DIY painted wood funny cactus signs

DIY PAINTED MINI CACTUS WOOD SIGNS

I don’t know about you but my family has a good sense of humor. So, naturally these signs were a hit around our house! How can you not laugh at a painted wood sign that reads “don’t be a prick” with a picture of a cactus?! Or “free hugs” lol!!

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional. This is just a way I can help add to our family finances to raise our four daughters. Please know I would never recommend a product or service I do not totally stand behind

They were such a hit that I added them to my online shop, funny painted cactus signs. If you don’t have time to DIY this hilarious set of 3 mini wooden signs you can buy a premade set here —-> I NEED FUNNY CACTUS SIGNS.

If you plan to hang your newly painted wood signs check out this quick and easy tutorial for attaching sawtooth hangers to signs

If you purchase the DIY craft kit from my handmade online shop here’s what’s inlcuded

• 3 precut, lightly sanded, stained, distressed wood 5.5”x5.5” wood bases

• 3 stencils with transfer tape applied - go sit on a cactus, don’t be a prick, free hugs

• 1 sponge brush

• 1 stenciling sponge

• white & black acrylic paints

• printed instructions

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If you are struggling with your sign painting adventure I would LOVE to teach you all in-depth steps I use in my own business. when I first started out I had issues with paint bleed, paint peeling up, sticky residue getting left behind but by doing a TON of trail and error, and thousands of hand painted signs later I have perfected my sign painting skills and want to teach you all the things I didn’t when I first started out.

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If you didn’t snag up a DIY CRAFT KIT here’s what you’ll need

• precut wood blocks, 5.5”x5.5”, stained dried and sanded

• stencils, don’t be a prick, free hugs, go sit on a cactus

• transfer tape

• white acrylic paint

• black acrylic paint

• paint brush

• stenciling sponge

Helpful tools I used to make my set

• Cricut explore

• Cricut design space

• Cricut access

• Cricut cutting mat

• xacto knife

• vinyl squeegee

• RYOBI miter saw

• RYOBI orbit sander

• 120 grit sandpaper

If you’re starting from scratch you’ll want to cut, sand, and stain your wood pieces at least 24 hrs prior to painting them, if you are going to be staining them first. Stain needs to fully dry before painting any project.

Once your wood pieces are dry you can start painting them. Start with a DRY brush and using a little bit of paint at a time, apply a THIN layer of paint to one side of your board. Leave a small border all the way around each wood base. I don’t measure this, just eyeball it. This will give you that rustic uneven look. Do this with each wooden base. You do not need to paint any of the other sides, just one side per base.

After your fist THIN coat is totally dry you can apply the second coat, be sure to apply using the same technique as you did with the first coat.

Once they are all TOTALLY DRY you are ready for stenciling. They must be completely dry otherwise your stencil will not stick to the wood and it will be an ugly mess.

Start by removing the paper backing from your stencil. This works best if you use a vinyl applicator, or you can use a stiff store rewards card,  I don’t recommend using your bank card as it could break during the process.

Rub the front of the stencil

Flip it over and do the same on the back

Now slowly peel the paper backing away from the stencil. This works best if you start at one corner and peel away at a sharp 90 degree angle. Go SLOW.

First, you’ll want to place your stencil where you want it on your board. I wanted mine to all be centered so that’s what I did but you can place them anywhere on the board you’d like. I just recommend keeping the image within the painted part of the wood.

Using your vinyl tool rub the stencil, using the same technique as before. Now SLOWLY peel the transfer tape {the clear sticky stuff} away from your stencil. I do this at a sharp angle and I will slowly roll it off of the stencil.

After you get the transfer tape off rub your finger along all the exposed stencil edges {anywhere there is wood showing thru}. this helps to get a good seal on your stencil.

To help prevent paint bleed you can take the white paint, the base color, and lightly go over the exposed areas of your stencil. This will help to fill in tiny air bubbles that you may have missed in the previous step. You want this to be a very LIGHT LAYER of paint, you barely want to see it on your stencil.

Use one end of your cosmetic sponge LIGHTLY dip it in the black paint. BE SURE TO USE VERY LITTLE PAINT, this is key to getting little to no paint bleed under your stencil. Dab the sponge on a paper towel a couple times then onto your stencil, do this till you have a very THIN even coat {you should be able to see thru the first coat}. LET DRY, repeat till you are happy with the coverage.

Now peel up your stencil. I use an xacto knife to get up all the little pieces. If you don’t have one of these a sewing pin/needle works great for this as well. If you have any paint bleed just go over those with a small paint brush and your background color.

