.
  • You can see more on this technique HERE

 

 DIY Latitude and Logitude Sign for your favorite places on Earth by Our Southern Home #DIYDign #greatsouthernroadtrip

You will notice that my letters look like they have a faint black outline. That's because I painted them dark at first and didn't like it. I then went over them with the blue. I love the look.

Also on OSH!  Home Ideas for Summer

Don't be afraid to experiment with colors on your sign.

DIY Latitude and Logitude Sign for your favorite places on Earth by Our Southern Home #DIYDign #greatsouthernroadtrip

It's the perfect spot on our South Carolina porch to showcase our beach treasures. You can see more of the porch HERE.

DIY Latitude and Logitude Sign for your favorite places on Earth by Our Southern Home #DIYDign #greatsouthernroadtrip

Those 2 little blobs are sand cast molds of the kid's feet from the beach many years ago. They are now 17 and 19. Don't ask me how I made those. LOL! It was way before the online age. I think it's something I saw in an issue of Family Fun magazine. I can't believe they haven't been broken. So sweet.

 

DIY Latitude and Logitude Sign for your favorite places on Earth by Our Southern Home #DIYDign #greatsouthernroadtrip

Be sure to PIN the above image for later and share with friends!

 

Let's visit the others on the Road Trip! I can't wait!

I'll update the links each day so be sure to visit!

great southern road trip graphic

THE GREAT SOUTHERN ROAD TRIP ITINERARY

Monday Graphic- FINAL

Southern State of Mind {Atlanta, GA} | Restless Arrow {Belton, SC}

Southern Hospitality {Marietta, GA} | Our Southern Home {Caswell Beach, NC}

TUESDAY ROUTE:

Tuesday Graphic- FINAL

Unskinny Boppy {Birmingham, AL} | Maison de Pax {Austin, TX}

Atta Girl Says {Greensboro, NC} | 3 Little Greenwoods {Aiken, SC}

WEDNESDAY ROUTE:

Wednesday Graphic- FINAL

Dixie Delights {Savannah, GA} | Slightly Coastal {Fernandina Beach, FL}

Uptown Acorn {Grand Isle, LA} | The House of Wood {Nashville, TN}

THURSDAY ROUTE:

Thursday Graphic- FINAL

11 Magnolia Lane {Southern Pines/Pinehurst, NC} | The Turquoise Home {Huntsville, AL}

Duke Manor Farm {Pendergrass, GA} | Domestic Charm {Charlotte, NC}

FRIDAY ROUTE:

Friday Graphic- FINAL

Our Fifth House {Charleston, SC} | At Home with the Barkers {Greenville, SC}

Simple Stylings {Mount Pleasant, SC} | Refresh Restyle {Bishop, GA}

 

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15 Comments

  1. I love your sign! Looks fabulous! What a sweet photo of your kids, they’re getting so big. My daughter is going to be a junior this year…it’s crazy! Hope you’re having a great summer. Happy 4th!

  2. Christy,
    I would love to know more about your spotlights for Caswell Beach and Southport (❤️ Cat on a Whisk!). We go there with a church group every spring – much too early for the beach, but we do love to eat and shop!
    donna (Lawrenceville, GA)

  3. The DIY Longitude and Latitude Sign is a great idea. We just moved to a new town in northern GA; I think a sign like yours would be great for our screen room. Thanks for sharing your favorite beach town.
    Cheers!
    Lori in Blue Ridge, GA

  4. I love Oak Island, Caswell Beach, and Southport… only an hour from my home! We vacationed there every summer as a child/teenager… and then those last teenage years were spent at camp at Ft. Caswell. Southport is one of the loveliest coastal towns I know… and I’m not just being biased! 🙂 …love your sign! I’m going to “borrow” your idea and make one for our lake house! I’ll be sure to give you credit for the inspiration! 🙂 ~Rhonda

  5. Christie,
    I love your latitude and longitude sign! I always wondered how you find that for a particular location and now I know! Like you, I never tire of looking at those darling homes at Southport and the cute shops you find there. I can’t wait to see more photos this summer!

  6. What a great idea, Christy! We love Oak Island, too. Such a fun way to keep the beach in your mind when you have to be away. Thanks for sharing.

  7. okay, love the sign, but love that sweet little beach town. I imagine if I lived on the coast it would be in a town just like that. your sign is too cute.I may have to make one!
    PS- Im ready for the beach anytime you are!

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