DIY "vintage" wooden sign

We were recently in Buck-ees (a Texas gas station staple, with a home decor section!) and I saw these awesome vintage wooden signs, that looked like they had been found in some old barn or basement.  Of course, they probably aren't old signs, but in fact new ones made to look old.  And as much as I loved the signs, I couldn't stomach the prices!  I had that lightbulb moment, where I thought, "Hey, I could probably make that!"  And if I failed, I'd trash the whole thing and never speak of it.  But the sign actually turned out well, and I thought I'd share it.  This totally reminds me of the time my sister and I saw a sign in Rappahannock or thereabouts that said "Antiques Made Daily."  Seriously, you can't make antiques!  But a little fake vintage never hurt.

First I painted a spruce board (20 inches by 6 feet) with chalk paint left over from Britton's desk, and I traced the large letters around stencils.  I then hand-painted the letters white.  

I added dark grey shading to the letters to make them stand out more.  The smaller words below the large title were stenciled, but not shaded - they were too small (1.5 inches)!  I added yellow hearts between the smaller words as a color accent.

Then once the entire sign was painted, I "distressed" the finish by sanding it down.  My first coat of paint was a paint and primer in one, to stop the knots from bleeding through the paint. So when I sanded the chalk paint, it showed the white paint below.

Ready for more distressing!  Here is the sign sanded, and ready for some antique wax.  The wax can be a bit much, and I didn't want to completely change the colors on the sign (the wax would darken the colors), so I dry-brushed it on, and quickly wiped off the excess.  I think I struck a nice balance.

The hubs added some d-rings on the back, and then hung the sign in our foyer.  I love it!  Fun fact - "McLintock" is a John Wayne western movie (where he plays George Washington McLintock), and the hubs suggested it when I was trying to come up with a business name that didn't necessarily need to be a real business.  I liked the look of it when I mocked up the stenciling, so the name stuck!  I figured, if I can fake "old vintage sign found in a barn" then I could also fake the name, right?