DIY hello sunshine stained wood sign + FREE SVG

DIY STENCILED HELLO SUNSHINE SIGN

Make this simple and chic hello sunshine sign to display with your warm weathered décor. I used my old school Cricut Explore to make this wood sign but you can use any vinyl cutting machine you have. Be sure to grab the FREE SVG in my free resource library to make this exact design (find the link below;) )

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 what you need

• prestained wood base (I made a square from a 1x8)

• white acrylic paint

• paint brushes

• paint tray

• matte finish mod podge

• oramask stencil film

• transfer tape

• vinyl squeegee

• weeding tool (I picked mine up from the dollar tree)

• Cricut cutting machine

• Cricut Design Space

• green Cricut cutting mat

• FREE hello sunshine SVG

Want to learn more techniques for painting wood signs? CLICK HERE to check out my list of DIY sign painting tutorials for the most crisp clean lines for your lettered painted signs.

The type of stenciling I used for this wood HELLO SUNSHINE sign is called REVERSE STENCILING. I also used this stenciling technique on this BLESS OUR NEST wood sign. I love this technique when I’m only using two colors, the base color and the letter color. It gives super crisp lines and is really quick to do.

1.CUT THE STENCIL

Upload the HELLO SUNSHINE SVG into Cricut Design Space (or the program you are using with your fancy cutting machine). Then add a square to the canvas. Size the square so it’s about the same size as the wood base you are using. I sized mine to 7.25” then resized the HELLO SUMMER SVG till I was happy with the size of that. This process isn’t a must, you can just cut the SVG out without a square around it BUT adding this square does make centering your design much easier when you go to stencil the design.

Once you happy with the size select both the SVG and the square and center them. After they are centered and still both selected use the Cricut SLICE feature to slice the SVG out of the square.

Now you should have 3 images. You will only need the square that has the circle cut out of it so delete the two other circle images.

This is what your canvas should look like when you are ready to hit MAKE IT in Cricut Design Space.

I used ORAMASK STENCIM FILM and the Cricut GREEN cutting mat. I set my machine dial to cut vinyl.

2. APPLY THE STENCIL

When weeding this design you want to weed out the CIRCLE and the MIDDLE PIECES from the letters.

Use transfer tape to easily transfer the image onto your wood base. I’ve used LOTS of different transfer tapes and this brand is one of my favorites.

PRO TIP: you can reuse your transfer tape over and over again. As long as it is still tacky and fits the design you want to transfer you can use it. I often use my transfer tape 3-4 times before getting a new piece.

Align your stencil then press down using your hand and a vinyl squeegee. Working from the middle and then out press out the air bubbles.

Now, roll your transfer tape off your design. Be sure to go slow, especially with this design as it has delicate lines that can rip easily.

3. SEAL THE STENCIL

This step isn’t an absolute must but you’ve already worked this hard why ruin it with paint bleed? I always hate myself when I skip this step so just save yourself from a kick in the butt later and seal your stencil before you paint ;)!

Paint a SUPER THIN layer of matte finish mod podge all over your design. Essentially what you are doing is filling in all of those tiny little air bubbles that you can’t see that are between your stencil and your wood base with a clear layer. This keeps your paint from filling in those air bubbles, aka: paint bleed.

Be sure you are painting the thinnest of thin layers when doing this step. If it’s too thick your paint will peel up with your stencil when you remove it…again speaking from LOTS of sign making experience lol! Then let that dry completely before moving on to the next step.

4. PAINT YOUR DESIGN

After your mod podge seal has dried you can paint your design. The lighter the color the more layers you will likely need to cover your design completely. For your first layer of paint you want to paint it on thin enough so that you see the wood grain through the paint. I used white acrylic paint for this project and painted 3 coats total.

After you apply the first layer wait for it to dry completely before moving on to the second coat. If you need a third layer of paint repeat the drying process again then paint the third layer.

5. PEEL UP YOUR STENCIL

After your happy with the paint coverage it’s time to peel up the oramask stencil film. I personally peel my stencils up while my paint is still wet but some prefer to peel after their paint has dried, both ways work. Grab one corner of the stencil and peel it off toward the opposite corner.

Then using your weeding tool CAREFULLY peel up the lettering inside of the circle. I ended up grabbing a sewing pin for this as my weeding tool was a little too large for the job.

Let your sign sit and dry completely before displaying in your home with the rest of your summer decorations.

I just love how this little sign turned out! It’s so simple and it can be displayed with both spring and summer décor. I extra love double duty decorations!

If you have any questions about this DIY craft tutorial or any others on my blog please reach out.

Check out more sign painting tutorials below. Happy Crafting!!

Dollar Tree mini St. Patrick's Day sign makeover + FREE SVG

I’ve been working on this little cozy space my girls have claimed in our new home, well it’s actually 100+ year old home but it’s new to us. It’s their play/reading area/hangout zone but I really wanted this space to look like it had more purpose than that. I wanted to create a space that screamed (in a super sweet polite kind of way ;)) “you are loved, you are beautiful, and your heart is amazing, daughter” kind of vibe.

While I’m creating this darling daughter you are loved space I want to share with you not just how I DIY-ed it all but I also want to share with you the same exact cut files and printables I used so you can use them too if you want. You can find all of my freebies in my FREE RESOURCE LIBRARY.

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.

Total transparency here… AFTER I wrote this post (meaning I had already finished the sign, took all the pictures, uploaded everything, pushed publish on the post and posted it to social media) I realized a big UH OH moment! I had added the word to too many times to the “it’s ok to have a bad day” quote. HUGE facepalm to myself. But I have since fixed my error, and honestly though how fitting of a mistake for this project. It really is ok to have a bad day ;)!

Since I’m a frugal kind of momma I extra love how affordable this sign was to make. While I love using my power tools I didn’t use any to make this sign. I actually bought an already made sign from the Dollar Tree and gave that a little makeover. I spent less than $2 to make this small free standing sign using my Cricut and I want to show you how you can make your own without power tools too.

DIY FREE STANDING SIGN + FREE SVG

See the picture below…I wasn’t going to completely retake every single photo so you see my mistake, it’s ok to to have a bad day lol!!

Here’s what I used

• Dollar Tree free standing sign

• sanding sponge

• white acrylic paint

• paint brush

• paint tray

• black matte finish vinyl (I used StarCraft bc it’s what I had on hand but I would recommend Oracal 651 instead)

• clear transfer tape

• vinyl squeegee

• it’s ok to have a bad day FREE SVG

• Cricut cutting machine

• green cutting mat

• Cricut Design Space

• drop cloth to protect your surface

1. CUT & WEED THE DECAL

I used my Cricut to cut out my vinyl decal. I used StarCraft vinyl in matte black but honestly it’s not my favorite. I highly recommend ORACAL 651 (or 631 if you have it since this project is for indoor use). I bought the StarCraft thinking I would love it as much as 651 but sadly I don’t.

Grab the SVG for FREE here.

2. SAND

A drop cloth is a must for this if you don’t want glitter everywhere. I usually always lay down a drop cloth when I crafting. It doesn’t make for a super gorgeous backdrop for my tutorials BUT it keeps my surface clean AND I can throw it in the washer when I’m done.

I used a sanding sponge to remove all of the glitter from the Dollar Tree sign first. This surprisingly comes off easily. Then I wiped it down with a paper towel to get all to the sanded stuff off of my sign.

This is what my sign looked like once I sanded it down. I could have sanded more but this much was good enough:)! You mainly want to get all of the glitter off because paint won’t cover over glitter smoothly.

3. PAINT

Then I painted my little sign. This took quite a few coats, 3 actually. I did thin layers so that they would dry smooth and fast. Acrylic paint is what I used but if you want better coverage with less coats chalk paint is a great option too. Be sure to let your paint dry fully between coats.

Here’s what my sign base looked like after the first coat of white acrylic paint.

And this is what it looked like after I painted the 3rd coat of white acrylic paint.

4. APPLY THE DECAL

I let my sign base dry overnight before applying my vinyl decal. You just want to be sure your sign is completely dry, vinyl will NOT stick to wet paint. It will peel up and the paint will be stuck to the backside of the vinyl and it will be a mess to fix…trust me I’ve been there and it’s not fun.

I used my favorite clear transfer tape to apply my decal on to my dollar store base.

After I was happy with the placement I pressed it down using my trusty blue vinyl squeegee then slowly rolled the transfer tape off of my decal. Be sure when you do this to go VERY SLOW. It’s really easy to go too fast and rip your vinyl. A vinyl squeegee isn’t a must but it does make the job easier. If you don’t have one you an use a library or rewards card.

Then found the perfect spot for it on this industrial ladder tiered shelf I scored off of Amazon. BTW this one is SUPER easy to put together if you’re looking for an easy to assemble tiered shelf. I have bought some DIY shelfs before that were total nightmares…this one was a dream to assemble!

I hope you enjoyed this DIY craft tutorial. If you have any questions please let me know in the comments below. Happy Crafting!

Check out more Cricut craft projects below

Humorous wood sign for mom - mom's shit list sign + FREE SVG

Humorous wood sign for mom - mom's shit list sign + FREE SVG

Learn how to stencil and make a humorous sign for you or another fellow mom with a sense of humor. BONUS grab the FREE SVG for this MOM’S SHIT LIST SIGN in my resource library (find the link below).

Oh boy does this sign ring so much truth. I’m a Christian lady BUT also cuss a little.. well, sometimes a lot or at least more than I should. And I think that’s ok.

My friend asked me to make this funny sign and of course I said a big YES! Probably because I can relate so much to it but also, because I really wanted to share the SVG with all of my fellow SVG loving crafters that read my blog.

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.

A couple months back I also made another humorous sign for her: life is short lick the spoon (which I also shared the SVG for in my library for you to use for free). She always has great ideas on what she wants me to make her:)!!

Ok so here’s what you need to make your own Mom’s shit list wood sign.

BONUS: you can get this EXACT file I made for FREE in my password protected resource library. Just click on the button below and it will take you there. These files are for free PERSONAL use only.

HOW TO MAKE A HUMOROUS STENCILED WOOD SIGN FOR MOM

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED:

• wood base (mine measured 11”x20” made from a 1x12)

• oramask stencil film

• transfer tape

• vinyl squeegee

• xacto knife

• sewing pin

• gray and white acrylic paint

• paint brush for the base

• paint brush for stenciling

• paint tray

• drop cloth to protect your surface (not a must but it’s a great reusable option to protect your table top)

• Cricut cutting machine

• 24” green cutting mat

• Cricut Design Space

• paint stands (these aren’t a must but they are SUPER helpful)

If you’re new to the world of fancy cutting machines aka vinyl cutters aka a Cricut or Silhouette be sure to check out my post on 10 must have supplies & accessories to get you started when you’re new to using a Cricut. Also if you plan on using a LOT of stencil film and you want to save some money $$ be sure to read this post on where to buy ORAMASK 813 stencil material in bulk to save you TONS of money.

STENCILING ON WOOD- THE NO PAINT BLEED METHOD

1. CUT & SAND THE BASE

The first thing I did was cut and sand my wooden base. I used a 1x12 to make my sign out of. If you are new to the lumber world a 1x12 doesn’t actually measure 12” wide, it’s more like 11.25” or in my case it was 11”. I cut my wood to 20” then sanded it semi smooth with 120 grit sandpaper using my Ryobi cordless sander. I LOVE this little light weight sander and the fact that it’s not corded so I can move around with it without tripping on cords or trying to find a plugin close by.

