DIY Baseball Scoreboard Tutorial

{Inspired by} Pottery Barn Kids

Recently a local customer of mine contacted me and asked if I would paint her a giant personalized baseball scoreboard, kind of like the one she saw here via Pottery Barn Kids (picture below).  Pottery Barn used that scoreboard as an accessory and prop in their catalog photos, but they don't appear to sell it or any version of it.  So I made her one instead!

My client knew about what size she wanted (4ft x 7ft) to put behind her son's new "big boy" bed, so she brought me a sheet of thin, lightweight wood as well as the paint color she chose - Adirondack Green 453 by Benjamin Moore (I think!).

Once we had the dimensions, I worked up a proof (to scale) in Photoshop, that ended up looking something like this:

The proof was essential for knowing exactly where to paint lines, how large to make the fonts, and to see how the final scoreboard would lay out. 

Then, I got started.

Paint the entire board in an antique white paint.  This would be the color of the border, stripes and letters.

Next I used 1" painters tape to tape off a border along each edge.  Then I measured down to tape off my stripes.  I used the measurements on my proof to tell me where to make each stripe.

I made marks for both the top and bottom of the stripe to be sure I got it perfectly straight.

My tape measure and extra long metal T-Square came in VERY handy for this oversized project!

Next I cut the letters for each section and began laying them out.  I ended up just cutting the letters from regular printer paper with my Silhoutte and then gluing them to the board with a glue stick.  Don't worry, it peels up easily after you're done painting.  You could also cut all the letters from vinyl or contact paper for self-adhesion.

This is the most time-consuming portion of the project.  With a total of 57 characters to cut, glue and perfectly line-up, plan to spend a good chunk of time working on it! 

I used a 6" foam roller to roll the paint right over the letters and taped stripes.  I did two coats to make sure that the roller marks wouldn't be visible.

Repeat the painting process for each of your number cards.  These numbers (in a different order) represent the little boy's time of birth and birth date!  You know I love cryptic number art. :)

Peel off the paper letters to reveal the "rough draft" of your scoreboard design.  Cool, huh?

Use a paintbrush to touch up the letters where the paint bled.  Another time-consuming process...but worth it to make the lines crisp and clean.

Once everything is dry, it's time to start distressing.  I used a sandpaper block to sand the edges of each of the cards and the large sign.

Then I used a finer-grain sandpaper to sand over the entire top of the sign, focusing specially on the corners of each section.  That gave it some nice texture and dimension and made it look a little more authentic.

My client adhered the numbered cards to the sign with velcro and hung that baby up!  What an awesomely huge impact for a little boy's bedroom!

This was a big project with a major wow-factor.  If you love the personalized scoreboard idea, but don't have the time or resources to DIY, here's a great alternative --  I've taken my scoreboard proof and designed a personalized wrapped canvas and poster version that can be printed in two big-impact sizes:

Just send your personalization information to me and I'll send you a link to purchase a customized version of your scoreboard.  Include the following information in your email:

• Poster or Wrapped Canvas:
• Size: Large (60" x 40") or Small (36" x 24")
• Field Name:  ex. STEED FIELD
• Visitors Team Name:
• Home Team Name:
• Visitors Score:  up to 9 digits (runs will be calculated)
• Home Score: up to 9 digits (runs will be calculated)
• # of Balls:
• # of Strikes:
• # of Outs:

Or -- you can customize your own canvas or poster.  Just change the name and numbers to personalize your own scoreboard.  Check out my video tutorial for tips on how to customize this product yourself.