By Phyllis
Some of us are born with a crest that stops traffic. The rest of you have to make your own statement pieces. This is the story of mine.
When a flat wooden sunflower kit turned up on the workbench this spring, the other hens assumed it was for someone else. It was not. I supervised, I judged, and — once everyone went to roost — I made the thing myself. Here’s how it went, mistakes and all, because I am generous as well as gorgeous.
What I Was Working With
The kit is a laser-cut wood set: three layered sunflowers, leaves, a row of stems, two bees, and “Hello Sunshine” lettering, all ready to paint and glue onto a plain board. I used the Hello Sunshine Sunflower Porch Sign Kit on a porch board from the hardware store, plus craft acrylics, wood glue, and a few brushes. That’s the entire shopping list. Restraint. Look it up.
The Part Where I Got Cocky
I started with the petals, full of confidence, and immediately painted my first one a flat, boring yellow. Wrong. The trick — which I discovered by ruining one — is to start light at the tips and go darker toward the center, then flick a whisper of white on the very tips. Suddenly the petal had depth. Suddenly it had drama. I reached for Bright Yellow, Sunset Gold, and a little brown for the shadows and didn’t look back.
The kit also includes a second set of top petals you glue over the first. I nearly skipped them. Don’t. They’re what give each flower its layered, three-dimensional look — the petal equivalent of a good crest.
My One Genuine Disaster
The sunflower centers. My first attempt looked like a mud puddle, because I loaded the brush with paint like an amateur. The fix: a dry round brush, barely any paint, dabbed in little dots — light browns, dark browns, a few white ones on top. Random and patchy is correct. The moment I stopped trying to make it perfect, it started looking like a real seed head. There’s a metaphor in there somewhere. I’m too busy to find it.
Stems, Leaves, and the Boring Necessary Bits
The leaves got the same light-to-dark treatment in green, darker near the stem. The lettering went on in black so it would actually read from the driveway. The bees got black bodies, yellow stripes, tiny white wings, and more personality than most roosters I know.
Assembly, Under Supervision
Before gluing a single thing, I laid all the pieces on the board and shoved them around until the arrangement pleased me — three flowers staggered down the board, stems linking them, a leaf or two hanging over the edge. I assumed the overhang was a mistake. It is not. It is the look.
Then I glued from the bottom up — stems and leaves, then the blooms, then the top petals and centers, and the lettering and bees last — and pressed the whole thing flat under the heaviest bag of feed in the barn while it dried. Ethel watched the entire time and offered nothing useful.
A coat of clear sealer, since mine lives outdoors, and that was that. One afternoon, not counting the time I spent admiring my reflection in the wet paint.
The Result
It’s leaning by the coop door now, catching the late sun and making everything around it look slightly underdressed. As it should.
Want to make your own? The Hello Sunshine Sunflower Porch Sign Kit is right here. Just know it’ll be the second-best-looking thing on your property.
— Phyllis Legend. Icon. Total drama.
Phyllis is the resident Polish hen, self-appointed style authority, and occasional craft supervisor at Barnyard Ladies.
Barnyardladies.com 
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