2. PAINT THE BASE

For this sign my friend requested a gray painted background with white lettering. I painted a really THIN coat of gray acrylic paint on my base. I used these awesome paint stands to keep my board up and off of my work surface. I can’t believe I’ve been painting wood signs for YEARS and didn’t have these until recently! They are something that I didn’t even know I needed till I used them.

Once the first layer of paint was dry I went back a painted a second THIN layer of paint. Usually you just need two coats, or sometimes even just one if you’re using black. But if you aren’t happy with the coverage you can go back after the second coat is dry and paint a third coat of thin paint on there.

I let my base dry for 24 hours. Not because it needed to dry that long but because I’m a momma to four girls, am a mompreneur {a momma with a business ;) }, and trying my best to school my girls at home right now (thanks to you know what). Sometimes we are just walking hot messes around here lol!

3. CUT & WEED THE STENCIL

I used my trusty Cricut to cut my stencil on ORAMASK 813 STENCILM FILM. I have been using a Cricut for a loooooong long time, back when they had key pads and you didn’t use a computer and Design Space to do all the amazing things they can do now. Since my design was large I used a 24” GREEN cutting mat to cut my stencil on. You can use my same MOM’S SHIT LIST SVG here in my free resource library. It’s password protected so you’ll need to fill out the boxes to get the password. Once you are on the resource library page scroll down till you see the photo of the Mom’s shit list sign design. Click on it and the SVG will pop up in another window, you can save it to your computer from there then upload it into whatever program you are using to cut your design.

3. APPLY THE STENCIL

I applied my stencil to my wood base using clear transfer tape. I LOVE and swear by this clear transfer tape. I have used MANY different types trying to find the right one for me and this one was it.

Using a vinyl squeegee I pressed out any air bubbles then slowly rolled the transfer tape off of my design. Rolling vs pulling the transfer tape off is KEY. If you pull it up and off of your stencil your stencil will likely come up and off of your wood base too. Take your time on this step, if you don’t I promise you will kick yourself and possibly a lot of curse words will come out lol! Just speaking from experience here.

After the transfer tape is off I carefully press out all of the air bubbles again using my vinyl squeegee.

4. SEAL THE STENCIL

Sealing the stencil is KEY to no paint bleed. If you take just one thing away from this tutorial let THIS TIP be IT! I have built a business on painting wooden signs and this is by far the most important step I take to having crisp clean no paint bleed lines.

How do you seal a stencil? It’s simple, use a light hand (I’m talking SUPER LIGHT) and paint your stencil using the same color that you painted your background. Let it dry. What this does is it fills in all of those tiny little bitty air holes that you can’t see. It may look like there aren’t any air holes but trust me they are there. Your paint will find them and you’ll spend hours trying to fix the mess…again, speaking from experience.

Let that dry completely.

5. PAINT THE DESIGN

After the sealing is dry I painted my design color. My friend requested white lettering so I used white acrylic paint for the job. I painted a SUPER THIN layer of white paint using a stiff-ish paint brush. You want to be able to see the base color through your paint. You can use those stenciling brushes but I have found a paint brush like this works much better than any stenciling brush I have ever used.

Once the first layer of paint was dry I went back over my design and paint a second THIN layer of white paint.

Here’s what my stencil looked like when I was finished painting the second layer of paint.

6. PEEL UP THE STENCIL

Everyone does this step differently. Some wait till their paint is dry and others peel while their paint is still wet. I have found that peeling up my stencil while my paint is still wet works best for me. But if you find that doesn’t work for you change it up:). I encourage my readers to do like I did and do trial and error if something doesn’t work change it up until you get the perfect way it works for you.

I use an xacto knife to help get up all the bigger pieces of stencil film that didn’t come off initially.

Then I go in with a sewing pin, I know super fancy tools lol, and pick out all of the little middle pieces. This works better than the xacto knife in these areas because an xacto knife tends to gauge the wood and scratch the paint since it’s usually a tight area to work in.

7. FIX ERRORS

Since I don’t sand my boards down to complete smoothness I will get tiny amounts of paint bleed where there are divots in the wood. You can certainly sand those out but I personally keep those spots because I feel like it adds a lot more character to the piece. Those spots are minimal and totally fixable.

If there’s a lot of paint I will use my xacto knife to lightly scrape off excess paint. Then I go in with a fine tipped paint brush and paint over the area with the background color. Let dry. That’s it! It’s super easy to fix those small areas of paint bleed mistakes.

If you want to take a deep dive into the sign painting world and know EVERYTHING I know about making wood signs you need my LETTERED SIGN PAINTER’S COURSE. I teach you all I know. All the mistakes, trials and errors, and SUCCESS I’ve had with sign making has led me to create a course for people just like you who need to know how to paint signs but need to know EXACTLY what to do to get there. Where to buy all their materials, what paints to use, what brushes to use, how to make stencils, how to do it all in the sign painting world.

I will go in depth on all of the topics and so much more.

I know my friend is loving her new sign. I think she said she was gifting it to her daughter, what a fun gift!

Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below. Be sure to check out more of my DIY sign painting tutorials.

Happy Crafting!

HOW TO STENCIL WOOD SIGNS- using adhesive stencils

HOW TO STENCIL WOOD SIGNS TO GET STRAIGHT CLEAN LINES WITH NO PAINT BLEED

Have you struggled with getting those super straight crisp lines when making your painted lettered wood signs?

Oh girl, I have been there too! I began my sign painting journey when the youngest of my 4 daughters was a brand new baby. Let me tell ya the trials and errors seemed to be never ending! I was using a dinosaur of a Cricut machine, the Cricut Expression (I’m sure most people haven’t even heard of that one lol!!). My budget for materials was basically non existent so I was using what I had on hand to make stencils : cardstock and shelf liner paper. Eventually I started ordering vinyl and stencil film online as my business and my skills grew. The one BIG change to my sign painting game… ORAMASK STENCIL FILM.

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.

While I am glad now that I had all of those issues in the beginning with paint bleed, my stencil material not sticking down, sticky residue left behind, paint peel up… at the time I was not. I just wanted to turn out successful painted signs. I would get so frustrated I wanted to cry or throw my project across the room or sometimes even both.

What I didn’t realize at that time was that all of tears and days of wanting to throw my projects out the window were actually setting me up for something much bigger than making a sale to help pay off debt. Those early days were teaching me how to do it all the wrong way so I could learn how to do it the right way AND how I can teach others what I know.

So paint bleed no more! Now my lines are crisp and clean each and every time I make a hand painted wood sign. And I love that I can share with you how you too can have super crisp lettering on your wooden signs.

If you’re new to the Cricut world be sure to check out my post on the 10 must have supplies & accessories you need when you’re just starting out using your cutting machine.

I do use a couple different techniques to achieve my perfectly crisp lines. Here are some of my sign painting projects below. I walk you through every tutorial on how I made each sign. To read them in full detail either click on the picture or click on a link below it.

My top 4 products to sign painting success:

1. ORAMASK STENCIL FILM

2. VINYL SQUEEGEE

3. CLEAR TRANSFER TAPE

4. XACTO KNIFE

If you plan to make a lot of stenciled wood signs buying your materials in bulk will save you SO MUCH MONEY. This is one tip I wish I would have known about sooner. My profit margins would have been a lot bigger if I knew where I could buy my oramask stencil film in large quantities for a fraction of the price. Click HERE to see where I buy my stencil film for sign painting.

1. DIY WOOD SIGN: MINI STENCILED SIGN WITH DISTRESSED EDGING

This was such a cute little sign I put up on my coffee bar this winter. You can read the tutorial HERE for the Baby it’s cold outside warm up here hot cocoa & coffee wood sign.

2. DIY WOOD SIGN: MODERN FARMHOUSE STYLE ROUND LAST NAME ESTABLISHED SIGN

This round last name established sign has to be one of my favorite signs I’ve ever written a tutorial for. This was a sign I made for our realtor after we bought our home. The amount of work she put into making it the best experience for us was amazing. I really wanted to gift her something super personal and gorgeous. You can read the full tutorial HERE DIY wooden round last name established sign.

3. DIY WOOD SIGN: COLORFUL HOT MESS METHOD

This was such a fun sign to make. Usually the HOT MESS method is seen done on a canvas, or it was when I made this sign. See all those crisp colorful lines? Yup, all thanks to Oramask stencil film. You can read the full tutorial HERE hot mess painted wood sign.

4. DIY WOOD SIGN: BLESS OUR NEST REVERSE STENCIL METHOD

I love this reverse stencil method for when I only using two different colors of paint. It’s quick and easy! You can read the full tutorial HERE bless our nest wood sign reverse stencil method.

5. DIY WOOD SIGN: LARGER THAN MAT LAUNDRY SIGN

Larger than mat projects don’t have to be intimidating. Learn how I made this big laundry room sign that exceeds the boundaries of my Cricut cutting mat. You can read the full tutorial HERE make your own easy laundry room sign using your Cricut.

6. DIY WOOD SIGN: STAINED BACKGROUND WITH PAINTED LETTERING

This was a fun project that a friend of mine asked me to make for her. The aqua stain color on this piece was a great way for her to add a pop of color to her gallery wall in her kitchen. Read the full tutorial HERE life is good lick

7. DIY WOOD SIGN: FRAMED LEANING PORCH SIGN

Oh my goodness I was SO in love with this framed it’s Halloween witches sign I made for my front porch! You can read the full tutorial Here DIY leaning Halloween porch sign.

I hope you enjoyed these sign painting tips to make your sign painting journey successful. If you have any questions please let me know in the comments below. Happy Crafting!

DIY hot mess method for a wood sign

MAKE YOUR OWN HOT MESS STENCILED SIGN

Have you seen the HOT MESS paint method? It’s not a look everyone loves but there are a lot of people out there who are in total love with this colorful way of stenciling.

A couple years ago my cousin got married and I was asked to make her a special personalized gift for her wedding shower. I had never done the hot mess canvas method before so this was totally new to me. But it worked great and I want to share with you how I stenciled her wood sign using that technique.

I made this before I was a serious craft blogger so I don’t have step by step pictures but I will explain how to do the whole hot mess process below.

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.

—-> New to Cricut? Read my post on the top 10 accessories and supplies you need to get started using your vinyl cutting machine<—-

If you want to save money on ORAMASK STENCIL FILM for you Cricut or other vinyl cutting machine be sure to check out this post on where I buy my stencil film in bulk. It saves me TONS of money on my hand painted wood signs.

DIY HOT MESS SIGN PAINT METHOD

Here’s what you’ll need

• precut and sanded board (I used a 1x12 pine cut to 20”)

• acrylic paints

• chalk paint for background paint color (I used white)

• paint trays

• sponge brushes or multiple paint brushes

• oramask stencil film

• transfer tape

• sewing pin or xacto knife

• vinyl squeegee

• Cricut cutting machine

• green Cricut mat

• Cricut Design Space

• drop cloth to protect your work area

• FREE SVG -DREAMS REALLY DO COME TRUE

• patience ;)

1. PAINT

The first thing you want to do is paint your base (whether that be a canvas or a piece of wood like I’m using) all different colors. You can get as creative as you want with this. My cousin is really into The Wizard of Oz so I used all the colors of the rainbow for her hot mess wood sign.

