DIY Farmhouse Christmas Wood Signs – Rustic and Reversible.
Not only are these Farmhouse Christmas Wood Signs gorgeous but also reversible without losing the Rustic look. The perfect touch for your Christmas home decor this year.
I can’t believe Christmas is less than a month away and I’m not ready yet! I know you might think that November is still early but as a blogger, I should start way earlier than most because my mission is to inspire and give ideas!
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Rustic Oversized And Reversible Farmhouse Christmas Wood Signs
These DIY Farmhouse Christmas Wood Signs is a special project that I had in mind for months. I planned it carefully because having a really small apartment I can’t just keep making rustic wood signs like crazy because I have no place to store them.
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Making it reversible makes it the perfect wall art for any occasion and season.
This way I can have different sentiments for different seasons in just one single frame!
Cool, right?
Think about it you can have about 3 plywood boards and have 6 different wood signs, not bad huh!
Best part? You have kind of storage behind the wood sign. Those boards can be stored behind the sofa, under the bed or mattress, and behind any door.
If you ask me, it’s a win-win!
I just love how it turned out. I never thought it would turn out so good since it was so big and then I missed a word while making it but hopefully everything was fixable in the process.
Yup, you heard that right, I missed a word LOL. In the part “Time of the year” I missed the word “Time” and had to add it later on.
Thankfully it was an easy fix even though matching the color was almost an impossible mission but, in the end, it didn’t matter because the whole thing looks so pretty.
Once I finished one side since I’m all about seasonal decor, I decided to go for a winter sign, so I created a cute “Baby It’s Cold Outside” wood sign with the same rustic look but this time with gold letters.
I thought about using Silver but gold looks way better with the rustic look of the frame.
I have to say this, I’m not a carpenter and don’t have much experience working with wood. Probably there are many other ways to create this but I don’t have many tools or space so I had to manage with what I could buy and what already had.
I mean, that’s the point of all this creative thing, right? If you have it all and can buy it all what’s the point? Anyways, I always try my best to stay on a budget and assuming not everyone has a garage full of tools, like me, I barely have a saw and a drill LOL.
Wood Painting Technique
I decided to use 2 techniques. My beloved dry brushed technique for the sign and the weathered wood look one for the frame.
I used the dry brushed technique before with my Inspirational Farmhouse Wood Signs and my TV Console Table in 2 different ways: Limewashed look and distressed wood look in case you want to check it out!
How to make These Farmhouse Christmas Wood Signs
Because of its size and the drying time I had to make it in parts. It’s not hard at all just a little bit tricky at some points.
This is so far one of my favorite DIY projects I’ve made, I mean who doesn;t love a gorgeous diy farmhouse sign?
Supplies:
- Pinewood boards from the frame as follows below
- Plywood for the backing as follows below
- Wood Stain
- White furniture acrylic paint
- Grey acrylic paint
- Wood headless nails
- Screws
- About 10 L shaped Hook Screws
- Brushes (the cheapest the better)
- Sandpaper 150 grit
- Piece of cloth.
- Felt (optional)
- Your favorite sentiment stencil. I created mine with a cutting machine.
Tools:
- Drill
- Screwdriver
- Silhouette Cameo or Cricut
This wooden sign project might work best if you have a cutting machine. But you can find GORGEOUS Stencils at local craft stores that will work perfectly for this project if you don’t have any or you can order a custom vinyl decal on Etsy!
Instructions
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Step 1: Prep Work
Firstly and most importantly make sure the plans are right for your local store sizes. Mine are in millimeters so if you need to, use a converter to the metrics you are most familiar with.
My wood sign is in total 900 mm X 600 mm (35,43 In X 23,62 In)
Most likely your local store can cut your wood for you.
So once you have all your supplies ready, clean them up to avoid dust and grease.
Using your favorite wood stain, paint all your backing plywood. I created mine for this specific piece because I found out that the brands I can find here, usually affects the white paint I use on top. So I diluted a brown acrylic paint q part water 1 part paint.
Let it dry.
Take your frame pieces and let’s make it look weathered.
On a plate pour some white and grey paint separately.
Step 2: Start creating the weathered look on your frame boards
Firstly, with grey acrylic paint apply rough and uneven strokes all along the boards. You are going to dry brush on a thin coat of paint.
