I’m so excited about the DIY Project I’m going to share today, I’ve put together a tutorial to show you how to make Wooden Family 
Sign. As most of you know I’ve been working on remodeling my foyer for awhile now and am finally putting together the finishing touches. Yay! One of the things I really wanted was a Shabby Chic Wooden Family Sign to hang above the front door. I was originally contemplating buying one, but decided that it would be a great DIY project to take on, so over the past week I have been working on making a Wooden Family Sign and am thrilled to be able to share a step by step tutorial that shows you how I made it. It was actually much easier than I originally thought it would be and is fairly cheap to make, so don’t let the small letters intimidate you because I’m going to show you an easy way to draw on the letters without having to buy expensive stencils.
Here is what you will need to make your own Wooden Family Sign
- Piece of Wood (I used a 1/2″ piece of MDF Board)
- Base moulding
- Stencil or Printed Letter (I used Word to print out my letters)
- Liquid Nails
- Clamps
- Paint
- Wood Stain (If you want to give it a distressed look)
- Microfiber rag (To wipe off the excess stain)
- Sand Paper
- Carbon Paper
- Paint brushes (I used a large Paint brush for the stain and a very small paint brush for the letters)
Step 1: Cut a piece of Wood or MDF board the size that you want your sign to be. My sign measures 30 x 8.5. Cut your base moulding so that it frames the piece of wood (I cut the moulding using a 45 degree angle).
Once you cut the long and short piece of moulding you should measure the remaining two pieces so that they are the exact length of the first two pieces. I usually put them on top of the moulding I’m going to cut next and trace the lines to make sure they will be the exact same size.
Step 2: Once you have cut all four pieces of moulding apply liquid nails to secure the moulding to the MDF board or Wood. I used clamps to hold the moulding in place while it dried
Step 3: Once the moulding is secure paint the wood and moulding the main color (I wanted mine to be an antique white)
Step 4: Next Apply the stain (I used the left over Gel based stain from when we refinished our master bathroom cabinets; however if you don’t have stain on hand a great product to buy is Valspar Antiquing Glaze). I used the dry brush approach where I took a dry paint brush, barely dipped it into the stain and then blotted it off on a paper towel so that there wasn’t much stain left on the brush. I then brushed it onto the board.
Step 5: I took a microfiber rag to wipe off the excess stain (that’s how you get a distressed look)
Step 6: Once the stain dried I took a piece of sand paper and sanded it down to make it all blend in
Step 7: I didn’t have stencils so I used Word to find a typeface and printed off the letters for my sign. I used Georgia for everything except “Barringer” because I wanted Barringer to be a different font. I then cut around the letters and taped them to the carbon paper. I then positioned the words onto the sign and taped them to the sign.
Step 8: Take a ballpoint pen and trace around each letter, applying pressure as you trace. I went over my letters several times just to be sure that it would show through.
Step 9: Once you have traced around all of the words remove them from the sign and it should have copied perfectly over to the wood. See how easy that was!!!
Step 10: Take a small paint brush and paint the words. I wanted Barringer to be a different color so that it would stand out.
Step 11: Once you have finished painting and the paint has fully dried take a piece of fine sand paper and gently sand across the words, this will give them the perfect distressed look
And there you have it, your very own Wooden Family Sign!!
Sharing at
I really enjoyed your DIY Wooden Family Sign. You did a great job with the colors and the distressing of the wood. I like your blog and refer to it to see your latest projects as often as I can. Keep up the great work.
Your sign is really cute! Seems like a fairly easy project to do…which is what I wanted because I’m new at DIY. I love the distressed look, so I’m always drawn to items that have that look. You did a great job distressing…not too much, but just right! Congrats on a job well done!!!!
Wow! This is great. I’m getting ready to do my own wooden sign using vinyl letters that I’ll remove after painting, but this is great inspiration for me. Found you through Tip Junkie’s link party. Cheers!
-Lauren
The Thinking Closet
Hi Lauren, Thank you so much for checking out my blog and Wooden sign tutorial!! Where are you getting your vinyl letters from? I want to by a cricut, I know that they are amazing for DIY Projects! PS – I checked out your blog and really enjoyed it!! I look forward to seeing your wooden sign!
I don’t have a cricut, but it’s definitely on my dream wish list! I actually got the vinyl letters through a giveaway; they’re from Tweet Heart Wall Art.
Thanks for visiting my blog! I’ll definitely share my wooden sign in November once it’s complete; it’s going to be a b-day gift for my hubs.
xo
Lauren
The Thinking Closet
A Cricut is on my Christmas list 🙂 Yay for winning the vinyl letters, that’s awesome!! My husband LOVES my wooden sign, it’s his favorite of all the projects I’ve done, so I know your husband is going to LOVE it!
That’s so awesome I have to do this. Love these signs
Love your wooden sign! What other font and size font did you use for lettering Barringer? Thanks!
Hi Anna,
Thank you so much for checking out my tutorial! I used England Hand DB (It doesn’t come standard in word but you can download it to your computer and upload it to word. Here is the link http://www.searchfreefonts.com/free/england-hand-db.htm) I used 230 font size. I hope this helps!!
Thanks for sharing! I was able to complete a version of this project using some of your tips. I didn’t have carbon paper; so I shaded the back of letters printed out on regular paper with a pencil and then traced it onto my board. Worked great! I also sanded the crap out of it at the end for an extra distressed look. Very impressed with my finished product:-) I’m thinking these are going to make some great gifts. Thanks again!
Hi Dee, You just made my day, I’m sooo happy to hear that my tutorial helped you make your own wooden sign!!! I would absolutely love to see how it turned out!!! Thank you so much for your comment and letting me know, I’m thrilled to hear that your wooden sign turned out great!! ~Jessica
This blog is great – thanks for sharing! I’m planning on doing a little shabby chic sign for my living room but I had no idea where to start – until now! 🙂 thanks again I’ll definitely be using some of your handy tips! X
Hi Gayle, Thank you so much for visiting my blog!! I’m thrilled to hear that my tutorial has given you some ideas on where to start!! I’m sure your sign will turn out fabulous!! If you have any questions that I can help with please feel free to email me at Jessica@myloveofstyle.com and I’ll be more than happy to help in anyway that I can!! Good Luck 🙂 ~Jessica
So excited that i don’t have to have stencils, was just searching for this! Many many thanks, off to make one!