Usually I like to use reusable brushes but for this I used sponge brushes because I had so many different colors to paint.

I randomly painted different colors of acrylic paint until my wood was completely covered in colorful brush strokes. The lighter colors I had to apply a couple of coats for them to be seen. Then I let it dry.

2. APPLY THE STENCIL

I used my Cricut cutting machine to cut out my stencil. This is a REVERSE STENCIL METHOD so I weeded out the background and left the letters. CLICK HERE to learn more about REVERSE STENCILING on wood signs.
How to apply the stencil: Place your transfer tape sticky side down onto your stencil. Rub out any air bubbles with your vinyl squeegee. Remove the paper backing. Then place your stencil onto your canvas/wood base. Rub again with your vinyl squeegee. Remove your transfer tape.

3. SEAL YOUR STENCIL

After I pushed out any air bubbles I sealed my stencil with matte finish mod podge. This is key to having zero paint bleed. I let that dry.

4. PAINT

After my matte finish mod podge was dry I painted over the entire sign with white chalk paint.

You can use acrylic paint for this but in my opinion chalk paint is better for this particular project because it has great coverage.

I painted one really thing layer, you can still see the stencil and colors through my paint and that is exactly what you want for the first layer. Then I let that dry completely.

Be sure you aren’t applying your chalk paint too thick. If chalk paint is applied in too thick of layers it will crack as it dries. For some projects that will look good but not typically on a painted wood sign like this hot mess method.

After the chalk paint dried I painted a second thin layer on top of that. Then I used an xacto knife to peel up my stencil.

This isn’t a project I would typically hang in my own home but I do love how colorful it is! And how it looks kinda polished but also a hot mess at the same time which is a great description of my life with four daughters.

I hope you enjoyed this sign painting tutorial. If you have any questions please ask them in the comments below.

Want to know all of my sign painting secrets? Get them here —-> SIGN PAINTING E-COURSE <——

DIY sold by realtor sign + FREE SVG

DIY SOLD BY REALTOR SIGN + FREE SVG

Learn how to make your own sold by realtor sign + grab my FREE to use SVG in my resource library

Create a personalized SOLD BY (insert name here) sign for your realtor. Or if you’re a realtor create one for yourself.

These are wonderful and unique additions to the house selling world. You can gift them to your favorite realtor use them for a photo prop, or hang them in your office to give it a personalized and cozy touch.

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.

A realtor friend of mine reached out to me and asked me to make her a personalized SOLD BY MELISSA sign and of course I said yes! Her mom is also a realtor and the person who sold us our beautiful old home. I made her this gorgeous thank you gift, a ROUND LAST NAME SIGN, she made the whole home buying process seamless for us.

I was excited when her realtor daughter messaged me asking for a personalized realtor sign for herself. And excited to share the SVG I used with you to use for free. You can find the SVG in my free resource library. This is where I keep all of my free printables, cut files, and more.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN SOLD BY REALTOR SIGN

What you’ll need

• Cricut cutting machine

• 24” green cutting mat

• Cricut Design Space

• FREE TO USE sold by SVG

• oramask stencil film

• transfer tape

• vinyl squeegee

• sewing pin or xacto knife

• white & red acrylic paint

• matte finish mod podge

• paint brush

• 8”x21” pine board

• stain (I used the color KONA)

• stain rags

1. CUT & STAIN THE WOOD BASE

The first thing I did was cut and stain my wooden base. I made my SOLD BY realtor sign from a 1x8 (which actually measures 7.5” not 8” if you are new to using lumber to make things). I cut it to measure 21”. I thought was a good size for photo opps.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN HOW TO STAIN A PIECE OF WOOD

Then I stained it in KONA using my lint free rags. Even though it was a 1 hour dry stain I let my sign dry for 24 hours and used these super helpful paint stand gems I found on Amazon.

2. CUT & APPLY THE STENCIL

After the stain was COMPLETELY DRY I cut out my stencil and applied it to my wood base.

PRO TIP: stencil material will not adhere to a wet surface. It doesn’t matter if it is slightly wet or super wet, it’s not going to stick down. Think of it like a sticker, essentially that is what a stencil is except you remove it.

I applied my clear transfer tape to the front of my stencil then removed the paper backing from the backside of the stencil.

Then I placed the stencil stick side down onto my wood base. Once I was happy with the placement of the stencil I used my vinyl squeegee to press out any air bubbles.

I removed the clear transfer tape from my stencil, leaving the stencil adhered to my wood base. When you do this it’s best to start from one corner of the sign then roll it toward the opposite corner SLOWLY. Don’t go too fast, this can cause a fat mistake and leave you cursing your sign and possibly ruining your entire day lol! Seriously, this has happened to me LOTS of times and after that my day just went downhill from there.

3. REMOVE AIR BUBBLES & SEAL THE STENCIL

I used my vinyl squeegee to help press out any noticeable air bubbles.

Then I sealed my stencil with matte finish mod podge

I painted on a SUPER THIN layer of the matte finish mod podge. This fills in all of the tiny little air bubbles that you can’t really tell that are there BUT once you peel your stencil up you see where they were because your paint has bled into all of those little spots.

This is what my stencil looked like once I was done applying the mod podge.

4. PAINT THE STENCIL

After the mod podge was dry I painted my stencil. I chose white for the lettering and the house image and red for the heart.

I painted a SUPER THIN coat of white paint on the entire stencil, even the heart that I will paint red later.

You want to see the wood grain through your paint.

It didn’t take long for that to dry then I painted second coat of white and painted the heart red.

5. PEEL UP THE STENCIL

I will almost always peel my stencil up while the paint is still wet. Some people wait for their paint to dry but I’ve found my projects turn out better when I peel the stencil up with wet paint.

Start from one corner and peel toward the opposite corner.

Then I used a sewing pin to peel up all the little middle pieces.

6. LET DRY

After I removed my stencil I let it dry completely and then sealed it with some clear matte finish spray.

I hope you enjoyed this sign painting tutorial. If you did be sure to sign up for my SIGN PAINTING COURSE teaching you EVERYTHING I know about sign making without the headache and stress it can be when you are first learning how to paint wood signs.

Baby it's cold outside warm up with hot cocoa & coffee DIY sign wood sign + free SVG

Winter coffee bar sign + free SVG

We bought a 120 yr old house over the summer. It’s a much bigger house than we’ve ever lived in AND I have space for an actual coffee bar now!! I’m so excited to decorate it for the winter & Christmas season.

I thought long and hard about how I would decorate my new rustic looking coffee bar and I opted for a winter hot cocoa & coffee theme instead of just decorating it for the Christmas season. That way I can keep my display up longer.

I also made this cute mini wood rolling pin to go on my winter coffee bar and I have a FREE SVG to go with it too.

If you’re just now starting out on your journey into the world of fancy cutting machines (aka a Cricut, Silhouette, or any other brand) be sure to read this post 10 MUST HAVE SUPPLIES & ACCESSORIES TO GET YOU STARTED WITH YOUR CRICUT.

Here’s what I used to make my mini wood winter sign

• 5.5”x5.5” pine board pre stained

• black & white acrylic paint

• matte finish mod podge

• paint brushes & flat paint brushes

• oramask stencil film

• transfer tape

• vinyl squeegee

• sewing pin

• scissors

• drop cloth

• paint tray

• Cricut cutting machine (I use a Cricut Explore)

• green Cricut cutting mat

• Cricut design space

• FREE SVG of baby it’s cold outside

1.CUT & WEED THE STENCIL

The SVG I used for this sign can be found in my FREE resource library click here, or you can purchase the SVG here. I uploaded it into Cricut Design Space and adjusted it to fit perfectly onto my 5.5”x5.5” wood pine base.

I cut my stencil out on ORAMASK 813 STENCIL FILM. I know, my mat is very loved lol! You can definitely tell I get a lot of use out of my craft supplies.

Typically I suggest using an xacto knife to weed stenciled designs but since this design is so small with lots of lettering I am using a sewing pin instead. This isn’t my go to but for small designs it works much better than an xacto knife.

2. PAINT THE BASE

After my stencil was cut and weeded I painted my wood piece. I used matte finish black acrylic paint for this and my rusty but trusty 1” paint brush. This brush is one of my FAVORITE paint brushes! It may look like a hot mess but it paints beautifully!

I wanted this to look a little more rustic without having to take my sander to it. Instead of a painting all the way to the edges of the wood base I left a slight border around it and I made it super uneven to give it an even more farmhouse-y look. Then I let it dry completely.

3. APPLY THE STENCIL

After my base coat was completely dry I applied my stencil. Be sure when you do this step that your paint is TOTALLY dry. If it’s not the stencil film will peel up the base coat and it will be an ugly mess.

I cut my stencil so it would perfectly fit on my wood base that way I wouldn’t have to stress about centering it and making it all even.

I aligned the stencil on the base and used my vinyl squeegee to press out all the air bubbles. PRO TIP: work from the middle out to press out air bubbles.

Then I removed my stencil film. This removes best when you roll it away from your stencil vs trying to peel it up and off of your stencil.

4. SEAL THE STENCIL

Sealing your stencil isn’t 100% necessary but it does help to keep the paint bleed to a minimum. I use MATTE FINISH MOD PODGE for this.

I paint a super thin coat of mod podge onto my exposed areas of my stencil. Making sure I am almost pushing the mod podge into the stencil creases. Then I let it dry completely. Again, use a SUPER THIN COAT of mod podge if you do this step.

5.PAINT THE STENCIL

After my mod podge was dry I painted the exposed areas of my stencil with white acrylic paint.

I let the first coat dry then I painted a second coat.

Be sure when you do this step that you paint SUPER THIN layers. If your paint layers are too thick then your paint will peel up with you peel up your stencil.

6. PEEL UP THE STENCIL

Everyone is different but for me I always peel up my stencil while my paint is still wet. This method has worked for me on the THOUSANDS of signs I have painted so this is the method that I always recommend.

Start from one corner and peel toward the opposite corner.

Then use your sewing pin or an xacto knife to take out all of the little middle pieces. If you accidently get paint on your base paint no worries. When the paint is all dry just take a paint brush and paint over all of the little mistakes.

7. TOUCH UP

When the paint is all dry just take a paint brush and paint over all of the little mistakes.

After my sign was dry I put it up on my coffee bar even though it was almost 11pm lol!! No wonder my pic turned out super blah and yellow with the lighting . That’s ok!

Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Check out more DIY sign painting projects

Interchangeable pallet style wall sign

Interchangeable wood signs are all the rage right now. And honestly who doesn’t want to have less seasonal décor to store?

Don’t get me wrong they are SO CUTE but I’ve seen them everywhere, including a similar version when I was growing up. I just wanted something different. If you haven’t see these adorable signs here’s a screenshot I took from Pinterest when I searched interchangeable seasonal signs. Super cute, just not what I was wanting in my new home.

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 thought ‘why not just put up a blank white sign?’ Not really genius but I sure felt that way lol!

Here’s what you’ll need to make a light weight blank faux pallet sign to change out through the seasons

• 1/4” plywood

• 1x2 pieces (number of pieces will depend on the size of your blank sign)

• wood glue

• miter saw (I bought this 12” slider and LOVE IT!!)