No perfection here, just create strokes here and there.
When you are done it should look something like this:
Once the paint dries, do exactly the same but with the white paint. In my experience, if your paint is fast drying, by the time you finish the last board, you can start over with the first right away.
Set aside to let them dry very well now.
Step 3: Apply the stencil
Take your backing board back and let’s apply the stencils. As I mentioned I created mine mixing script fonts and san-serif fonts to bring that farmhouse look. Because of its size, I had to cut it into different parts and put it together on the board.
I used cheap contact paper for this project because vinyl usually leaves glue behind and I hate it and because I didn’t have any stencil material available and wanted to keep this project on a budget.
Once cut I removed all the contact paper around the design and all the pieces that didn’t belong to the design. Then cut transfer tape and applied it to the stencil with the help of my scraper.
I placed the stencil on my board making sure it was straight and centered. I secured the design using the scraper and removed the transfer tape.
YUP! I know I totally missed a word there! “TIME” LOL. I fixed it on both my wood sign and the cut files! Don’t worry!
If you like the design and have a cutting machine you can snag the file free, right here (I swear I fixed the word TIME!!!)
Step 4: Dry brush paint your wood sign backing board.
Once the design was all applied to the board I started painting with white using my dry brushing technique to achieve the distressed wood look.
Apply as many coats as you like. I wanted it really white but still, be able to see imperfections from the background color.
Let it dry very well.
Step 5: Sand off the paint from your frame boards
Now that your frame pieces are dry, you are going to sand them with your 150 grit sandpaper.
Sand it like you want to remove all that paint. When you are done the boards should look like the remaining paint is all damaged.
Step 6: Stain your frame board pieces
Clean your boards well to remove all the dust from sanding.
Time to stain your pieces. Apply your wood stain and then rub it with a piece of cloth.
Let them dry.
Step 7: Remove the stencil.
So, now, let’s work on our backing board. With the help of a hook, peel off all the stencil pieces. Be careful so you don’t damage or scratch the wood.
Once your design is revealed again, and sand it very well and distress some places as you see fit.
Clean your board well and set it aside.
Step 8: assemble the frame.
Lay down your pieces to form the shape of your frame. Longer boards should go top and bottom and the shorter ones should go left and right.
Longer boards should go over the end of the shorter ones as shown below.
To make it easier to screw the frame together (I don’t have a nail gun so I went for screws) I drilled 2 holes on each end of the long pieces to mark the path of the screw. Use a drill tip smaller than the screw you are going to use.
Apply some glue and screw your pieces together.
Set aside and let the glue dry for a while.
When it’s dry you need to create the back frame that will house your wood sign.
For this, you will set your wood sticks the same way as your mainframe but this time you will just glue and nail them in place.
Align your frame pieces with the outer edge of the mainframe. Apply wood and use clamps to secure your pieces in place.
Once dry, nail it on a few spots just to double-secure it.
Your frame is done!
Now to keep your wood sign in place, you can use L-shaped Hook Screws if you are on a budget.
Just drill carefully some holes to mark the path of your hooks on at least 3 spots on the long sides and 2 on the short ones.
Then screw your hooks in place all the way down!
Step 9: Assemble the rustic wood sign
It’s time to fit your gorgeous wood sign in.
Place your wood sign facing down.
Turn all your hooks over the board to secure them. If they are a bit lose, just cut small pieces of felt and put them between the board and the hook so your board doesn’t get scratched.
WOOHOO!!!!!
Your Rustic Oversized Reversible Farmhouse Christmas Wood Signs are all ready to rock!
Oh, wait I still have something missing, right?
The final step was fixing the missing word TIME! I just created a stencil with the letters in negative (I removed the letters instead of the surroundings). Aligned it with the rest of the sentence and painted it.
Once dry remove the stencil.
Sand it a little bit to match the overall finish and…
Voila!
Now to be one step further, before you mount your Christmas wood signboard in your frame, you can turn it over and create another wood sign for Winter.
That way as soon as New Years’ hits, you can just switch your wood sign, and voila you have a brand new wood sign in minutes!
My Winter farmhouse sign was created with a similar technique but instead of revealing the wood stain color, I dry brushed the whole board and painted the sentiment with Gold paint afterward.
