Simple DIY Sign Tutorial
Last summer I shared this project over on the Landeelu blog and I realized I never shared it on my blog! This project is so simple that I did most of it on a plane, yes you heard me right! I’m sure many of you see these beautiful, beautiful signs that you would love to have in your home but that price tag is just not fitting into the budget. Well now you can make them for yourself, even if you are like me and don’t have awesome handwriting.
Supplies:
- Thin Piece of Wood
- Paint
- Graphite Paper
- Pencil
- Sharpie
Here is how I made them:
Step 1: I bought some thin wood sheets at Home Depot and had them cut there to 8×10 so they would fit an average frame. You can create these to be any size you want. After getting the wood cut at Home Depot, I sanded the edges and quickly and roughly painted the board with a leftover can of wall paint I had around the house. I wanted the distressed, old look so it really just means quickly apply the paint in the direction of the wood grain and don’t worry about full coverage.
Step 2: Find a quote, bible verse, song lyrics that you want to use. I designed my own for this one but I’ve found some images online that I liked and have used as well. I created an 8×10 box (in word or InDesign) and placed the image inside that box so I knew it was the correct size.
Step 3: Create your outline. Layer your wooden board, graphite paper and then the printed design on the top. I used a paper clamp to keep them in place. Make sure the darker side of the graphite paper is facing down to the wood. Then trace over the design, applying a good amount of pressure with your pencil. You want to make sure your tracing is transferring to your wood so it may be good to hold down a corner of your 3 layers and peak underneath to make sure you’re applying enough pressure to transfer. After you’ve traced over the entire design you should have a good outline to use as a stencil for your design.
Step 4: I’ve used paint and a brush and a paint pen but for this one in particular, I used a Sharpie to see how it would turned out. I always keep my print out nearby to use as a reference but mostly I just go over my outlines with a Sharpie and fill in the areas necessary. I ended up using one with a fine tip and an one with an ultra-fine tip and that worked perfectly for the very thin areas of text.
I loved that the Sharpie wasn’t full coverage and showed some of the wood grain. I lightly filled in to keep that texture on the text.
That’s really all there is too it! This was a great project for traveling because it doesn’t require a lot of supplies and it doesn’t take up a lot of room.
If you want to try one for yourself, Here is the template I designed for my 8 x 10 sign that you can download for free!
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