• tape measure

• nail gun (I love my Ryobi brad nailer)

• brad nails

• sander ( I love my handheld sander from Ryobi)

• sand paper

• white paint

DIY FAUX PALLET STYLE SIGN USING PLYWOOD

I had some faux planks already cut to the width I wanted. They were leftover from this budget friendly bedroom faux plank wall DIY that we did.

My planks were precut to 5” wide. Then I used my miter saw to cut them to approx 20” strips.

I wanted my sign to be fairly large because I was propping it up on a buffet in my dining room (btw I need to take some paint to it because I’m not loving the outdated brown). I have old house with pretty high ceilings so I also needed the sign to be tall enough to fill the blank space on the wall.

I ended up using 5 planks to make my sign. They aren’t perfectly even on the sides and I’m totally ok with that since I’m not a perfectionist by any stretch of the imagination.

After I got my faux strips cut the length I wanted I gave them a quick sanding with my orbit sander and 120 grit sandpaper. This was just to knock down any little splinters and make the sign somewhat smooth.

I laid them out on my table and placed the sides I liked the best faced down.

Then I took my 1x2 pieces, I cut three of these, and used them for the backing. My planks went horizontally so my brace pieces, the 1x2’s were made to go vertically (the height of the sign).

I placed one in the middle and one on each side.

I used wood glue to attach them to the back and my Ryobi brad nailer to really attach them so they wouldn’t be going anywhere.

I’m going to be totally transparent here…my first plan was to use a white wash stain. I’d never used it before and had this beautiful picture in my head of how it would turn out. Yeah, I don’t think plywood was my best choice for this stain. It just left it kinda blah looking so I wiped it all off.

Paint to the rescue! I took some leftover wall paint, that I’ve been using for everything including this framed Halloween porch sign … btw there’s a free SVG for that sign … , and painted a couple of coats on the plank sign. Painting it worked MUCH better!

That’s it. I didn’t do anything else to it. I’m so glad I used plywood planks for this project. A regular pallet pine sign like this one, would have been far too heavy to prop up. I’m a momma of 4, enough said lol!

I was so excited to decorate it for my first holiday in my new home!

Check out the flying bats post I made for this blank wood sign.

Check out more DIY power tool projects

Life is short lick the spoon wood sign + FREE SVG

Life is short lick the spoon wood sign + FREE SVG

Use this free life is short lick the spoon FREE SVG to make your own decal or painted wood sign.

DIY HUMOROUS KITCHEN SIGN

I’m sure you’ve seen all those gorgeous gallery walls on Pinterest. You know the ones that have all the perfectly placed together farmhouse pieces. If you still aren’t sure what I’m talking about here are some awesome kitchen gallery walls on Pinterest.

Anyway, my friend is making one in her home…in her beautiful home that really probably was a true farmhouse in its day… and she asked me to make her a final piece to finish it up.

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.

She sent me a pic of a sign that said “life is short don’t lick the spoon” and asked if I could make one like it. Of course I said yes!

I used the photo she sent me as inspiration and created my own SVG for the painted wood sign. You can get the same SVG I used here in my free resource library.

DIY - LIFE IS SHORT LICK THE SPOON aqua stained wood kitchen sign

Here’s what you need

• wood base, I used a 1x10 pine board I got from my local hardware/lumber store

• stain - I used this aqua color from Rust-Oleum

• chalk paint - I used the color Sheepskin

• lint free rags

• dabber

• oramask stencil film

• transfer tape

• vinyl squeegee

• Cricut cutting machine (I used an Explore)

• green cutting mat

• design space

• life is short lick the spoon SVG -or- get it FREE in my resource library

• miter saw

• sander

• 120 grit sand paper

1.CUT THE WOOD & STAIN

I used a 1x10 and used my Ryobi miter saw to cut it square. If you aren’t familiar with lumber it actually doesn’t measure 1”x10” it’s more like .75”x9.25”. So, I cut my piece to measure 9.25”x9.25”. Then gave it a light sanding using 120 grit sand paper.

My friend asked for AQUA STAIN which is a gorgeous color! I had it on hand so I stained it up then let it dry. After it was completely dry I took my Ryobi sander and sanded around the edges and corners then lightly over the front. This gives it a more rustic farmhouse look.

2.CUT OUT & WEED THE STENCIL

While your wood base is drying cut your stencil out. I used my older model Cricut Explore and it still works like a champ! If you don’t have a fancy cutting machine I highly recommend getting one, even if you can’t afford the Maker (there’s no shame in that I still don’t even have the Maker lol!). Be sure to read 10 must have supplies and accessories to get started using a Cricut. 

I use Oramask stencil film for most all of my stenciled projects. If you plan to make LOTS of painted wood signs check out this post I wrote on where I buy my stencil film in bulk to save a ton of money.

3. APPLY THE STENCIL

Apply your clear transfer tape onto the front of your stencil. Remove the paper backing from your stencil. Place your stencil sticky side down onto your wood base.

Rub your stencil with your vinyl squeegee and slowly roll your transfer tape off of your stencil. FUN FACT: you CAN reuse your transfer tape over and over again.

Go over the stencil with your finger or your vinyl squeegee to make sure there aren’t any air bubbles. If there are smooth them out.

Click here to see how I made this gorgeous baby stat sign using plywood

4. PAINT THE STENCIL

I used chalk paint to paint my stencil. If you want to use the same color it’s called SHEEPSKIN.

A dabber like this one is great for stenciling. For the best results and virtually no paint bleed lightly dip your dabber into your chalk paint then dab off the excess, you want very little paint left on the round sponge dabber. Using a pouncing motion paint the exposed areas of the stencil.

Let dry, then repeat till you are satisfied with the coverage. Typically 2 coats is the perfect amount needed.

5. PEEL UP THE STENCIL

I will usually always peel my stencil up while the stencil paint is still wet. While this is my preferred method this may not work for everyone, and that’s totally ok.

Start by peeling up one corner of the stencil and peel it off toward the opposite corner.

Use a sewing pin or xacto knife to peel up all the middle areas.

Let your painted areas dry then you are ready to display in your home.

I hope you enjoyed this sign painting tutorial. Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below.

Check out more DIY SIGN PAINTING TUTORIALS

Rustic It's Halloween Witches framed leaning porch sign + FREE SVG

Rustic It's Halloween Witches framed leaning porch sign + FREE SVG

Make your own vertical rustic farmhouse leaning porch sign for Halloween. Bonus: grab the It’s Halloween Witches FREE SVG in my free to use resource library

It’s Halloween Witches! YES! I can’t believe how amazing this painted sign turned out. It has all the gorgeous elements of farmhouse basics but a not so common (on a porch sign) Halloween saying…which makes me extra love it! I could have went with a basic cutesy saying like “boo” or “trick or treat” but I wanted my porch sign to have just a bit of sass to it! And it totally does and fits my family SO well. We are a bit sarcastic and sassy 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.

And I kept the back of it blank, well I went ahead and painted it white, so I could make it a reversible fall leaning sign later on. I’m all about getting double use out of my décor. I’m a momma of 4, double sided or dual purpose décor is wonderful in my world. Less to store and less to change out when the seasons change.

I have actually had this piece of 1x10 pine hanging around forever! I stained it when I stained this round wood base for this last name sign a couple years ago and am just now getting around to creating on them. Life of a mom and entrepreneur! Here’s what it looked like before I smothered it in creativity. Just a blank stained piece of wood. You can’t see it in this pic but it had a ton of scratches and some gouges on it from being moved around so much in my craft room over the last couple of years.

If you don’t already have a Cricut I HIGHLY recommend getting one. I still create on my old Cricut Explore and create some pretty awesome projects to share with the world ;) Cricut newbie? Read this post on 10 supplies and accessories you need to get started with your cutting machine.

Side note… If you need the checkered rug that’s on my porch get this one. I looked for hours trying to find the exact one and this one is perfect. I don’t have OCD but I really specifically wanted one that had the same stripe on the top and bottom so that it looked even and this one was the only one I came across that that did in the size that I needed it.

How to make a rustic farmhouse leaning Halloween porch sign you will love

Here’s what you’ll need

• pine board, I used a stained 1x10x52 -sign

• 1x2x52 {x2} 1x2x10.75 {x2} -frame

• It’s Halloween Witches SVG , free in my resource library

• white paint, I used leftover wall paint from when we made this faux plank wall

• black and orange acrylic paint

• paint brush

• paint stands (trust me this will make painting a large board SO much easier!)

• oramask stencil film

• transfer tape

• xacto knife or sewing pin for picking the stencil

• vinyl squeegee

• stain- I used the color Kona

• stain rags

• gloves

• Cricut cutting machine

• Cricut 24” green cutting mat

• Cricut Design Space

• Ryobi miter saw

• Ryobi sander

• 120 grit orbit sandpaper

• Ryobi brad nailer

• lint free cloth

1.PAINT THE BASE

I chose to use a board that was already stained. This is not a must but I do like that the stain peaks through the sanded bits of my sign. I painted my wood sign with two coats of white wall paint. You can use acrylic paint too. I didn’t have white acrylic to use so I used the wall paint instead and it works just as great.

After my first coat was dry I applied a second coat of white paint then let that completely dry.

2. APPLY THE STENCIL

I cut my stencils out on my Cricut then weeded the letters out with a sewing pin. If you want to know how to make a reverse stencil sign be sure to check out this laundry sign tutorial.

Because this sign was so large I had to break it up into three separate pieces in Design Space.

I added masking tape to the sides and the seams where the stencils touch just in case I got paint a little too far outside of the stencil I wouldn’t have a big mess to clean up.

3.PAINT THE STENCIL

I used acrylic paint to paint the lettering of my stencil. The first thing I did was seal my stencil so that I would get minimal to no paint bleed. This isn’t a must but it does help to get super crisp lines.

I just painted of paint on the lettering. I painted IT’S and WITCHES with black acrylic paint and HALLOWEEN with orange acrylic paint.

4. PEEL UP THE STENCIL

I always peel up my stencils while my paint is wet. I started with the small lettering first then worked my way down the wood sign.

I used a sewing pin to lift out all the little middle pieces

If you love this tutorial be sure to check out how to make these super cute Halloween wood tags

5.CUT & STAIN THE FRAME

After my sign was dry I measured a 1x2 and cut pieces for my frame. Here’s what it looked like once I got my pieces cut and stained.

I had 2 pieces that were cut at 52” and 2 pieces that were cut at 10.75”.

Before I attached my framed pieces to my Halloween sign I distressed the 1x2’s with my sander and 120 grit sandpaper

7. ATTACH THE FRAME

I attached the two long side pieces first. I used a little bit of wood glue then used my Ryobi brad nailer to attach them to the sign.

Don’t worry if you miss cut your wood frame pieces. I do this ALL the time. Just use your miter saw to square it up after you get them attached.

Here’s what my sign looked like once I got the side frame pieces attached. I framed the sign so that the sign would be in the middle of the framed pieces instead of flush with the back. You can also see where I used my miter saw to cut off the uneven parts.

I did the same thing for the top and bottom pieces. Added the wood glue, my husband says to apply it in a squiggle line, idk if this is really how you’re supposed to do it or if he’s just messing with me lol but whatever it is this seems to work.