Our Farmhouse Christmas Wood signs mounted in the frame look like this:
From now on you can keep creating wood signs and just change it for each season without having to make frames over and over again. This is for sure the perfect addition to your home decor!
Cool, right?
I just love how mine turned out. It was quite a challenge for me considering the space I have available to create it and record the whole process LOL.
Crafting Tips:
You can also buy stains from the home improvement store, and keep your eyes on the clearance section. Often you can find takebacks for a fraction of the original price.
You can use reclaimed wood to make this wood sign, wood scraps from a construction site, or even re-do a wood sign from a thrift store.
If you don’t have a cutting machine you can still make this project using the pencil transfer method or use a sheet of carbon paper.
Print your design on computer paper. Turn the paper over, and scribble pencil marks over the areas where the text is printed. Place the paper on your surface (design facing up) and trace an outline of the printed letters with a pen.
The pencil on the other side will make faint marks on your wood. Remove the paper and fill in the traced letters with a permanent marker, Chalk paint marker, or black paint.
If you don’t have a cutting machine, you can order a custom vinyl decal on Etsy! There are hundreds of shops on Etsy that will print or cut the design of your dreams for you, in the exact size you like.
I hope this project inspires you to create lots of gorgeous Rustic Farmhouse Christmas Wood Signs. Let me know your thoughts, it always makes my day!
Frequently Asked Questions
I have good news! You can order a custom vinyl decal on Etsy! There are hundreds of shops on Etsy that will print or cut the design of your dreams for you, in the exact size you like.
It is also a good idea to search according to what you are looking for. For instance, if you are looking for a mountain design, search for “farmhouse vinyl decal.” If the seller does not have the size you need listed, ask if they can make it just for you. There is a good chance they will.
Alternatively, you can join Facebook groups like Cricut for Dummies or Silhouette Design Inspiration. Other members may be willing to work with you on cutting something.
Another option is to use the carbon paper method where you transfer manually the design to the wood sign after you dry brushed and paint the letters.
It doesn’t really matter which type of wood you select – pine is fine, and it’s inexpensive. You can go to a home improvement store like Home Depot and choose a new wood base. They will even cut it for you. Also, check out thrift stores to see if you can find a sign that you can re-do. Ask if you can have scrap lumbers at a construction site and lastly look on sites like Freecycle or Craiglist – sometimes people are giving away lumber for free in your area.
If you want the background of your sign to be completely white, Yes, make sure to use this stain-blocking primer on wood before painting. Otherwise, any knots (or random spots) on the plywood will turn the paint into a brownish/yellowish tint over time. But if want a more rustic farmhouse look, you don’t need to use primer, it will definitely end up with more of a farmhouse rustic feel.
You can show off this gorgeous custom wood sign in your living room, above your mantel, in the dining room in the entryway if you have the space. Depending on the sentiment you use, you can even put it above your bed.
More Christmas Projects To Try
Loving this DIY Farmhouse Wood sign Tutorial? You might also love these other Christmas project ideas too:
✂️ Tutorial
DIY Farmhouse Christmas Wood Signs – Rustic and Reversible.
Tools
- Drill
- Scredriver
- Silhouette cameo or cricut
Supplies
- Pinewood boards from the frame as follows below
- Plywood for the backing as follows below
- Wood Stain
- White furniture acrylic paint
- Grey acrylic paint
- Wood headless nails
- Wood screws
- About 10 L shaped Hook Screws
- Brushes the cheapest the better
- Sandpaper 150 grit
- Piece of cloth.
- Felt optional
- Your favorite sentiment stencil. I created mine with a cutting machine.
Instructions
STEP 1: PREP WORK
- Firstly and most importantly make sure the plans are right for your local store sizes. Mine are in millimeters so if you need to, use a converter to the metrics you are most familiar with.
- My wood sign is in total 900 mm X 600 mm (35,43 In X 23,62 In)
- Most likely your local store can cut your wood for you.
- So once you have all your supplies ready, clean them up to avoid dust and grease.
- Using your favorite wood stain, paint all your backing plywood. I created mine for this specific piece because I found out that the brands I can find here, usually affects the white paint I use on top. So I diluted a brown acrylic paint q part water 1 part paint.
