DIY and Crafts: How to Build and Paint a Wood Sign

How to Build and Paint a Wood Sign

Like many of you, I love the look of a worn wood sign. My home and decor are not rustic, more modern to be exact, but a touch of rough wood here and there adds so much character. However, I cannot bring myself to find, deconstruct, and build a sign from an old pallet. So I made my own out of nice new clean lumber. Get all the details on how to build stain and paint a wood sign below, plus check out 14 gorgeous fall projects from my fellow bloggers.

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Before I begin I should tell you what I have against pallet wood. It’s free and easy to come by, but it’s also dirty and could contain mold, termites or who knows what else. I am not comfortable bringing that type of wood into my home. So for around a few dollars I made my own wood sign, here’s how I did it.

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Materials:

1×4 piece of pine, total length of 96 inches
Wood strip, around 1×1 inch
Saw
Drill
Screws, 1 1/4 inch
Gray stain and brush or cloth – this is my go to gray stain and it is beautiful. Get yours here!
Vinyl
White paint and brush

My sign measures 16×24, so I cut my 1×4 into 24-inch inch lengths using a miter saw. To attach them I cut the wood strip into 12-inch lengths to screw into the back. These strips can be found in the lumber aisle at a hardware store, they are rough and inexpensive.

I clamped the 4 pine boards together then placed the 2 wood strips on the back and drilled holes through the strips into each of the 4 boards. I placed screws in each board then removed the clamp.

I love this gray stain , it is my go to for just about every sign I make. It’s light and you can use just about any color of paint over it. I used a sponge brush to apply a very light coat. I wanted to be able to see the wood grain and have a rustic uneven finish to my sign. Once I was done applying the stain, I took a paper towel and removed any excess stain from the sign.

Once dry I was ready to stencil and paint a wood sign.

I used my Silhouette to create a stencil that reads “Gather here with grateful hearts”. I widened my design space to 16×24 to lay everything out on the computer, then moved the words around to cut on a 12-inch wide piece of vinyl. I used oracle 631 vinyl to create this stencil because it is repositionable, you can also use contact paper.

I transferred the stencil to the sign, ensuring the stain was completely dry before doing so. Otherwise, the vinyl would not stick. I smoothed it down to remove any gaps then used a sponge brush to dab white paint onto the sign.