8.SEAL THE FINISHED SIGN

If you want to protect your sign from the elements I recommend sealing it with an outdoor sealant like this one. I did not do this step because I plan to paint a fall themed stencil on the other side of this Halloween porch sign. But after I finish the other side I’ll seal it with the outdoor spray.

Then you’re all done. I hope you enjoyed this DIY craft tutorial :)! If you have any questions please ask them in the comments below.

Happy crafting!

DIY painted & distressed laundry room sign + FREE SVG

DIY painted & distressed laundry room sign + FREE SVG

Make your own stenciled and distressed laundry room sign. BONUS: grab the FREE to use SVG in my free resource library.

Easy stenciled wood sign for your laundry room

Want to make a simple yet large sign for your laundry room? You’ve come to the right place! I’ve been making this exact LAUNDRY sign in my shop for a couple of years now and really wanted to share with you how I make it because it’s super easy and simple. Not a whole lot of fuss goes into making this larger than mat wooden sign using your Cricut.

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.

By the way…how cute is my little model?! This is the youngest of my four daughters and she always wants to help me work. She doesn’t care what it is she just wants in on all the fun and exciting things of momma’s business. She was absolutely thrilled when I asked her to hold the sign so I could snap a pic.

Look at that big cheesy smile! Melts my momma heart! Barefoot, girly dress with a unicorn hoodie over it and let’s not forget the wild hair. Oh the life!

If you want to DIY a wood sign but don’t have all the tools be sure to check out my DIY CRAFT KITS.

HOW TO STENCIL A SIGN FOR YOUR LAUNDRY ROOM

Here’s what you’ll need

• wood board, I used pine 1x8 measuring 40”x7.25'“x.75” (those are the exact measurements)

• white paint

• gray paint, I used pewter gray

• paint brush

• oramask stencil film

• vinyl squeegee

• transfer tape

• Cricut cutting machine, I use an Explore for all of my projects I haven’t upgraded to the maker yet

• green cutting mat

• Cricut Design Space

• LAUNDRY SVG (get it free in my free resource library)

• xacto knife

• paint stands (to keep your board up off the table)

• drop cloth (to keep your surface area clean)

• Ryobi sander

• sandpaper

• Ryobi miter saw
  

If you’re new to the Cricut world be sure to check out my Cricut newbie post.

PAINTED LAUNDRY SIGN TUTORIAL

1.CUT OUT THE STENCIL

I cut my stencil out using Oramask 813 stencil film. This is my go to for most all of the stenciled wood signs I make. If you plan to make a lot of wooden signs you’ll want to read my post on how to save money on stencil film.

Because I did a reverse stencil method, not a traditional traditional stencil methodmethod, I added lines onto my stencil to make it super easy to align on my wood base. Then I set my stencils aside till I needed them.

I used and xacto knife to weed the stencils. Be sure to leave the letters and remove the background of the stencil. Since this is a reverse stencil it will look different than a typical stencil does.

2.PAINT THE LETTER COLOR

Typically I would use acrylic paints for this but I was all out of white acrylic paint. Instead I used a white wall paint that is actually better than acrylic to use for this sign.

I painted the sides with one coat of paint and I painted two coats on the front of the sign. Letting it dry completely between coats.

3. APPLY THE STENCIL

I applied transfer tape to one stencil then reused that same transfer tape for the next stencil. Did you know you can reuse transfer tape till it doesn’t work anymore? You sure can!

After I rubbed the stencil with my vinyl squeegee I flipped my stencil over and removed the paper backing.

Then I flipped the stencil over so that the sticky side was down and I placed the stencil where I wanted it on my wood base. This is where the lines on the stencil come in handy. This allows me to center the lettering without any stress. I made my stencil to the exact size of my wood board, with the extra lines, so that when I went to apply the stencil I wouldn’t have to worry about letters being uneven.

Then I pressed it down with my vinyl squeegee to remove any air bubbles then removed the transfer tape. PRO TIP: rolling the transfer tape off of the stencil works best and it won’t lift your design up and off of the wood.

I did the same process for the other part of my stencil. Then I removed the lines on the tops and bottoms because I didn’t need them anymore and didn’t want them to be apart of my design.

3. SEAL THE STENCIL

The key to no paint bleed is to seal the stencil before you paint it. Essentially what you are doing is filling in any tiny air bubbles that paint could get under with the same color as your lettering. So in my case I sealed my stencil with white paint. It just takes a TINY bit of paint, you want to paint into the direction of your stencil. I let this dry completely.

4. PAINT THE SIGN

After the sealing was dry I painted my sign gray. I also paint the back because I think this gives pieces a more finished look but it’s all personal preference. I did two layers of gray paint. I let the first one dry totally before applying the second coat on top of it.

5. PEEL THE STENCIL

While my paint was still wet I peeled the stencil up. Some people choose to do this after their paint is dry and that is totally ok, this is just my personal preference after making thousands of handmade signs over the last few years. Using an xacto knife or a sewing pin works great for this step.

After I got all the stencil pieces removed from the wood base I let it dry.

6. DISTRESSING

This is totally optional. If you don’t want to distress your sign you can choose not to and be done. But if you do want to distress your painted wood sign I recommend using a sander for this step. Mainly because I really don’t like sanding anything with a piece of sandpaper. It’s so much easier to do this with a sander. Focus on the edges and anywhere that would naturally be worn. I also lightly go across the front of my pieces with my sander.

The last thing I do is to wipe it with a lint free cloth to get all the dust off from sanding. Super simple and easy! I told ya, it’s pretty much no fuss.

If you have any questions about this tutorial let me know in the comments below.

Happy Crafting!

Halloween wood tags, how to DIY your own set of cute spooky mini tags

DIY WOOD TAGS FOR HALLOWEEN

I just love these adorable rustic wood tags! Since they are so small they make such perfect little accents to your décor. Especially these Halloween wood tags. I made these adorable little guys and placed them in my Halloween porch décor. Oh my goodness they look so cute with all the orange, black, and rustic-ey decorations!

If you love this tutorial be sure to check out these mini wooden fall signs

If you don’t have all the tools/materials to make these little wooden tags from scratch you can grab a DIY CRAFT KIT HERE.

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 DIY HALLOWEEN CRAFT KIT COMES WITH

• 3 precut and lightly sanded 5” wood tags

• professional outdoor grade vinyl cut outs

  • HAPPY HAUNTING

  • spider web image

  • OCTOBER 31

• detailed picture instructions

• ****paint and brushes are NOT included

If you don’t need a DIY CRAFT KIT here’s what you’ll need

• black, orange, & white vinyl

• transfer tape, here’s one with gridlines for easy application

• vinyl squeegee

• black and white paint

• paint brushes or sponges

• sandpaper

• twine

• 3 wood tags 5”, I cut mine from a 1x4

• Cricut cutting machine

• green Cricut mat

• Cricut Design space

• HALLOWEEN SVG’s

• I also recommend using a drop cloth to protect your crafty surface

Want to know how I make my wood tags? Click here to read my post on DIY MINI WOOD TAGS, it also includes a video tutorial.

After you have your wood pieces cut out, sanded and your vinyl decals cut, weeded, and transfer tape applied you can start on the steps below.

If you want to learn how to cut out your own wood tags read this post. If you are new to Cricut, or the world of fancy cutting machines in general, check out my post on the 10 must have accessories and supplies to get for a Cricut newbie

1. PAINT

Paint 2 of your wood tags black, one coat will be fine for this, and 1 of your wood tags white, this will need 2-3 coats. Let dry. Letting your wood tags dry completely is a MUST. If your paint is still wet when you move on to the next step your vinyl will not stick to it.

2. DISTRESS

Using a piece of sandpaper distress the edges. You’ll want to focus on the edges and any area that you think would have a natural wear to it.

Then wipe with a lint free cloth.

3. APPLY DECALS

Be extra sure that your paint is completely dry before you start this step. Vinyl does not stick to wet paint.

Using your vinyl squeegee, a plastic rewards card will also work for this step, rub the front of your Halloween themed vinyl decal.

Flip it over and do the same thing on the backside.

Then peel the paper backing away from the clear transfer tape, your design should stay attached to the clear transfer tape.

Flip your vinyl decal sticky side down onto your wood tag. Don’t push it onto the wood tag until you are happy with the placement, then press it down. Use your vinyl squeegee for this step. Then remove the clear transfer tape.

Start on one corner then slowly peel your way to the opposite corner. If your decal comes off with the transfer tape just press it back down and slowly roll the transfer tape away from the decal again. Be sure you take your time during this process, especially if you are new to the decal game.

BLACK TAG: HAPPY HAUNTING decal

BLACK TAG: OCTOBER 31 decal

WHITE TAG: SPIDER WEB IMAGE decal

4. TWINE

Add some twine to make them even more adorable! Feed the twine through the hole in the top middle of the tag. Then tie the two twine ends together.

You’re all done! I hope you enjoyed this DIY craft tutorial. If you have any questions please ask in the comments below.

Happy Crafting!

DIY round last name established sign with a modern farmhouse look

HOW TO MAKE A ROUND LAST NAME ESTABLISHED SIGN

Wow! I am so loving this round last name established sign I made for our realtor! It turned out even better than I thought it was going to. Usually I distress my wood signs, like this bless our nest sign, even if its just a tiny bit to give it a little bit of it’s own original character. But this one I left completely un-distressed (yup I’m using that one as a real word lol!). It’s more of a modern farmhouse look to me, and holy cow I love it!

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.

My husband and I bought our very first house, you can read about our first DIY home project here, and our realtor was AMAZING! Because she worked her butt off giving us such a wonderful first time home buying experience we wanted to give her a special thank you gift. I knew she loved personalized things for her home and I had a hunch she was more of a modern farmhouse kind of girl and not a chippy shiplap kind of girl.

I spent hours trying to find the perfect font for her gift and finally settled on one I found on www.dafont.com. Oh the anxiety of finding the right font. I swear I spend more time picking a font for my Cricut projects than I do actually making the craft…please tell me I’m not the only one who does this.

If you are on the fence about buying a cutting machine, no matter if it’s a Cricut or any other machine I am here to tell you to do it! Every crafty girl should have a fancy cutting machine. I still craft with the older model, the Cricut explore, mainly because I’m a super frugal momma and haven’t been able to justify a Cricut upgraded purchase.

If you’re new to the Cricut world these are my top 10 must have supplies and accessories to get started on your Cricut journey

I still can’t believe how amazing this sign turned out. I went back and forth on if I was going to add a burlap bow and lambs ear to this personalized round sign but I was instantly told no way by my four daughters and my husband. They all agreed the sign was perfect as it was! So I kept it a simply beauty!

How to make a round last name sign for your modern farmhouse decor

Here’s what you’ll need to make your own personalized round wood sign

• round wood base that is prestained, I bought mine from Home Depot

• Cricut cutting machine

• Cricut design space

• green Cricut cutting mat

• oramask stencil film

• transfer tape

• xacto knife

• vinyl squeegee

• painters tape

• paint brush for the base

• paint brush for stenciling

• chalk paint- here’s what I used

• acrylic paint

• matte finish mod podge

• drop cloth to protect your surface

DIY ROUND LAST NAME MODERN FARMHOUSE SIGN

1. STAIN YOUR BASE

I started with a pre-stained round wood base. If you are new to staining check out this quick video I made on how to stain wood easy without a giant mess. Be sure to let your sign DRY COMPLETELY for the recommended time according to the stain you use. If it’s not totally dry the stain will seep through to the paint and cause ugly unwanted marks.