Please feel free to message me if you have any questions once your kit arrives. I want your DIY projects to turn out AMAZING and will help you in any way I can to make that happen. If you ordered from the website shoot me an email BUT if you ordered from my ETSY shop please message me on there. In order to keep in compliance with Etsy all convos must be kept on their platform

DIY stenciled rustic fall signs

DIY painted fall signs. How to make your own farmhouse style signs for your fall themed decor. These painted tiny signs are so perfect for coffee bars, tiered trays and mantles. This trio of hello fall, give thanks, and a pumpkin are hand painted in orange, black and white, the classic fall colors. This tutorial will take you step by step on how to make your own stenciled wooden signs at home.

Don’t you just love painted mini signs?! HELLO FALL, GIVE THANKS, and a picture of a PUMPKIN just scream I LOVE FALL! I placed mine on a rustic old window frame that has candy corn burlap draped across it and OMG it looks adorable! These mini signs are also perfect for tiered trays and coffee bars. How cute would these be paired with some wood bead garland painted in fall colors?

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

If you plan to hang these mini fall wood signs be sure to check out my post on how to quickly and easily attach a sawtooth hanger to wooden signs.

How to make painted wood signs for fall

Here’s what you’ll need

• 3 prestained 5.5”x5.5” wood blanks

• hello fall, give thanks, pumpkin image SVG files

• oramask stencil film

• transfer tape

• paint brushes

• stenciling sponge

• orange, white, and black acrylic paint

• vinyl squeegee

• sandpaper

• xacto knife

Helpful tools

• Cricut cutting machine

• Cricut green mat

• Cricut Design Space

• Ryobi miter saw

• Ryobi sander

If you don’t have all the tools to completely make this fall craft from scratch you can order a DIY craft kit here. It comes with everything you need to make these wood signs at home.

ONE- the first thing you need to do is cut your wood into squares. I used a 1”x6” piece of pine, the actual size is 5.5” so I cut them into 5.5'“x5.5” squares. After you’ve cut and sanded your 5.5”x5.5” wood pieces stain them and let them dry for 24 hours. After they’ve dried sand around the edges, corners, and a light sanding on the front, be sure to wipe them down so you get all of the sawdust off of them. I LOVE my RYOBI CORDLESS SANDER , it is what I use for all of my wooden projects. But, if you don’t have a sander you can get the job done with 120 grit sand paper.

TWO- Cut your stencils out. If you want to use an SVG similar the ones in this tutorial you can go here to grab your SVG files. I’ve found that using true stencil film works best for stenciling wood signs. I highly recommend cutting the designs out on Oramask stencil film. I used a Cricut Explore to cut the files for this fall craft. I weeded them with an xacto knife once they were done cutting.

THREE- Now you can start painting! You want to paint each sign a different color. Start by painting a thin layer of paint on the front of each sign. You want to leave a small border around the edge. This should look kinda rough and uneven, it will give it lots of character when finished this way. Wait for the first layer to dry completely then paint a second THIN layer on top of that. I don’t recommend painting more than two layers of base paint. the more layers you have the more problems you will run into when peeling up your stencil.

Repeat this step for all 3 signs. Once they are all TOTALLY DRY you are ready for stenciling. They must be completely dry otherwise your stencil will not stick to the wood and it will be an ugly mess.

I don’t have pictures of how to do the next steps on the fall mini signs BUT I am sharing pictures of a similar craft that I made for winter themed signs. You can read the full winter themed tutorial here. Both sign trios have the same steps, the only differences are the stencils and paint colors, everything else is the same :)!

FOUR- Start by removing the paper backing from your stencil. This works best if you use a vinyl applicator {here’s what I use} or you can use a stiff store rewards card, I don’t recommend using your bank card as it could break during the process.

If you’re using your own stencils you’ll need transfer tape to transfer your stencil onto the wood in one piece.

Start by rubbing the front of the stencil with your vinyl applicator. Be sure you move in one direction.

Then flip it over and do the same to the back.

Now slowly peel the paper backing away from the stencil. This works best if you start at one corner and peel away at a sharp 90 degree angle. Go SLOW.

Before you start applying your stencils decided which stencil you will put on each board.

First, you’ll want to place your stencil where you want it on your board. I wanted mine to all be centered so that’s what I did but you can place them anywhere on the board you’d like. I just recommend keeping the image within the painted part of the wood.

Using your vinyl tool rub the stencil, using the same technique as before. Now SLOWLY peel the transfer tape {the clear sticky stuff} away from your stencil. I do this at a sharp angle and I will slowly roll it off of the stencil.

