Making my first farmhouse-style wooden sign.
Have you searched through Pinterest, read blogs, or watched YouTube videos of crafters drafting their own diy farmhouse sign? I have and always wanted to make my own sign but haven't attempted to until my niece asked me to make a "Dressing Room" sign for hanging on a shed by her pool.
I thought this was the perfect opportunity to make my first farmhouse-style wooden sign, if she liked the design of course. Because this was my first time doing a craft project like this, I encountered a couple challenges, which I was able to overcome.
Prepping the Wood
My niece told me she was painting her shed grey and white. She shared a few examples of signs she liked, so it simply made sense to work with a black and white design. My original plan was to have white lettering on a black background.
I searched through my collection of wood panels. I don't know if it's good practice or recommended, but my wood panels are stored outside in my backyard. I was convinced they'd be perfect and durable for outdoor decor.
I found a 16" x 24" panel I thought would work well for this craft project. I used Rust-Oleum's Painter's Touch Ultra Cover Paint+Primer black semi-gloss spray paint to cover the front, back, and sides of the wood. I ended up applying 2 coats for complete coverage.
My First Challenge
I didn't have any more stencil or removable vinyl to work with, and I didn't want to use permanent vinyl on the wood. I haven't researched whether permanent vinyl would last in outdoor, all-weather conditions over a long period of time. My goal from the start was to use a stencil to add the words "Dressing Room" directly onto the wood with white spray paint.
I do have lots of Contact transfer tape I bought from the Dollar Store. I used it the same way I'd use regular vinyl through my Cricut Maker, except I selected less pressure in the settings before cutting the material.
Because the words were shy of 24" in length, I used a 24" Cricut mat for the cut. I setup my Cricut Maker on my desktop, loaded the mat, and then started the cut process.
I didn't have enough clearance between the back of my Cricut and the wall. The mat hit the wall and curled. It made a noise that apparently frightened my scaredy-cat of a little dog. I wasn't sure if repeatedly hitting the wall and curling would interfere with a clean cut on the transfer tape or give my little dog a heart attack. So, I pulled my Cricut closer to the edge of the desktop to keep the mat from hitting the wall.
After the cut finished, I removed the transfer tape from my mat. I weeded out the letters with the intent of using what's normally considered the negative, excess space as a stencil for later spray painting the words onto the wood. Unfortunately, the transfer tape wouldn't stick to the wood. I wondered if the stencil or removable vinyl would've stuck to the wood at all.
I thought about using a spray adhesive to temporarily stick the transfer tape to the wood, but I didn't want to deal with the same mess I had to cleanup when I was Decorating My Cricut Maker.
My Second Challenge
I cut Cricut Permanent Vinyl with the same intent I had for the Contact transfer tape. I was going to use the vinyl as a stencil for spray painting the words onto the wood. Except after the vinyl finished cutting, I didn't know the best way to proceed.
I should've searched how to do this properly, but I just started weeding the way I'd normally weed for other craft projects. I had a feeling I needed to keep the individual letters as Plan B.
Everything looked promising, until I attempted to lay the single piece of permanent vinyl onto the wood. The vinyl didn't stick well to the wood. I'm sure it didn't stick well because of the 2 coats of semi-gloss paint and primer. Matte paint would've been best, but I don't have any at home.
Without extra hands, the vinyl kept sticking to itself. By the time I finally asked my Dad for a helping hand, we couldn't unstick the vinyl from itself. While Dad was sarcastically teasing me about how I was doing a great job, I wasn't worried.
Going with Plan B
I went ahead and burnished the letters onto the wood. I started using a scraping tool to burnish the vinyl onto the wood but found that applying pressure with my fingers worked best. It stayed on well enough to not come off when I spray painted over it. I was also relieved to know that because it didn't stick to the wood too well, it'd be easy to remove later.
My only concern at this point was whether the white spray paint of the same brand and type would cover the black background well. Would the final piece end up looking grey? Not like it mattered, since my niece's shed is going to be grey and white. It's just that I was hoping for a simple black and white design that would have a good contrast.
I applied 2 coats of the white spray paint. One coat would've worked if I applied it evenly. However, I got carried away with spraying at annoying bugs that kept landing on the wood during my first coat, and I worried that the first coat was applied unevenly.
For some bizarre reason I thought I'd experiment with spraying the edges black to create a rustic-like border. Things were going well until the wind picked up and sprayed the paint in all different directions. I grabbed another wood panel to block the wind as a sprayed white paint to mask the unwanted black speckles the wind added to the center.
I peeled the vinyl off while the paint was still wet. I wasn't sure if this was the right thing to do, but it's a step I've gotten used to as it's necessary for a peelable car paint and primer I've tested recently (posts about the peelable paint and primer are coming soon).
Fortunately, the vinyl peeled leaving clean and sharp edges for the most part. I sprayed the black paint into a disposable cup and used a brush to clean up the letters a bit.
My last steps to complete this craft project were to drill a couple holes into the wood and tie a rope so my niece can hang it if she likes. I only had green neon rope, so I spray painted it black to match the design of the wood.
I accidentally chipped some of the wood on the back when I drilled one of the holes. I applied wood filler and painted over it.
My Thoughts
Overall, I thought this was a great first attempt at making a farmhouse-style wooden sign. I did send pictures to my niece asking for her feedback. I let her know I could make changes to fit her preferences. After all, the sign was hers, not mine. Either she's too sweet to tell me what she really thinks, or she really likes it because she didn't provide any feedback. I simply replied with "I love it!!!!!!!"
I love her, and I loved making this housewarming gift for her. Like always, I believe there's room for improvement, and I'll probably make myself a farmhouse-style wooden sign to get more practice. I do have a lot of wood panels I can practice with.
What's Next?
While I want to practice and attempt another diy wooden sign, it won't be anytime soon as I'm planning on decorating more electronic accessories. But I want to know if you've made your own diy wooden sign. Login and Sign up to share your experiences with crafting a wooden sign. Also share any tips for me and anyone else reading.
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Thanks, and have a great day!
Simply Jelly Jam
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