2. TAPE OFF THE BASE

I chose to paint about 2/3 of my sign. I used wide painters tape to tape off my line. I just eyeballed this but if you want it to be super exact you can get out the measuring tape for this step.

To be sure that there were no air bubbles in the tape I used my vinyl squeegee and pressed along the seam of the tape.

3. PAINT A BASE COAT

I used chalk paint to paint my base, the color sheepskin (I know weird name but it’s pretty!) Chalk paint isn’t for all paint projects but I do like to use it when painting over dark stain because it has great coverage.

Since I didn’t seal this sign I was sure to paint downward pulling my brush away from the tape line. If you pull your brush up toward the tape you could risk paint bleed underneath the tape line.

I also painted around the outside edge of my round wood sign.

I like to paint a thin layer to start with, one you can still see the stain through. Then I let that dry completely.

4. SECOND BASE COAT

After the first coat is totally dry I painted a second coat. Be sure it is dry, if you apply a second coat of paint with the first layer is still wet your paint brush/paint will pull the first layer away from your base.

5. PEEL THE TAPE OFF

I usually always peel the tape/stencils while my paint is still wet. It’s all personal preference though. Some people wait till their projects are semi dry or even all the way dry before peeling but I have had great luck peeling while the paint is wet so that’s what I always recommend.

6. APPLY THE STENCIL

After my wood circle base was dry I stenciled on my design. I used oramask stencil film to stencil on the personalization. This is my go to material for doing most of my handmade wood signs. After I weeded my design I applied the transfer tape. For this wood sign I am using expressions transfer tape, I’ve tried several different brands and really like this one. Don’t forget you can reuse your transfer tape so don’t toss it when you’re done.

After I removed the paper backing I centered my stencil sticky side down on my wood base, I just eyeballed it.

Once I was happy with the placement I used my vinyl squeegee to rub it to the base of the sign so it would stick.

Then I peeled off the transfer tape. When you do this you want to start from one corner and work your way to the opposite corner. Be sure not to pull up when doing this, you almost want to roll it off of the stencil.

7. SEAL THE STENCIL

I almost always do this with any sign I make to help prevent paint bleed. I seal my stencil with a SUPER THIN layer of matte finish mod podge. Then I let that dry.

8. PAINT THE STENCIL

I chose a classic black acrylic paint my personalized wooden sign. You can use chalk paint for this but with thin lines, like in the design I made, chalk paint can something be too thick and cause your paint to peel up when peeling up the stencil. Acrylic paint works perfectly for this DIY stenciling project.

I painted a really thin layer of the black acrylic paint, you still want to be able to see the base color through the paint. Then I let that dry.

Once that was dry I applied a second THIN coat.

9. PEEL UP THE STENCIL

Just like with the painters tape I peeled the stencil up while the paint was still wet. Like I said above, this method works well for me but others like to wait till the paint is dry. I start at one corner and I pull up and across to the opposite corner.

To take out all the little middle pieces I use a sharp xacto knife to lift them up and off of my wood base.

10. LET DRY

Once I was done painting I let my sign sit and dry. The last thing you want it to ruin your design by moving it while it’s still wet, I’m speaking from experience lol don’t make my mistake ;) !

I am so excited to gift this special sign to our realtor! I just know she is going to love and cherish it in her home. And I can’t wait to make my own personalized last name sign for my own home.

I hope you enjoyed this super simple sign painting tutorial. If you have any questions please feel free to ask them below in the comments.

Happy Crafting!

Classic farmhouse tiered tray signs

Tiered tray sign bundle for your CLASSIC looking farmhouse decor

I am loving this tiered tray decor that’s all the rage right now. There are so many different seasons, holidays, and themes you can do. Or you can keep it super classy and simple with the classic black and white farmhouse colors. There is so much you can do with these simple color scheme. You can keep it black and white or add a couple rustic pieces that will give it a pop of color here and there. I love how versatile it is!

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 LOVE this crafty post be sure to check out how I made a mini house family number sign. Instead of using vinyl like I did on these rustic farmhouse mini signs I painted it instead.

If you’re in to the rustic farmhouse style how can you not love a mini wooden tag that has farm animals on it?! This one is probably my favorite of all the bundled pieces. I absolutely LOVE chickens! Well of course cows and pigs too but chickens are really my favorite farm animal! Every time I see one, whether that be a real life chicken or a picture of one, I smile! They are just too cute!

TIERED TRAY RUSTIC SIGNS

For this tiered tray bundle I incorporated different sizes and shapes to these farmhouse pieces mix it up a bit. I typically create identical bases for my handmade sign pieces, like these hilarious rustic looking cactus signs. Another example are these Easter mini wood tags. They come in a set of 3 but they are all the same sized wood base. While they are super cute I am really loving the mix and match look of the different sized and styled bases of these classic farmhouse tiered tray signs.

Here are the sign bases I used:

• MINI ROLLING PIN

• MINI WOOD HOUSE

• MINI WOOD TAG

• MINI WOOD SIGN

Since they are all different sizes and shapes they truly work perfectly for the tiered tray signs.

Unlike most of my signs I actually chose to use vinyl on them instead of painting the entire design. I have been one BUSY momma this year so I’ve been adding more simple designs and styles to my shop line up. I guess I always thought using vinyl was “cheating” in the sign making game but I have no regrets using the vinyl on these designs. They are quick to make, priced at a more affordable price point, and I can get them out to my customers even faster because it takes SO much LESS time to create.

While stenciling designs will always be my preferred method for making signs I do love how these vinyled signs turned out. So much that I have plans to add even more in my shop!

You can grab the FARM FRESH design in my FREE RESOURCE LIBRARY.

Want your own set but don’t want to make them? You can purchase your handmade signs from my shop, click here —-> CLASSIC FARMHOUSE STYLE TIERED TRAY SIGNS

If you are a DIY-er and want to make your own rustic farmhouse style tiered tray signs here’s what I recommend you use.

• matte finish black vinyl

• transfer tape

• vinyl squeegee

• white paint

• mini rolling pins

• paint brush

• xacto knife

• sandpaper

• Cricut

• Cricut Design Space

• green Cricut cutting mat

• HOME SWEET HOME SVG

• FARM ANIMAL SVG

• OUR NEST SVG

• FARM FRESH SVG

New to Cricut? Check out these 10 must haves to get you started on your crafty journey

I don’t have a full on tutorial on how I made these signs they were really pretty simple to make since there wasn’t any stenciling involved. Stenciling is a WAY more involved process. But this process is super easy.

Here’s how I made my rustic tiered tray signs

1. Paint each wood base white. Let dry. Paint a second coat. Let dry.

2. Once dry distress the edges. Wipe with a dry lint free cloth.

3. Cut out your designs using your Cricut, or other cutting machine.

4. Weed your designs using your xacto knife.

5. Apply your transfer tape and remove paper backing from your designs.

6. Place your designs on your wood bases. Rub with your vinyl squeegee and remove your transfer tape.

7. Add any twine accents.

8. Place on your tiered tray and enjoy!

It’s really that simple! No messing with paint bleed. No fuss with drying time between stenciling paint coats. No stress about paint peel up. I really enjoyed how quick and easy these DIY mini wood signs were!

I hope you enjoyed this crafty tutorial. If you have any questions please feel free to ask in the comments section below.

Happy Crafting!

See how I make my mini wood tags. Don’t have the power tools to create the tags from scratch? Grab the unfinished wood tags here.

DIY Tiered Tray signs for 4th of July with Rae Dunn inspired SKINNY FONT

DIY 4TH OF JULY TIERED TRAY WOOD SIGN

RED, WHITE, AND BLUE rustic mini signs… yes!! Tiered tray signs are all the rage right now. If you’ve been on Pinterest, Etsy, or anywhere in between then you’ve definitely seen these little farmhouse looking beauties! They are usually made using a simple design and just tie in perfectly with the whole clean rustic look that’s in right now.

If you’re wanting to make your own mini wood signs it’s actually pretty easy to do. I make my tiered tray signs from 1x4’s that I cut down using my miter saw BUT even if you don’t have access to power tool you can still make your own mini wood signs! I’ve put together this DIY PATRIOTIC CRAFT KIT you can grab online in my shop. It comes with everything (except paint brushes) you need to make your own Independence Day signs at home. No need to go out and buy any fancy equipment or tools, especially if you don’t plan on making a ton of DIY craft projects.

If you are wanting to take the sign painting world by the horns be sure to read these 6 must haves for painting wood signs. I share the basic must haves to get you started on your own sign painting journey.

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.

DIY 4TH OF JULY WOOD SIGNS FOR TIERED TRAYS

Here’s what you’ll need to make your own set of patriotic wooden signs

If you purchased the PATRIOTIC DIY SIGN PAINTING KIT your wood blanks will come pre-stained. You can skip to the step #3

• pine 1x4 cut into these lengths: 6”, 10”, 12”

• Cricut cutting machcine

• Cricut Design Space

• Cricut green cutting mat

• oramask stencil film

• transfer tape

• vinyl squeegee

• stenciling sponge

• red, white, blue, black acrylic paint

• paint brushes

• stain color of choice

• lint free cloth

• gloves to protect your hands when staining

• Ryobi miter saw

• Ryobi sander

• 120 grit orbit sand paper

• xacto knife

• FREE CRICUT 4TH OF JULY CUT FILE

1. CUT & PREP YOUR WOOD PIECES

If you purchased the 4TH OF JULY DIY CRAFT KIT you can skip this step. If not you need to cut your 1x4’s to 6”, 10” and 12”. I use a miter saw to cut mine then give them a quick sanding with120 grit sand paper using my orbit sander. I stain my pieces then let dry for 24 hours. Once dry I sand around the edges to give it a distressed look. Now they are ready for paint :)!

2. CUT YOUR STENCILS

Cut out your stencils on your cutting machine, I use an older model Cricut explore and it always does a perfect job! I highly recommend using Oramask stencil film to cut your stencils out of. This material is specifically made for stenciling and performs very well. Weed your design and apply transfer tape to it so it is ready to go. Get your FREE Cricut cut files here to use for this exact 4th of July project.

3. PAINT YOUR BACKGROUND COLOR

Using a dry brush apply a THIN coat of paint on the front side of your wooden bases. For a more rustic look apply the paint so that it doesn’t touch the edge of the wood base and so that it a little uneven. Let that dry then paint a second coat. Let the second coat completely dry.

4. APPLY YOUR STENCIL

Using your vinyl squeegee apply your stencil to your painted wood base. Once you feel it is adhered good slowly remove the transfer tape off of your stencil. The best way to do this is to start at one corner and slowly roll the transfer tape off of your blue stencil material. PRO TIP: you never want to pull up when removing your transfer tape, this will cause your stencil to pull up as well. Use your finger to rub the exposed area of the stencil to work out any puckers or air bubbles.

