DIY painted baby name sign with newborn stats

A couple weeks ago a sweet friend of mine from grade school messaged and asked me to help in creating a wreath she’s having made for her very first baby! Of course I said YES! I am just so happy for her as she’s waited a very long time to become a mom and was so honored she asked me to be apart of something she will be hanging in her precious daughter’s room. She sent me all the details she wanted for the sign part of the wreath and I recreated something similar personalized just for her little one.

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I created my template in CRICUT DESIGN SPACE and of course used my Cricut to cut it out. By the way, I have an older style Cricut and still create AMAZING projects with it, although I’d love a Maker just to have one I don’t need one to make all the wonderful things I share on my crafty blog. I often see others get discouraged because they can’t afford the newest machine out there but you can find GREAT deals on older style machines and they do just as much as the newer models :)! If you’re just getting started using your Cricut read this list of 10 things you need to get you started on your Cricut crafting journey.

If you want a more in-depth teaching on SIGN PAINTING you need to get on my list for my DIY SIGN PAINTERS E-COURSE. Click here to get on the list so you’re first to know when it opens back up.

When you’re all finished up reading this tutorial and need help attaching hanging hardware be sure to read this post on how to easily and quickly attach a sawtooth hanger to wood signs

How to paint wood signs with no paint bleed

Here’s what you’ll need

• stencil film

• transfer tape

• pre-stained wood base

• white paint

• matte finish mod podge

• 2 paint brushes

• masking tape

• vinyl squeegee

Helpful tools

• CRICUT CUTTING MACHINE

• CRICUT DESIGN SPACE

• CRICUT CUTTING MAT

• XACTO KNIFE

• RYOBI MITER SAW

• RYOBI SANDER

For this tutorial I’m focusing on the painting techniques of making a personalized baby sign. CLICK HERE for my tutorial on how to stain wood.

ONE- Start with a pre-stained wood base. See my video on how to stain wood click here. Be sure you are allowing your stained base to dry for at least 24 hours prior to stenciling on it. Stencils will not adhere to a base that isn’t fully dry.

TWO- Apply your stencil. To do this you need transfer tape. Transfer tape allows us to take a stencil and apply it in one whole piece without a headache, we LOVE whoever invented this product! Place your transfer tape sticky side down onto your stencil. Gently push out any air bubbles on the front with your hands, then flip it ver and use your vinyl squeegee and rub the back of it. Slowly remove the paper backing leaving the stencil (blue part) and the clear transfer tape still intact.

THREE- Flip your stencil over and position it on your wood base. Once you are happy with the placement working from the middle of the stencil out press it down with your hands. Then use your vinyl squeegee and do the same thing.

FOUR- After you’ve pressed down your stencil you can remove your transfer tape. I’ve found the easiest way to do this is to roll your transfer tape off of your stencil. Start from one corner and slowly roll is off. You can reuse your transfer tape over and over again. I like to place my used transfer tape back on the roll I cut it off of and use it for the next project.

FIVE- If you have any gaps/air bubbles use an xacto knife to remove those. Use an xacto knife to make a small slit in the stencil film where the gap/air bubble is. This will make the stencil film lay flat.

SIX- Tape off any area that you don’t want to get paint on, like the sides of your stencil. It is a lot easier to take the time to tape this off than it is to try to clean off paint where you don’t want it.

SEVEN- Using MATTE FINISH MOD PODGE seal your stencil. You do this by taking a DRY paint brush, dipping it into a little bit of the mod podge, and brushing it in all directions on the exposed areas of your stencil. Be sure you are painting on a VERY THIN LAYER of mod podge. This step is KEY to the no paint bleed painted sign. The mod podge is filling in all of those tiny air bubbles that you can’t see. Let this dry, usually this takes just a couple of minutes.

EIGHT- I highly recommend using either flat or eggshell finish for your paint. Gloss paint tends to pull up when you remove the stencil. Using a different DRY paint brush paint on your first THIN layer of paint. You want to see the base color/wood grain through the paint.

NINE- After your first layer is completely dry you can paint on a second thin layer of paint. The first layer should dry VERY fast.

TEN- After you’re done painting on the second layer of paint on your stencil you can immediately pull up your stencil. I prefer to do this step while the paint is still wet. Use an xacto knife to remove all the small stencil pieces.

Let your sign dry then you’re ready to use it. I hope that you found this DIY SIGN PAINTING TUTORIAL helpful. If you did I’d LOVE to hear your feedback:)!! If you have any questions please feel free to ask.