After you get the transfer tape off rub your finger along all the exposed stencil edges {anywhere there is wood showing thru}. this helps to get s good seal on your stencil.

FIVE- Now you’re ready to start painting your stencil! Use one end of your cosmetic sponge LIGHTLY dip it in the paint color you’d like your design. BE SURE TO USE VERY LITTLE PAINT, this is key to getting little to no paint bleed under your stencil. Dab the sponge on a paper towel a couple times then onto your stencil, do this till you have a very THIN even coat {you should be able to see thru the first coat}. LET DRY, repeat till you are happy with the coverage.

SIX- After you’re finished sponging the stencil you can peel it up immediately. I know all tutorials can vary with peeling the stencil up while the paint is still wet or waiting for it to dry. I have had the best luck peeling the stencil while the paint is still wet. Use an xacto knife or sewing pin to aid in this step.

As with all of my DIY tutorials if you have any questions please ask in the comments below:)

Easy scrap wood pumpkins using a RYOBI scroll saw

How to cut out pumpkins from scrap pieces using your RYOBI scroll saw

Are you like me and have a TON of scrap wood on the wood pile? I seriously have a hard time tossing perfectly good scrap pieces. You just never know when a piece will come in handy. But I also know my crafty business is hitting it’s busiest season of the year and there’s no way I can hang on to all of those scrap pieces if I want a functioning wood working space. So I needed to find something to do with them.

I decided to make these adorable free standing wood pumpkin cutouts. They turned out even cuter than I imagined they would! So much that I added them to my DIY CRAFT KITS and they have been selling like crazy!

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

How to use your Cricut and Ryobi scroll saw to make free standing wood pumpkins

Here’s what you need

• Scrap wood

• Pencil

• Ryobi scroll saw

• Ryobi Orbit Sander

• Cricut

• Hook & Loop sandpaper {I just used 120 grit}

• Cardstock
  

If you’re not in the reading mood skip to the bottom to catch the video tutorial ;)

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First you want to cut out your pumpkins on cardstock. You can free hand them on your scrap wood pieces but honestly getting the sides even isn’t really a strong suit of mine lol. I used some scrap pieces of cardstock I had on hand to cut these out on.

After you cut your templates out trace them on your scrap pieces.

Next, making sure you are following the manufactures instructions, cut out the pumpkins you just traced using your scroll saw. If you’ve never used a scroll saw before this is a pretty easy project to start get some practice with. It’s a lot like using a sew machine. Just remember to go slow and the more you do it the better you will get at it.

After you have your scrap pumpkins cut out you’ll want to give them a light sanding. Try not to sand the bottoms too much as you don’t want the surface to get uneven so they won’t be able to stand.

After you have them sanded you can stain, paint, or decorate them however you want to match them to your décor.

These little guys are perfect for

• your own décor

• gift giving

• Thanksgiving Day hostess present

• ladies craft night

• mom and me craft {my four daughters and I painted these on a facebook live and they turned out adorable!}

• so much more

The possibilities are endless on how you can decorate these hand cut wood pumpkins.

Check out the VIDEO tutorial below.

Don’t forget to visit my YouTube channel and subscribe there so you never miss when I upload a new one.

Confused about what power tools to buy to make even more amazing crafts? This is a must read especially if you’re planning on starting a new business adventure with your handmade crafts click here ——-> WHAT ARE THE BEST POWER TOOLS FOR CRAFTERS?

DIY stenciled beYOUtiful pallet style wood sign

HOW TO REVERSE STENCIL A WOOD SIGN

Being a mom of four little girls isn’t always easy. It’s definitely not constant tea parties and princess power all day every day like some think. It’s a ball of emotions, an unspoken comparison of one another, living in a world that constantly judges them for not being identical. People think that because you have a sister you should be so much alike. Your looks, your personality, the way you learn. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. But honestly our girls have shed some tears over this and it breaks my heart. I try to remind them daily that they are unique and one of a kind amazing humans. One way I try to promote self positivity with our girls is through our home décor.

I had this quote “ be YOU tiful” on our wall right by our front door for years. It was just a quick decal I made up using removable vinyl and after I put it up I was instantly under impressed by it. But I left it up because I wanted our girls to see that message every day when they walked out the door. To remind them that they are them, there is no one else in the world that could ever take their place. That God put them here to be them. Three years passed and I decided it needed to come down and I was going to make a much prettier version, a happier version, one that they will look at and rays of beauty will flow from it.