- Let it dry.
- Take your frame pieces and let’s make it look weathered.
- On a plate pour some white and grey paint separately.
STEP 2: START CREATING THE WEATHERED LOOK ON YOUR FRAME BOARDS
- Firstly, with grey acrylic paint apply rough and uneven strokes all along the boards. You are going to dry brush on a thin coat of paint.
- No perfection here, just create strokes here and there.
- When you are done it should look something like this:
- Once the paint dries, do exactly the same but with the white paint. In my experience, if your paint is fast drying, by the time you finish the last board, you can start over with the first right away.
- Set aside to let them dry very well now.
STEP 3: APPLY THE STENCIL
- Take your backing board back and let’s apply the stencils. As I mentioned I created mine mixing script fonts and san-serif fonts to bring that farmhouse look. Because of its size, I had to cut it into different parts and put it together on the board.
- I used cheap contact paper for this project because vinyl usually leaves glue behind and I hate it and because I didn’t have any stencil material available and wanted to keep this project on a budget.
- Once cut I removed all the contact paper around the design and all the pieces that didn’t belong to the design. Then cut transfer tape and applied it to the stencil with the help of my scraper.
- I placed the stencil on my board making sure it was straight and centered. I secured the design using the scraper and removed the transfer tape.
STEP 4: DRY BRUSH PAINT YOUR WOOD SIGN BACKING BOARD.
- Once the design was all applied to the board I started painting with white using my dry brushing technique to achieve the distressed wood look.
- Apply as many coats as you like. I wanted it really white but still, be able to see imperfections from the background color.
- Let it dry very well.
STEP 5: SAND OFF THE PAINT FROM YOUR FRAME BOARDS
- Now that your frame pieces are dry, you are going to sand them with your 150 grit sandpaper.
- Sand it like you want to remove all that paint. When you are done the boards should look like the remaining paint is all damaged.
STEP 6: STAIN YOUR FRAME BOARD PIECES
- Clean your boards well to remove all the dust from sanding.
- Time to stain your pieces. Apply your wood stain and then rub it with a piece of cloth.
- Let them dry.
STEP 7: REMOVE THE STENCIL.
- So, now, let’s work on our backing board. With the help of a hook, peel off all the stencil pieces. Be careful so you don’t damage or scratch the wood.
- Once your design is revealed again, and sand it very well and distress some places as you see fit.
- Clean your board well and set it aside.
STEP 8: ASSEMBLE THE FRAME.
- Lay down your pieces to form the shape of your frame. Longer boards should go top and bottom and the shorter ones should go left and right.
- Longer boards should go over the end of the shorter ones as shown below.
- To make it easier to screw the frame together (I don’t have a nail gun so I went for screws) I drilled 2 holes on each end of the long pieces to mark the path of the screw. Use a drill tip smaller than the screw you are going to use.
- Apply some glue and screw your pieces together.
- Set aside and let the glue dry for a while.
- When it’s dry you need to create the back frame that will house your wood sign.
- For this, you will set your wood sticks the same way as your mainframe but this time you will just glue and nail them in place.
- Align your frame pieces with the outer edge of the mainframe. Apply wood and use clamps to secure your pieces in place.
- Once dry, nail it on a few spots just to double-secure it.
- Your frame is done!
- Now to keep your wood sign in place, you can use L-shaped Hook Screws if you are on a budget.
- Just drill carefully some holes to mark the path of your hooks on at least 3 spots on the long sides and 2 on the short ones.
- Then screw your hooks in place all the way down!
STEP 9: ASSEMBLE THE RUSTIC WOOD SIGN
- It’s time to fit your gorgeous wood sign in.
- Place your wood sign facing down.
- Turn all your hooks over the board to secure them. If they are a bit lose, just cut small pieces of felt and put them between the board and the hook so your board doesn’t get scratched.
- Your Rustic Oversized Reversible Farmhouse Christmas Wood Signs are all ready to rock!
Some of my favorite bloggers’ Christmas decor:
- Decorating Floating Shelves for Christmas by Michelle over at Weekend Craft.
- Christmas living room tour by Beth over at Home Stories A to Z.
- Christmas in the Living Room by Liz over at Love Grows Wild
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Til’ next time…
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