Do you love those farmhouse signs? You know the ones with the wood frame, white background and your favourite saying. Today I am going to show you how to DIY a farmhouse sign for a fraction of the price!
Guys, I’m all about farmhouse signs! They are totally my style, but most of the time they are totally out of my budget. So, what’s a girl to do?
Since I am no stranger to DIYing and I have all kinds of tools at my disposal (thanks to the farm!)… I set out to make a custom DIY farmhouse sign for a fraction of the price.
This DIY farmhouse sign was recently featured in our Modern Farmhouse Laundry Room Makeover! And since I’ve had so many questions about it, I’ve decided to walk you through how to make your very own DIY farmhouse sign.
No, things did not go perfectly. And, yes it would have been easier to just buy the dang thing but that would have meant spending my entire laundry room makeover budget on ONE sign. No thanks!
Although it didn’t turn out perfectly (what does?!), I wouldn’t change a thing. I enjoyed every minute of creating this sign, okay maybe not every minute (dang nail gun!) and I display it proudly… imperfections & all!
So if you think you’re not cut out to DIY, I challenge you to just give it a chance. And remember, the joy is in the creating not in the final product.
Let’s get to it!
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DIY FARMHOUSE SIGN TUTORIAL
Materials Needed:
- Hobby Board
- This will be used as your wood backing for the sign.
- 1” x 2” pine
- Wood Stain
- Polyurethane
- White Paint
- Paint Roller
- Wood Glue
- Nail Gun & Nails
- Hanging Hardware
- Cricut Explore Air
- This is what I used to create my stencil, if you do not have a Cricut Machine, check out Etsy for affordable custom vinyl stencils.
- Black Paint
- Foam Brush
STEPS:
1. Cut your wood backing to size. I purchased backing that was the exact size I wanted my sign to be, so no cuts for me.
Tip: Most hardware stores will make cuts for you, so be sure to take you measurements with you. Yay! No need to buy expensive power tools or operate power tools you aren’t confident in operating. For me, that’s the table saw.
2. Paint the wood backing white.
3. Stain your 1” x 2” pine.
4. Once the first coat of white paint is dry, apply a second coat.
5. Once the first coat of stain is dry, apply a second coat (if needed).
6. Once your second coat of stain is dry, apply a coat of polyurethane to your 1” x 2”.
7. Once the white paint is dry, place stencil on the wood backing and apply another coat of white paint. This helps seal the stencil and prevent any bleeding when you apply the black paint. Next, lightly dab on black paint with foam brush. Keep applying until you achieve your desired look.
Tip: I made my stencil with my Cricut Explore Air. However, if you do not own this glorious machine then you can make a stencil using paper & pen or check out Etsy for affordable custom vinyl stencils.
8. Apply as many coats of black paint needed to get your desired look. It usually takes me 3-4 coats of light dabbing.
9. Once paint is dry, remove the stencil.
10. Cut your 1” x 2” pine to size. My sign is 12” x 36”, so I purchased 9 feet of 1” x 2” because I needed 2 pieces that were 12” and 2 pieces that were roughly 38” long.
Tip: Cut one piece at a time so you can ensure measurements are accurate. First, I cut the left side frame and then attached it. Once the left side frame was attached, I cut the right side frame and attached it before cutting the top and bottom frame as these frames were going to be overlapping the side frames.
11. Attach the 1” x 2” frame. Place a bead of wood glue along the edge of the wood backing. Line up the 1” x 2” frame and secure with nail gun.
Side Note: The nail gun & I were not getting along when I was trying to attach the frame. I’m sure it was human error, but man on man did I have to use a lot of wood filler on the bottom right corner of my frame. It may have been helpful to have another set of hands while I attached the frame. Ah, well.. next time!
12. Once you are finished framing your sign, attach your hanging hardware and hang your DIY farmhouse sign where everyone can see it! Seriously, your skills deserve to be in the spot light (imperfections and all)!
Voila! With a little time and effort you can create your very own custom DIY farmhouse sign for under $40. What do you think? Is this something you are interested in trying? If so, be sure to pin it!
PIN FOR LATER!
What type of material do you use in making your stencil from cricut? I am having trouble with bleeding from the stencil.
Hi Debra! I use cricut stencil vinyl or regular vinyl – depends what I have on hand. I’ve had troubles with bleeding too, but after a few projects and a lot of frustration I figured out a trick… After applying the stencil do your first coat of paint in the same color as your background (so white if you’re following this tutorial). This seals the stencil and then when you apply the black paint it won’t bleed. This should help! I’ll have to update this post to include this step – thanks for the reminder 🙂
What font did you use?
Hey Kristy,
The fonts I used for this project are:
– Magnolia Sky for ‘memorable days’
– Glametrix for everything else.
Thanks for stopping by!
How long do you wait between coats when painting either the background or the letters?
That’s a great question Melanie! It really depends on what I have going on. Sometimes hours. Sometimes days. Haha! Best to refer to the dry times listed on the paint you are using. Hope that helps!