5. PAINT YOUR STENCIL

Cut your stencil sponge into 3-4 sections, depending on the number of different colors you plan to use. Lightly dip the end of one of your stenciling sponges into your paint of choice, dab off excess paint onto a scrap piece of cardboard (or something similar) then using an up and down dabbing motion dab it onto the exposed areas of your stencil. Your paint coverage should be super thin, you want to be able to see the background color at this point. Let dry. Once dry dab on a second thin layer. If you are happy with the coverage you can move on to step 6. If you want a little more coverage wait for the second layer to dry then dab on a third layer of pain

6. REMOVE YOUR STENCIL

Using a sharp xacto knife or sewing pin peel your stencil up while your paint is still wet. Be careful not to touch the wet paint. Let your painted wood sign dry.

7. DISTRESS

This step is completely optional. If you want a little more rustic look lightly go over the front of your wooden sign with a sanding sponge or piece of sandpaper. I personally like adding this touch to my signs to give it a more farmhouse look. Wipe off the dust with a lint free cloth and you are ready to display them on your tiered tray.

DIY How to make a RUSTIC UNICORN sign + FREE SVG

Unicorns…my third daughter is OBSESSED with these magical creators and has been for years. She was the inspiration behind these rustic looking glittery unicorn themed mason jars that we found on Pinterest and HAD to make our own. Everything is unicorn theme from her bedroom décor to her birthday party themes to her clothing. So, this year for her birthday of course she asked for…you guessed it UNICORN themed presents!

With all the craziness going on the world in the year of 2020 she couldn’t have a traditional birthday party. BOO! Instead she had a small but SUPER FUN day at home filled with a unicorn shaped cake made by her older sisters and LOTS of fun outdoor activities.

While she did get a few store bought gifts I thought it would be so fun to make her a rustic looking unicorn sign to hang in her unicorn themed side of the bedroom. She already has this gorgeous unicorn themed bedspread and SO many other purple glittery unicorn knick knacks I thought this sign would tie in perfectly with all of it.

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.

And she LOVED it! I was so happy because sometimes you make or buy something for your kid and you don’t always get the reaction you were hoping for. You know the one where they give you a huge smile and a thank you but you can tell deep down that it really wasn’t what they were expecting. Thank goodness my sweet girl BEAMED with unicorn excitement when she got her handmade rustic always believe in magical things sign from her momma! YAY a mom WIN!!

If you want to make this exact unicorn SVG you can get it for FREE here in my FREE RESOURCE LIBRARY. If you’re new to the blog my resource library is where I share all of my freebies. It’s all in one place so you can access it super easy. Just click here to get my password. If you already have the password click here and it will take you to my secure page.

Here’s what you’ll need to make your own rustic unicorn sign

• always believe in magical things FREE SVG

• Cricut cutting machine, the MAKER or EXPLORE

• Cricut Design Space

• Cricut cutting mat

• Oramask stencil film

• transfer tape

• vinyl squeegee

• xacto knife

• premade pallet sign - DIY tutorial to build a pallet sign

• acrylic paints

• assorted flowers

• paint brushes

• stenciling sponge

• cone form

• floral wire

• hot glue gun

• gorilla hot glue sticks

• nail polish I used a glittery gold

• tulle

HOW TO MAKE A RUSTIC PALLET STYLE UNICORN SIGN

For this tutorial I’m starting with a pre built, stained, and painted pallet style sign. If you’ve never built a pallet style sign before not worries they are actually really easy to make. You can read my post on how to built your own pallet style sign here. I also used a weathered gray stain on this wood unicorn sign along with white paint for the background colors.

1. CUT OUT YOUR UNICORN STENCIL

The first thing I did was cut out my stencil on ORAMASK STENCIL FILM. If you plan to cut out a ton of stencils and want to buy stencil film even cheaper you must read my oramask stencil film post on how I dramatically my out of pocket on this material for my small business. I used my Cricut to cut out my stencil and weeded my unicorn themed stencil with a super sharp exacto knife.

If you’re new to the Cricut world here are 10 must have to get you started on you Cricut journey.

2. APPLY YOUR UNICORN STENCIL

Using transfer tape apply your unicorn stencil to your wood base. When removing the transfer tape it’s easiest to roll the transfer tape off your of stencil film. Use your vinyl squeegee to get your stencil good and adhered to the base of your unicorn sign.

3. PAINT YOUR STENCIL

To prevent tons of paint bleed you can seal your unicorn stencil first with the same color paint that you used for your background color. In my case I used white paint because my background is white. The wood I used to make my daughter’s rustic unicorn sign was EXTRA RUSTIC. Meaning it had lots of imperfections. The wood was very uneven, rounded on the edges, and had small and large gouges all over. I knew even with sealing my stencil I would still have paint bleed unless I took extra time to paint the sign very slowing. I’m a momma of 4, I don’t have time to be that perfect lol so my sign had more than usual paint bleed. When painting your stencil you can use a cosmetic sponge or a paint brush. If using a cosmetic sponge you want to make an up and down dabbing motion to paint the stencil. Do very THIN even coats and layer up to 3 THIN layers but no more than that. I promise the coverage will be darker once the stencil is removed.

4. REMOVE YOUR STENCIL

An xacto knife works great for removing stencils. Just be sure is super sharp. If you don’t have an xacto knife you can also use a sewing pin. You want to gently lift the stencil film up and off your wood base without causing damage.

5. DISTRESS YOUR UNICORN SIGN

I used a sanding sponge to lightly sand over my lettering on my unicorn pallet sign once my paint was dry. Just to give it a little more rustic look. I didn’t want my sign to be all gorgeously distressed and the lettering be crisp.

6. PAINT ON UNICORN EARS

I almost forgot to do this part…insert facepalm!… I freehanded the ears with a pencil then painted them in with light pink paint. I added a little detail with a little bit of gray paint while the pink paint was still wet just so they didn’t look so flat. Then I distressed them with the sponge sander.

7. MAKE THE HORN

I used a foam cone for this and cut it down to the size I needed. I used craft paint for this instead of spray painting it (check out my tips for spray painting Styrofoam here). Let dry. Once dry wrap it in tulle, I did this several times to get a good coverage.

8. ADD ACCENTS TO THE HORN

I only needed a small piece of wire for this project so I used what I had on hand. I only had silver or green floral wire so I painted a piece of the silver wire with glittery nail polish and let it dry. Then I wrapped it around the horn and secured the ends inside of the foam. This really made a big difference in how the unicorn horn looked overall. Without this piece of glittery wire I don’t think it would have turned out as cute.

9. GLUE ON FLORAL UNICORN CROWN

I picked up my floral accents from Walmart. It’s spring/summer so they had a great selection of florals that had a magical unicorn vibe. I used gorilla hot glue in my glue gun to attach them to my wood base. I highly suggest doing a dry run with the floral crown before you actually glue them down. You want to make sure you are going to like the placement before you commit to the glue. Don’t be afraid to cut down your florals. Sometimes you just need a small piece of baby’s breath instead of a whole piece of it.

Some of the florals I used on this unicorn crown were leftover from these DIY corsages I made from my youngest three daughters for the daddy daughter dance. I love that I could also incorporate them into this piece. They were such beautiful florals and my store was completely out of them so I couldn’t get any more for this sign.

Now you’re ready to give this gorgeously rustic unicorn sign to your sweetest unicorn obsessed little girl to hang in her room. I hope you enjoyed this crafty tutorial. If you have any questions please leave them in the comments below.

Happy Crafting!

DIY mini wood house family number sign

DIY how to make a rustic wood house sign for your farmhouse style home decor

How to make mini wood houses from a 1x4. Stenciling a wood family number sign. DIY rustic farmhouse decorations to make at home, easy

Have you seen those adorable tiered tray signs on Pinterest? They are oh so tiny and oh so ADORABLE! They tie in perfectly with any rustic farmhouse style décor. If you have a miter saw you can make these little beauties at home.

If you don’t have a miter saw but still want to DIY these mini wood houses no worries! You can grab these precut unfinished wooden houses in my shop.

I used a scrap piece of 1x4 to make mine. Click here to read more of my SCRAP WOOD PROJECTS.

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

Are you planning on making LOTS of signs using stencil film? You must read how I save TONS of money by buying my oramask stencil film this way.

Click here to grab your own rustic wooden mini house DIY CRAFT KIT

Make your own tiered tray mini house signs

Here’s what you’ll need to make your own mini rustic wood houses

• 1x4 or precut wood houses

• miter saw

• sander

• 120 grit sand paper

• Cricut cutting machine

• Cricut Design Space

• Green Cricut cutting mat

• oramask stencil film

• transfer tape

• vinyl squeegee

• white and black acrylic paint

• paint brush

• family number SVG

1. CUT OUT YOUR WOOD HOUSE

The first thing I did was to cut my wood house out of 1x4 scrap piece of pine. Well, my husband cut mine out because he was bored lol. He cut them using a 30 degree angle on the miter saw. Then cut them to the length you want. The one I’m making for this rustic craft tutorial measured approx. 4” in length. Then I sanded it down using my Ryobi orbit sander and 120 grit sandpaper.

2. CUT OUR YOUR STENCIL

I used my Cricut explore to cut out my stencil. I have yet to get a Cricut maker because my Explore is still going strong :)! I used a scrap piece of ORAMASK STENCIL FILM and this FAMILY NUMBER SIGN SVG. I’ve found that using an xacto knife to weed your designs works even better than traditional weeding tools. If you’re new to CRICUT be sure to check out these 10 supplies and accessories you need to get started with your Cricut.

3. PAINT YOUR WOOD HOUSE BASE

I chose to keep my mini wood house sign simple and paint it all white. I used acrylic paint and painted two coats for a decent coverage. Let completely dry.

4. STENCIL YOUR WOOD HOUSE

I stenciled a family number sign on my wood house and I love how cute it turned out. I applied my stencil using transfer tape and a vinyl squeegee. Then removed my transfer tape once it was properly adhered. If you don’t want any paint bleed be sure to seal your stencil. you can do this using the same paint as your background color. See how I also did this on a reverse stenciled sign to get crisp no paint bleed lines. Let dry.

5. PAINT YOUR STENCIL

I kept it safe and painted my family number stencil with black acrylic paint. I did one thin coat. Let dry completely. Then painted a second thin layer.

6. PEEL UP YOUR STENCIL

While your stencil paint is still wet use a sharp xacto knife OR sewing pin to peel up your stencil. Be careful not to guage the wood underneath. You want to carefully lift the stencil film up off the wood then grab it and peel away.

7. DISTRESS

If you like your sign without distressing then you are ready to display it once the lettering is dry. But if you’d like to add a little more rustic charm to it you can do so with your sander, after your lettering is dry of course. I use 120 grit sandpaper for pretty much all of my craft projects and it’s what I used to distress this mini wood house sign too. Focus around the edges and corners then lightly go over the front of the sign. I went a little crazy on my mini wood sign but I still like it. I think it just adds that much more character.

CLICK HERE TO GET INSTANT ACCESS TO ALL OF MY FREE SVG’S, PRINTABLES, AND MORE

Now you're ready to display it in your home. I hope you enjoyed this crafty tutorial. If you have any questions please ask them in the comments.

Happy Crafting!

