How to Make a Rustic Wooden Sign (DIY)

So, a few weeks ago, my husband gave me a leftover piece of plywood. He said, “What do you wan to do with this?” I went back and forth over a few ideas. He told me it was too small to make another window sill, which is what it’s other half had been used for. I had been scrolling through Etsy and seen a really cute wood sign that said “P.S. I Love You.” I LOVE that movie, I have an obsession with Ireland, and I thought, I really want a sign like that in our bedroom. As I browsed the listings, I realized that the sign I imagined in my head did not exist, and if someone out there was going to make it for me, it was going to cost way more than I wanted to spend. So here’s where I use that crazy little phrase that I have become so accustomed to using these days, “I can probably make it myself.”

I honestly had no idea if I could actually do this project. Every time that I would finish a step and move to the next, I thought, “Please God, don’t let me mess this up.” the great thing about the rustic, farmhouse look is that if you mess up, it just looks like you meant to do it that way! So this is the finished product. I was very proud of myself at the end of this project, and I can’t wait to hang it in our bedroom.

If you would like to make one yourself, keep reading 🙂

Materials You Will Need:
*1 sheet of plywood (cut to your size preference; mine was a leftover piece and it was quite large at 42″-L x 15.5″-H. Your’s does not need to be as big, you just may need to scaled down your lettering)
*Sanding block or sand paper
*Black Paint
*White Paint
*Paint brush (large for painting the wood)
*Non tinted/unscented candle (I used a tea light without the metal bottom)
*A rag that you don’t care about
*Letter stencils (This was probably not the easiest way to go. However, I do not have a fancy machine that prints stencils. I looked online to see if I could buy an already made stencil, but in the end, I decided I was gonna tough it out and use what I had on hand. If you think of a better, easier way, by all means, go for it. I just didn’t want to spend the extra $)
*A foam paint brush (I used this to paint my letters. Click here to purchase them from Amazon)
*Tape
*A ruler or measuring tape

Here we go….

Step 1 (Get Workspace Ready)
Get your workspace ready. I laid my plywood flat on my outdoor table with an old towel underneath it. Plywood usually has a smoother side and a rougher side. I decided to use the smoother side. In addition to the plywood, I also got out my paint brush, sanding block, black paint, old rag, and candle.

Please ignore the lemon juice. There was a wasp flying around and the internet told me that lemon juice repels them. I can’t say for sure if squirting lemon juice around my entire perimeter is what made the wasp leave. However, I was able to finish painting without running inside screaming, so it is a possibility.

Step 2 (Sanding)
Lightly sand the plywood until smooth. It shouldn’t be very rough to begin with, but you just want to get any little chippy pieces that might interfere with painting. Wipe the sanding dust off. Make sure your wood is clean before painting.

Step 3 (Painting Highlight Color)
Next, you are going to use a painting technique that makes the sign look a little more rustic and weathered. If you would rather have a solid color without the weathered look, skip to step 5 now.
You’re going to dip your paintbrush in the black paint, and make black streaks in random spots all over the plywood. It looks really odd at first, and I was honestly a little scared. However, I figured that if it looked really bad, I could start over on the other side of the plywood. Luckily, I didn’t have to do that.

I honestly could have put more black than I did, but I was nervous. Don’t be too timid. It really doesn’t show through very much.

Let the paint dry completely before starting the next step.

Step 4 (Wax On)
Once the paint is completely dry, (this only took about 5-10 minutes for me because I was outside in the sun) get out your unscented/ non tinted candle. You are going to rub the candle wax in random spots. If you want to be more strategic, just know that anywhere you rub the wax, will be where the top coat color comes of later. I wanted some black to be really noticeable, so I rubbed the candle over most of the black streaks. If you rub it over the plain wood, the wood color is going to show as well.

Step 5 (Painting Primary Color)
Paint the whole piece of ply wood white (or whatever your primary sign color is going to be). Let it dry completely. Some of you may want to do two coats. I only did one because I really liked how the grain of the wood was showing through my white paint.

