DIY Painted Sign

DIY Painted Sign

I made a western-style personalized sign to go along with my son’s stuffed animal storage corral. The technique I used is pretty simple and can be adapted to any style lettering/font you might choose. You don’t even need to buy letter stencils – you can just use any font on your computer for the DIY painted Signlettering. Simply print out the letters you need in your font choice, cut them out, and trace them to use as your own letter stencils for your project. This is what I do for most crafts that require any type of words/letters. It is also how I made the letters for the Baby Foot Print Frames. Below are the specific directions on how I made my son’s western corral sign.


Materials

– Wooden plaque (I found mine at Michaels – it measures 5 inches x 12 inches)

– Font Choice/Letter Stencils (I used a western font I downloaded for free)

– Ruler

– Scissors

– Pencil

– Optional: Tape (for sticking the letters on the sign to trace)

– Thin paint brush

– Acrylic paint in your color choice (I used black)


Corral Sign Directions

**Skip the first two steps if you are using letter stencils.

    1. Pick a font on your computer and type the letters needed in the appropriate size for your sign. Print out the document. I used “Western Normal” font that I downloaded for free from AllFont.net. I used font size 200 for my sign.
    2. Cut each letter carefully out of your printed paper.DIY Painted Sign
    3. Use your ruler to figure out where to position the letters on your wooden plaque so that they are where you want them. I chose to center my letters on my sign.
    4. Position your stencils/letter cut-outs on the plaque and trace them lightly in pencil. If you printed and cut out your letters, it may be easier to tape them down so they stay still while you trace around them.DIY Painted Sign
    5. Use a acrylic paint and a thin paint brush to paint each letter on your sign. I found it was easiest to first outline the letters with the paint and then fill them in with the brush. DIY Painted Sign
    6. Let the paint dry completely and if you don’t need another coat of paint, your sign is done and ready to display! **If your plaque did not come with hanging twine already attached and you plan to hang it, you will need to attach a piece of string/twine or hooks to the back of your sign.