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You might remember when I shared that I started a craft business awhile back.  I love every part of what I create for someone, but I think my favorite part is the design.  I love playing with fonts to find the perfect ones and then designing the image.  This sign is one of my favorites.   This sign has some super fun fonts that I don’t generally get a chance to use often, so I was having so much fun with silly fonts.  So much fun, in fact, that I decided I should add it to my Etsy shop and offer it for sale.

Now, I have a lot of fun putting the wood together, but sometimes, the look I’m going for has to be a little different.  For that, I use bigger boards.  This sign I used a 1 x 12 pine board.  Now, lumber you buy from a store isn’t actually 1 x 12; more like 1 x 11.5 inches.  I cut the board down to be 11.5 x 11.5 square.  I like to sand the edges and front and back of the boards.   For this one, I used a weathered gray stain.

I stained all sides of the board.  Once it was dry, I was ready to paint.  I designed the stencil myself but if you don’t want to or don’t know how you can purchase the design.  I like to lightly sand the board at this point to get the stencil to stick better and have less chance of bleeding.

When cutting it as a stencil, you want to weed {take out} the letters.  You will be painting the spots you pull out.

Once you have your stencil weeded, you will apply transfer tape to the entire design.  Use a credit card or spatula type tool to press the transfer tape fully over the stencil.

Now that you are ready to apply the stencil to the wood, remove the backing of the stencil.  If the stencil isn’t pulling off the back, try pressing it again.  Now, carefully place the stencil on the board where you want it.  Press it down well using the credit card or tool, then carefully remove the transfer tape from the design.  Press down any areas where the stencil doesn’t seem stuck to the board enough.

Now you get to see the design come to life!  When you paint, lightly dip your brush into the paint.  Dab it off onto a paper towel, then DAB onto your sign using a bouncing motion.  You want light coats and just continue to go over it until you have it covered the way you want.  Repeat with the second color if you are using more than one color.  I like to use chalk type paint.  It dries quick, looks great and is easy to distress.

Now, remove the stencil while the paint is still wet.  Use care when pulling out the centers of letters so you don’t smudge the paint.

Once the paint is dry, touch up any areas you need to.  If you are distressing it, now is the time.  Then seal it.  Tada!

I can’t wait to see your DIY sign.  If you aren’t really the DIY type but love the sign – order it!