I just recently painted three of the four walls in my bedroom white. Because there was white paint left, that’s what I used for my sign. It’s called, Valspar, Oxford White, in Satin (from Lowes).

Let paint dry completely before moving on to the next step.

Step 6 (Wax Off)
Once your paint is completely dry, you are going to get out your old rag. Using pressure, you are going to rub the sign anywhere that you put candle wax. If you can’t see where you put the candle wax, just rub the whole sign down. The paint will only come off where there is wax.

Note, it may freak you out a little. Remember, it is supposed to look like old, weathered wood. You really cant make a mistake here. If an area looks too weathered for your taste, then you can repaint that section. I loved how mine came out, so I left it alone.

Step 7 (Lettering)
Now it’s time to start your lettering. I brought my sign inside, and placed it on my dining table with an old towel underneath.

Like I mentioned in the “materials” section above, I used individual letter stencils (3″) that I already had from past crafting (I got mine at Hobby Lobby). I know that there are easier ways to put wording on a sign. For example, there are machines that cut stencils for you (usually small business owners who create and sell these signs, have something like this). There are also individuals who will make personalized stencils for you (I saw numerous listings on Etsy). However, I did not want to pay for any of that. Maybe the idea of purchasing a complete, personalized stencil appeals to you because it takes less time, and is a little less intimidating. I however, just went for it, and it turned out fine. The choice is yours to make!

I started by cutting the letters that I needed into individual stencils. My stencils came all connected together. I thought it would be much easier this way, and I was right. Luckily for me, the only letter that repeated in the phrase, “P.S. I Love You” was the letter “o”. I was able to place my stencils on the sign to get a feel for how it would look all spelled out.

From there, I started with the letter “P”. I taped my stencil down as straight as I possibly could (using a ruler at the bottom of the stencil), and went for it. I used my foam paint brush to blot black paint onto the stencil. I let it sit for a minute, and then I carefully lifted the tape and peeled back the stencil. It looked great! (Note: the tape may peel off some of your white paint. I was fine with it because I love that weathered look. If you don’t like it, you can touch up the white paint later). I let it dry a bit and then placed the “S” where I thought it should go. I mostly eyeballed it, but I did use a ruler to try and make sure it was straight (place a straight edge at the bottom of your first letter and check that it is straight with the bottom of your second letter). Next, place your little black dots between “P” and “S”. Hooray! “P.S.” is done…. you got this!…moving on.

Next, I placed the “I” where I thought it looked best. I used the ruler again, doing my best to make sure it was straight. I taped it down, and painted the “I”.

After that, I got a little stuck. How on earth was I going to complete the next two words with only a ruler? I have a habit of making my writing angle upwards and I was scared to mess up at that point. Then entered my super awesome hubby! He’s very mathematically inclined and good with measurements and numbers. He will usually look over my shoulder and say, “Ummm why are you doing it that way?,” which was exactly what happened here.

He told me that I should measure from the bottom of the “I” to the bottom of the sign. That way, I could use that same measurement for each letter after that, and they would have the same spacing from the bottom of the sign.

I told my husband how smart he is, gave him a big kiss, and proceeded to use his method for the rest of the letters. I also tried to measure between the letters, so that they weren’t too spaced out or close together. I continued checking with my straight edge as well.

The picture above shows the sign with the letters finished. Note: It bugs my husband that the spacing from the top letters to the top of the sign, and the spacing from the bottom letters to the bottom of the sign are different….oh well. It doesn’t bother me, but if you are like him, you may want to make that adjustment 🙂

Because my sign was so HUGE, I knew I needed something at the other end. I debated attaching clips and hanging pictures on it. It’s another option to consider for your own sign. I ended up attaching a test tube vase to mine.

I actually bought the vase for $11 on Amazon and painted it. It was a really great deal because it comes with the wooden frame, four test tubes (in case you accidentally break one), a test tube cleaning brush, and mounting hardware. It was packaged very nicely as well. Here’s the link, if you want to purchase the same vase.