REVERSE STENCIL, the NO paint bleed method

How to paint a REVERSE STENCIL wood sign, easy tutorial plus video

Have you tried stenciling wood signs but keep running into issues like paint bleed or your paint peeling up? I completely understand your frustration when that happens when painting signs. I have been there and am so glad I learned how to paint signs without these issues now AND I’m happy I get to show you how to paint wood signs without the headache.

One of the easiest methods to stenciling painted wood signs is the REVERSE STENCIL METHOD. It’s the method I suggest people start with when they are just learning how to paint signs. No matter if you are wanting to learn how to paint signs for a hobby or you are wanting to start your own momma side hustle this is THE sign painting tutorial you need to start with. I don’t want to overwhelm you with too much sign painting lingo but this is also referred to as the PVPP method. Or in other words, Paint Vinyl Paint Peel. But I like to call it a reverse stencil because that just sounds better to me ;).

DIY REVERSE STENCIL WITH YOUR CRICUT, the NO paint bleed method

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After making thousands of hand painted wood signs for my own business I think I’ve pickex up a thing or two about how to paint signs and I am so excited to be sharing my tips, tricks, and techniques with you. So hopefully you don’t make the same mistakes that I did starting out.

If you have a Cricut or Silhouette cutting machine you can purchase the SVG FILE for BLESS OUR NEST here. If you’re just getting started with your Cricut I highly recommend you read this list of 10 things you need to get started with your Cricut. .

If you’re planning to make lots of signs like I do you may want to consider ordering stencil film in bulk to save some money. Here’s how I save 40% on my Oramask 813 stencil film.

Watch the video below or keep scrolling to read the written sign making tutorial.

NO PAINT BLEED REVERSE STENCILED SIGN

Here’s what you’ll need

• Bless our nest SVG

• Acrylic paint

• Paint brushes

• Stencil film

• Transfer tape

• Vinyl Squeegee

• Xacto knife

• Wood base

Helpful tools

• Cricut cutting machine

• Cricut Design Space

• Cricut green cutting mat

• Ryobi miter saw

• Ryobi sander

1. CUT AND WEED YOUR DESIGN

The first thing you want to do is cut your design out. I use my Cricut to do this on Oramask 813 stencil film. After having issues with pretty much any other kind of “stenciling” material, I have found this stuff truly works and does the job it was made to do. Using things like shelf liner, aka contact paper, and oracal 631 they can cause so many issues and a giant headache. So now I just stick to what works and Oramask 813 works! Instead of weeding out the letters like you would on a typical stencil you will actually weed out the background, leaving the letters.

2. PAINT YOUR LETTER COLOR

I know this is going to sound super backwards BUT you want to paint your wood sign base whatever color you want your lettering to be. I have to add that if you are wanting your lettering/design to be multi colored this method will not work. But, if you want one solid color like the design I’m showing here this reverse stencil method is perfect. Let your paint dry.

3. APPLY YOUR STENCIL

After your letter color paint is dry you want to apply your stencil. This can be tricky to get on there straight at first. If it makes it easier you can measure or use tape as a guide line. Place your transfer tape over your design, use your vinyl squeegee to gently remove any air. Flip your stencil over and carefully remove the paper backing. Go slow you don’t want to rip your design. After you’ve removed the paper backing place your stencil down on your wood sign base sticky side down. Use your vinyl squeegee to remove any air bubbles then remove the transfer tape from your design, leaving your stencil film on your wood sign base.

4. SEAL YOUR STENCIL

This is THE STEP to do if you want ZERO PAINT BLEED. I don’t know about you but I’m a busy momma and business owner and I don’t have time to daintily paint around stencils then cross my fingers that it won’t bleed. Nope! Instead, I seal my stencils with the same color that is under the stencil. So in this case I sealed my stencil with black paint. You want to paint a SUPER THIN layer of paint over your stencil. Be sure it’s a thin layer, this step does not need a lot of paint.

5. PAINT THE BACK

This step isn’t a must but I always finish the backside of all of my signs. It gives my signs a more polished look. When the sealing step is dry just flip your sign over and paint the back the same color you are going to paint the front. I just do one layer of paint for this step. I also paint a layer of paint on the sides while I’m on this step.

6. PAINT THE FRONT

Once the front is dry flip your sign over and paint a SUPER THIN layer of whatever color you would like your background color of your sign to be. Let that dry completely. After the first layer is dry you can add a second layer if you’d like more coverage.

7. PEEL UP YOUR STENCIL

While your paint is still WET peel up your stencil. I find that a sharp xacto knife works perfectly for this step. It easily gets under the stencil film without damaging your wood sign so you can lift the stencil up and off your wood base.

8. FINISH

Let your sign dry completely. You can leave it as is or your can sand around the edges to give it a more distressed look like the Bless our Nest wood sign I made.

I hope you enjoyed this sign painting tutorial and it helps you on your sign painting journey. As with all of my tutorials, if you have any questions please leave them below in the comments.

Easily attach hanging hardware to your signs

Attach your own sawtooth hanger to your wood signs

Even if you’ve never used a hammer in your entire life you can quickly pick up this new skill to attach hanging hardware to your signs. You might enjoy this so much that you start using other tools. Not that long ago a hammer was pretty much the only tool I knew how to operate. I was deathly afraid of all power tools but over time I have grown a love, really an obsession, for them and now use power tools daily. You can read more about what power tools I recommend for crafty people and about how I’ve overcome that very real fear that a miter saw would completely chop me in half. Thank goodness that fear is behind me so I can make amazing projects and share them with you.

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.

When you’re done reading this tutorial be sure to check out my other tips for sign painting. Like how to save money on stencil film for sign painting, how to build a pallet style sign, and these 6 must haves for stenciling wooden signs.

HOW TO ADD YOUR OWN HANGING HARDWARE TO YOUR HOME DECOR

Here’s what you need

• wood sign

• hammer

• sawtooth hanger/nails

• masking tape

• tape measure

• pencil

1. MEASURE

Flip your sign so that you have the front facing down. Be sure you have it so you are working on the top and not the bottom of the sign. Measure to find the middle of the wood sign and make a mark with a pencil.

2. PLACE YOUR HARDWARE

Attach a piece of tape to the front of your sawtooth hanger, masking tape works great for this but you can use regular scotch tape if that’s all you have. Then place it evenly where you made your pencil mark. The tape helps hold down the hardware so it doesn’t move around when attaching it to your sign.

3. HAMMER YOUR NAILS IN

Once you have you masking tape holding your sawtooth hanger in place you can hammer your nails in. Hold your nail steady with one hand and lightly tap it with the hammer using your other hand. It doesn’t take much force to drive these small nails in so take your time. If you hammer too hard you can smash your sawtooth hanger and then have to replace it with a new sawtooth hanger. After you have one nail in do the same for the second nail. Then remove the masking tape.

Now you’re ready to hang your sign up on your wall and enjoy it! Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below.

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Where to buy STENCIL MATERIAL for SIGN MAKING super cheap

SAVE MONEY ON ORAMASK STENCIL FILM WHEN MAKING PAINTED WOOD SIGNS

Making painted wooden signs can get expensive. The wood, paint, SVG files, transfer tape, stencil film, power tools, it all adds up. But, did you know you CAN save money on STENCIL FILM for sign making? I know a lot of people prefer to use anything but Oramask 813 because it can be pricey but you don’t have to compromise. You CAN use the proper material, ORAMASK 813, for the same price OR even cheaper than other materials that tend to be less expensive. The key is to find the right vendor. With prices varying so much from vendor to vendor it’s hard to know where you should order from. One may carry a 12”x12” sheet for $0.90 while another will have the same thing priced for $1.25. While the difference in price isn’t a lot it does add up when you figure some signs take several feet of stencil film just to create.

 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 have ordered through countless companies and I will tell you I have sent some stencil film back. Why? Stencil film is a sensitive type of material. If wound TOO tight it will not cut properly and will leave bubbles all throughout the freshly cut design making it impossible to use. If you ever receive Oramask 813 stencil film from a company and the stencil film is not wound around a large 3”-4” cardboard tube you will likely waste your time trying to use it.

A little comparison, the stencil film on the left cost me $0.66 per fo ot, the one on the right cost me $0.90 per foot AND I have to order a LOT or pay for shipping for the $.90/ft price one.

I haven’t always used stencil material to paint my handmade signs though. When I first started out I used shelf liner…please just save yourself the headache if you are planning on painting signs for a business and DON’T use shelf liner. For me anyway, shelf liner caused more problems than it was worth. I have made THOUSANDS of signs and that is a decision in my business that I do not regret one bit. It caused so many problems, too many to get into for this post but I will make one later about the pros to using professional grade stencil film vs shelf liner later on.

WHERE TO BUY ORAMASK 813 STENCIL FILM IN BULK TO SAVE MONEY?

I swore I would never order rolls of oramask 813 from Amazon again but…here I am telling you that's exactly where I order from now and where you should too if you want to cut costs on stencil making. After a lot of buying from different companies, Amazon and small business websites, I have found the LOWEST PRICE I’VE EVER SEEN FOR STENCIL FILM and they properly wind the stencil film around a wide enough cardboard tube. It saves me SO MUCH MONEY in my sign making business. That’s more money that our family can put into savings. More money for my husband and I to feed our four daughters. More money we can put back into the business. I couldn’t keep this little secret to myself because I want you to order from a good company AND save money too!

So here’s what I do, I order a giant roll of ORAMASK 813 STENCIL FILM that measures 24'“ wide by 10 yards (30 feet) long. You’re probably thinking ‘seriously, Megan, I have a CRICUT and it only cuts up to 11.5” wide thanks but no thanks’. If you follow me on here or any of my social media accounts you know that’s what I use too, for almost a decade now.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER YOUR ORAMASK STENCIL MATERIAL

Hear me out… IF you have a miter saw, have a family member that has a miter saw, know someone who has a miter saw OR happen to make a brand new best friend that has a miter saw, you can cut that 24” wide roll of stencil film in HALF so now you have 2 rolls instead of 1 that you can easily use to make stencils with any 12” deck vinyl cutting machine.

Let that sink in. I was kicking myself when I found this out! SO MUCH MONEY WASTED ON 12” ROLLS OF VINYL. But you live and learn and since I’ve learned I’m sharing it with you.

Your vinyl will likely come shipped in plastic to protect it. Leave it in the plastic until you are done cutting it. Measure in 12” from where your stencil film starts, NOT where the cardboard starts. Then make a mark.

Be sure your stencil film is still in the plastic, this will help keep the edges nice and clean. If it didn’t come shipping in plastic you can tape around the very middle where it measures 12” with wide painters tape, this will have the same effect. Then line your saw up with your 12” mark and cut. Wipe away any saw dust, you don’t want any of that when going to cut your stencils out with your Cricut or Silhouette machine.

I’m not a big math person but I can do simple math lol. When I buy these giant rolls of stencil film they cost about $40. $40 divided by 30 (number of feet in the roll) = $1.33 but wait it’s still 24” wide so you divide $1.33 by 2 (because you will have 2 12” rolls of stencil film after you cut it in half) = $0.66!

Yes, SIXTY SIX CENTS $0.66 per foot for oramask stencil film. Granted, prices go up and down so it may not be exactly this price when you go to buy but that is the price when I purchase it. And since I am a AMAZON PRIME member I’ve already paid for my shipping with my membership. Which is totally worth the super small fee in my opinion.