DIY Fall and Holiday Custom Wood Signs

You know when you have those awkward spots in your home that you just can’t seem to find the right decorations for? My fireplace is one of those awkward spots. There is a fairly thin space of brick on either side, and a window on either side of that. I was struggling with how to bring visual interest to the base of my fireplace during the holidays and nothing I had in my stash or found at stores seemed to fit the space. So I decided that I would make my own custom wood signs. Since I made these Autumn and Joyful signs last year, I have had countless e-mails asking me to share the tutorial – the day has come at last! lol.

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How do you make your own custom wood signs?

If you have some basic woodworking skills, you can make these signs!

Materials:

Paint (I used Fusion Mineral Paint)
1/4″ Plywood
3/4″ Pine board
Wood stain
Vinyl
Cricut Machine

Tools:

Saw
Router Table (if you want a reversible frame)

The overall dimensions for the plywood board are 14″ by 30″, with the frame on, it was 15.5″ by 31.5″.

If you want to make your frame reversible, you need a table saw or a router table. For ours we used our router table. You need to use your saw to cut your frame pieces into the proper length and width for your sign. Ours were 1.5″ wide x 3/4″ thick.

Once you have your frame pieces cut, use your router table to cut a 1/4″ groove in the centre of the frame – leaving a 1/4″ frame on either side. [Note: depending on how you are joining your frame, you may not want to router through the ends or the seams could show when you attach them!]

Your plywood should slide snuggly into the new frame you’ve made.

Paint your background and stain your wood in whatever colour you chose. I used Fusion Mineral Paint on my plywood. I painted one side in Casement and one side in Raw Silk.

The next step is to paint your letters on! You can print and cut your own letters, or you can use your Cricut Cutting Machine to cut your stencils onto vinyl, with my FREE cut file here:

[PS – Here are some other great things the Cricut Machine can do!]

Once you have your letters cut out of vinyl, use a measuring tape or a ruler to find the center points and approximate where you want your letters to sit. I was pretty obsessive about getting my pieces in the right places, so it took me a little while to line everything up properly!

Once the vinyl is in place, use a foam brush with a small amount of paint on it to fill in the letters. Make sure to dab around the vinyl edges so that the paint doesn’t seep under the vinyl. You will likely need a couple of coats. That beautiful soft pink I used? It was called Damask by Fusion Mineral Paint.

Doesn’t the sign look amazing when surrounded by all of the beautiful fall decor? I love the height that it brings!

But I didn’t stop there! Since I made my sign reversible, on the flip side I used Bayberry green to paint the word JOYFUL. Which happened to be the perfect addition to my Christmas mantel as well :)

If you like these signs, don’t forget to check out the rest of the fabulous home tours!

FALL HOME TOUR

HOLIDAY HOME TOUR