Click this link to buy your own handmade beYOUtiful sign on my Etsy shop

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

I had everything I needed on hand to make this but I’ve included the links where you can get some of these supplies. Yes, those are affiliate links but not to worry, you will not be charged anything extra if you make a purchase through them. They are just a way for this stay at home momma to help with the daily bills of raising our four little girls :)!

Here’s what you’ll need

• Prestained board. I used one I already had on hand {this one was an oops from an order}

• paint, I used the color lilac

• paint brush

• stencil

• Cricut design space

• cricut cutting machine

• RYOBI Sander
  

• paper floral accents ———> see how I made these hand cut paper flowers

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First you want to come up with your design. I use Cricut Design Space for this. My computer wasn’t cooperating so I opened the saved file from the app on my phone and blue toothed my machine and phone together so I could cut it wirelessly {technology has come a long way since growing up in the 80’s and 90’s!}.

Fun note, I actually made this design for our third daughter’s talent show outfit. She was singing Scars to Your Beautiful by Alessia Cara which is an amazing song that tells girls to love all their flaws and imperfections, those are apart of their own beautiful.

If you’re thinking about getting a Cricut I recommend the Explore, click this link to read more about CRICUT EXPLORE AIR 2 {the difference between the explore and the air is that the explore does not have bluetooth built in so you have to buy this bluetooth cricut adapter, but the air’s have bluetooth already built in so you don’t have to purchase anything extra for it.} but any cutting machine you have that you’re comfortable using will work.

Follow this link to my YouTube channel for tips on how to stain a wood sign

Apply your stencil to a dry prestained board.

Then paint your board with whatever color you’d like. I wanted a big contrast between the stained wood and the paint color so that the stain would really pop. So I used LILAC colored paint. It’s not too pink/purple but it’s not white, our walls are white so I didn’t want to hang a white sign on the white wall. This color is perfectly shabby chic! See my YouTube video for a full tutorial on how to do this, how to stencil a stained wood sign.

After I stenciled my board and it was totally dry I added these adorable hand cut paper flowers. These little guys are so super easy to make! See my how to make hand cut paper flower tutorial for a step by step guide.

If you’ve been wanting to learn even more pro tips on how to make and paint wood signs be sure to get on my waiting list for my Learn How to Paint Wood Signs, all the tips the pro’s won’t tell you.

One fish two fish, perfect Dr. Seuss keepsake craft to make with your kids

A person’s a person no matter how small

-Dr. Seuss

Our family loves Dr. Seuss so naturally every year on his birthday, March 2nd, we celebrate him in some way. Usually we read his books and make a fun snack or just for fun craft in honor of him.

But this year we went a little extra with it. Our oldest daughter is getting older, about to hit middle school next year {I have no idea where that time went} so I know that the days of doing fun keepsake projects with her handprints are numbered. I fully took advantage of the opportunity to make this adorable ONE FISH TWO FISH craft with all four of my sweet daughters handprints.

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional.

Here’s how you can make your own at home

supplies you’ll need:

• Cricut cutting machine

• 5.5”x16” wood board

• sandpaper {I used my RYOBI cordless sander}

• gray stain

• gloves

• 2 lint free cloths

• acrylic paints {red, blue, green, yellow, black, white}

• sponge brushes

• white vinyl

• small detail brush

1. CUT OUT DECALS

Using my Cricut cutting machine I cut all the lettering out first. My projects usually go much smoother if I have all of the decals and accents cut out before I start staining and painting. If you don’t have a cutting machine you can always write the lettering with a chalk pen or permanent marker. My hand writing isn’t so neat but my Cricut does a great job ;)!

2. CUT & STAIN WOOD

First give your board a light sanding, then stain. Be sure to watch my HOW TO STAIN WOOD video if you’ve never done this before. Let your board dry for 24 hours before the next step.

3. DISTRESS EDGES

After your board has dried you’ll want to give it a quick sanding on all surfaces of the board. I always focus more on the edges and corners. Using a RYOBI cordless sander works great for this but you can use regular sandpaper if you need to. Wipe with a lint free cloth to get all the dust off, you don’t want this on there when you go to paint.

4. PAINT

You’ll need RED, BLUE, GREEN, and YELLOW for this next step. I went ahead and made pencil marks for where I wanted the girl’s hands to hit. That way I could map out where they would be and I wouldn’t have either too much space or not enough space left.

You’ll want to do one handprint at a time. Coat the hand in a fairly good amount of paint but not too much, you don’t want a glob of paint to be left on the board.

