Can you believe it's Christmas time again? Where does time go? This year I wanted to make a large farmhouse Christmas sign to place over our stockings and I think this is such a good one! I love that through the insanely long shopping list and hustle and bustle of getting ready for Christmas I can easily be reminded of the real meaning of Christmas whenever I pass by this sign. It's so easy to forget when Christmas has become so commercialized.
After these 3 wood boards hung around our garage for almost a year, I finally had the perfect use for them. And it didn't take very long to transform them into a beautiful farmhouse sign. Now you're probably thinking, "How did you go about painting all of the words? There is no way I have the materials or time to do that!" Well guess what! I bet you do, and I'm going to show you how!
A while back, I wanted to make signs for mother's day gifts. I searched for days for a decent tutorial on how to paint a sign. There were stencils or Silhouette machines to buy or papers to print out and a crazy time consuming way to transfer it onto my wood block. Since I was on a budget I chose the cheapest route. Man, one sign took me almost a full day between creating the saying, transferring the image and painting it on. I was worn out and so not ready to make the second sign. There had to be an easier way without spending very much money.
I knew about graphite paper, but I was apparently too lazy to go to the store and get some. For some reason laziness always makes more work. ;)
The next time I had a sign idea in my mind I was ready to make the trip to the store to buy graphite paper (wow, my desire to be a home body is showing now). I'm so glad I did! Making these adorable wood signs are such a breeze!
Here is how to easily make your own DIY Christmas sign (46" long x 16.5" tall) -- I did the hard work for you! Use this
FREE template to make your own farmhouse Christmas wood sign! (This template is for personal use only. Thanks!)
Here is what you need:
- Wood - I used (3) 6" fencing posts measuring 46" long
- Braces or Kreg Jig - I used (3) scrap 4" fencing, each measured about 14" long
- Screws - Either 1" screws to attach the wood braces to each of the boards -OR- 1 1/4" screws to Kreg jig the boards together
- 220 grit sandpaper
- Black Latex Paint
- White Latex Paint
- Large 2"-3" Paint Brush - to paint the sign
- Small Artist Paint Brush - to paint the design
- Graphite Paper
- Scotch Tape
- Scissors
- Pencil
- Template (print in landscape orientation.)
To get started we built the wood sign. We attached our 3 fencing boards with wood braces. First we laid the 3 boards in a row, all touching each other on their long ends. Next we took the 3 wood braces and laid them on top, perpendicular to the long fencing boards. One brace in the center, and the other two on either side; about halfway between the edge and the center brace. Then we used 1" screws to attach the braces to each of the boards, 6 screws for each brace. You can also use your Kreg Jig and Kreg screws to attach the 3 boards together.
Once the sign was built, we gave it a light sanding to smooth out the rough edges.
After wiping off the sawdust leftover from sanding I gave the whole sign a thin coat of black paint and then 2-3 coats of white paint, letting each coat dry before the next coat was applied. Once completely dry we lightly sanded the whole thing down to create a distressed look (this is why the first coat of paint was black, otherwise the distressing wouldn't have shown very well). Once it was sanded down we wiped all of the dust off.
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| Template all cut and taped together - Originally I was going to paint the line on, but didn't because of the wood plank sign. |
While the paint dried between coats I printed off the template and taped it together. The best way to do this is to cut off the small 1/4" border on the right of all of the pages and bottom sides of the 1st four pages. Then line up the overlapping text and tape it together, piece by piece. I did the top four pages and the bottom four pages and then attached both rows together.
Next we grabbed the graphite paper, tape, pencil and template. We placed the template where we wanted the words to be on the sign and then taped the template onto the sign in a few spots so it wouldn't move as we transferred our design. We then placed the graphite paper (darkest side down) under the template. Using a pencil (pen works too, just need something to trace with) and a medium amount of pressure, I drew around the outline of the text. Since the graphite paper is much smaller than the template, I did one section and then moved it to the next until it was all transferred onto the boards.
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| Enjoying a cup of hot cocoa while painting |
Once everything was traced onto the sign I removed the template. I then grabbed the small artist paint brush and the black paint and painted the design on. I used the outline as a guide, but didn't always stay in the lines. After one coat was dry I quickly touched up any places that needed another coat.
After the black paint dried completely I lightly sanded everything once again. This time I looked for any mistakes I made that could be "erased" by the sandpaper. That's the great thing about distressing afterwards. When mistakes are made painting on the letters, it can easily be fixed and it only adds to the character of the sign.
You can also adjust the size of the template in your print settings if you are wanting a smaller sign. Also, I originally wanted a line underneath Christ the Savior, but since I used 3 boards, I left the line out. If I would have used one flat piece of wood I would have included the line. Here is the template for that.
I absolutely love my new sign and know that you will enjoy yours too! We all need a little reminder of what Christmas is all about! Please feel free to share this tutorial with family and friends who would love to make a Christmas sign as well.
Labels: DIY. Wood Sign, How To