I have a smaller, separate tutorial here, if you want to see how I painted the vase.

Step 8 (Framing Your Sign)
Alright, so at this point, you could actually hang your sign without a frame. If you want a wooden frame, you are going to need:
* A chop saw to cut the wood (you may be able to take your measurements beforehand and have the wood cut at your local hardware store)
* 2 1x2s (My husband got ours from Home Depot. If your sign is smaller than mine, you may only need one 1×2)
* Stain color of your choice (I used Minwax Polyshades in Classic Black)
*A rag for staining (Optional: A paint brush that you don’t mind ruining. This is to paint the stain on, but you could just use the rag to wipe it on).
*A finish nailer

Step 8A (Vertical Sides)
Start by measuring the vertical sides of your sign. You want the 1×2 to be flush to the back of the sign. Cut the 1×2 per your measurements (you will need two, one for each vertical side). Then, check your cuts against the sign to make sure they are the correct length.

Step 8B (Horizontal Sides)
Next, measure the horizontal sides all the way to the end + the 1×2. You are going to be attaching the horizontal 1×2 to the vertical 1×2. You want them to overlap.

Cut your horizontal 1x2s per your measurements (you will need two, one for each horizontal side). Then, check your cuts against the sign to make sure they are the correct length.

If you’d like to watch a really great video tutorial, check out this youtube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUoWx9blA8A by Elysia English. This is what I used to figure out how to frame my sign.

Step 8C (Staining)
Once you have your 1x2s cut, and you have checked to see that they fit around your sign, its time to stain/paint them (you could paint them any color you want, and that requires zero directions from me!). If you want to stain them, keep reading, you are almost done :)!

You definitely need to do this part outdoors. The smell of stain is very strong. I also recommend wearing gloves. I did not wear gloves, and it took nail polish remover, plus a few showers to get that stuff off.

I spread out an old towel on my front deck, and laid out all of the 1×2 cuts. I lightly sanded them to get any little splinters off. Then, I wiped them down so that there was no sanding dust on them.

Next, (this is where you put on your gloves) I took my paint brush, and brushed the stain color over the first side of the 1x2s. I only let it sit for about five minutes before wiping them with my rag. My stain container said that you can leave the stain on for up to 15 minutes if you want it darker (Read your stain instructions). I let them dry for about ten minutes. Then, I flipped the 1x2s over and stained the remaining sides. Make sure to stain each 1×2 piece in its entirety. I let my stained pieces dry outside overnight.

Note: Don’t leave them anywhere that they might get rained on. Water will ruin your wood, and your stain.

Step 8D (Attaching the frame)
Once your stain is dry, it’s time to attach the wood frame to your sign. My hubby did this part before I could get any videos or pictures. However, that youtube video that I mentioned above, shows how to do it as well.

My husband used a finish nailer (also called a brad nailer) to attach the frame. He first attached the shorter, vertical sides (making sure that it was flush to back of the sign). You want the back of your sign to be completely flat for when you mount it to your wall.

He then attached the longer, horizontal sides to the sign (making sure to nail the longer 1×2 to the shorter 1×2). Remember that your 1x2s overlap at the corners and they need to be nailed together.

Put on some hanging hardware, and your sign is DONE!

Alright, I’m not going to say “That’s it!” because I know the amount of hard work that goes into this project. I can totally understand why some of the Etsy listings are priced the way they are. However, if you are willing to put in the work, you will come away with a beautiful rustic, wooden sign completely personalized to your own taste. I love when decorations tell the story of the home they are in. This piece definitely does that for my home, and the fact that I made it myself makes it that much more special. Plus, I saved A LOT of money, which makes it a winner in my book.

Good luck! I know your sign will be beautiful. If you have questions, feel free to leave a comment.

*Note: If you would like to see the MUCH SMALLER tutorial for the test tube vase, click here! 🙂

Warmly,
Megan