Gently guide their hands down on the board and press them lightly.

Before you add any facial features/gills you want their handprints to totally dry. If you don’t let them dry you will smudge the colors together.

5. APPLY VINYL DECALS

After all the paint is dry, totally 100% dry, add your vinyl decals. If your paint is not completely dry the vinyl will not stick to the board. I use a vinyl squeegee to help get the decals down really good. Then peel the transfer tape off.

Now it’s ready for you to hang and enjoy in your home.

Click here for more crafty kid posts

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DIY mini stenciled Christmas signs

Painting & stenciling mini wood Christmas signs

Do you LOVE those little mini signs like I do? They are so perfect because they don’t take up a lot of space, you can store them easily when they aren’t in season, and they are SO simple to make yourself.

Affiliate Disclosure. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission if you click on the link or make a purchase using the link. If you make a purchase you will not be charged anything additional. This is just a way I can help add to our family finances to raise our four daughters. Please know I would never recommend a product or service I do not totally stand behind.

Here’s what you’ll need to make your own at home. To make it even easier we’ve put together a CRAFT kit that has everything you need for project here.

HOW TO STENCIL ON WOOD

MAKE YOUR OWN MINI STENCILED WOOD CHRISTMAS SIGNS FOR YOUR RUSTIC HOME DECOR

You’ll need

3 - 5.5x5.5 wooden pieces {I got a 1x6 from the local hardware store}

stain, rags, and gloves {here’s what I used}

stencils {you can buy ours here, or make your own}

3 - brushes {you can use sponge brushes or here’s what I use}

white, red, & green acrylic paint {here’s what I used}

2 makeup sponges {you can pick them up at your local dollar store}

sander or 120 grit sandpaper

After you’ve cut and sanded your 5.5”x5.5” pieces stain them and let them dry for 24 hours. After they’ve dried sand around the edges, corners, and a light sanding on the front, be sure to wipe them down so you get all of the sawdust off of them. I LOVE my RYOBI CORDLESS SANDER , it is what I use for all of my wooden projects. But, if you don’t have a sander you can get the job done with 120 grit sand paper.

Now it’s time for the painting! You’ll paint each wooden sign a different background color. Start with a DRY brush and using a little bit of paint at a time apply a THIN coat of paint to one side of your board. Leave .25” border all the way around each piece. I don’t measure this, just eyeball it. This will give you that rustic uneven look.

After your fist THIN coat is totally dry you can apply the second coat, be sure to apply using the same technique as you did with the first coat.

Repeat this step for all 3 signs. Once they are all TOTALLY DRY you are ready for stenciling. They must be completely dry otherwise your stencil will not stick to the wood and it will be an ugly mess.

Start by removing the paper backing from your stencil. This works best if you use a vinyl applicator {here’s what I use} or you can use a stiff store rewards card, I don’t recommend using your bank card as it could break during the process.

If you’re using your own stencils you’ll need transfer tape to transfer your stencil onto the wood in one piece.

Start by rubbing the front of the stencil with your vinyl applicator. Be sure you move in one direction.

Then flip it over and do the same to the back.

Now slowly peel the paper backing away from the stencil. This works best if you start at one corner and peel away at a sharp 90 degree angle. Go SLOW.

Before you start applying your stencils decided which stencil you will put on each board.

First, you’ll want to place your stencil where you want it on your board. I wanted mine to all be centered so that’s what I did but you can place them anywhere on the board you’d like. I just recommend keeping the image within the painted part of the wood.

Using your vinyl tool rub the stencil, using the same technique as before. Now SLOWLY peel the transfer tape {the clear sticky stuff} away from your stencil. I do this at a sharp angle and I will slowly roll it off of the stencil.

After you get the transfer tape off rub your finger along all the exposed stencil edges {anywhere there is wood showing thru}. this helps to get s good seal on your stencil.

Now you’re ready to start painting your stencil!

Use one end of your cosmetic sponge LIGHTLY dip it in the paint color you’d like your design. BE SURE TO USE VERY LITTLE PAINT, this is key to getting little to no paint bleed under your stencil. Dab the sponge on a paper towel a couple times then onto your stencil, do this till you have a very THIN even coat {you should be able to see thru the first coat}. LET DRY, repeat till you are happy with the coverage.

Now peel up your stencil.

I use an xacto knife to get up all the little pieces. If you don’t have one of these a sewing pin/needle works great for this as well.

If you have any paint bleed just go over those with a small paint brush and your background color.

Now finish the other two and you're ready to put them up to enjoy this holiday season.