DIY stenciled rustic fall signs

DIY painted fall signs. How to make your own farmhouse style signs for your fall themed decor. These painted tiny signs are so perfect for coffee bars, tiered trays and mantles. This trio of hello fall, give thanks, and a pumpkin are hand painted in orange, black and white, the classic fall colors. This tutorial will take you step by step on how to make your own stenciled wooden signs at home.

Don’t you just love painted mini signs?! HELLO FALL, GIVE THANKS, and a picture of a PUMPKIN just scream I LOVE FALL! I placed mine on a rustic old window frame that has candy corn burlap draped across it and OMG it looks adorable! These mini signs are also perfect for tiered trays and coffee bars. How cute would these be paired with some wood bead garland painted in fall colors?

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If you plan to hang these mini fall wood signs be sure to check out my post on how to quickly and easily attach a sawtooth hanger to wooden signs.

 

 

How to make painted wood signs for fall

Here’s what you’ll need

• 3 prestained 5.5”x5.5” wood blanks

• hello fall, give thanks, pumpkin image SVG files

• oramask stencil film

• transfer tape

• paint brushes

• stenciling sponge

• orange, white, and black acrylic paint

• vinyl squeegee

• sandpaper

• xacto knife

Helpful tools

• Cricut cutting machine

• Cricut green mat

• Cricut Design Space

• Ryobi miter saw

• Ryobi sander

If you don’t have all the tools to completely make this fall craft from scratch you can order a DIY craft kit here. It comes with everything you need to make these wood signs at home.

ONE- the first thing you need to do is cut your wood into squares. I used a 1”x6” piece of pine, the actual size is 5.5” so I cut them into 5.5’“x5.5” squares. After you’ve cut and sanded your 5.5”x5.5” wood pieces stain them and let them dry for 24 hours. After they’ve dried sand around the edges, corners, and a light sanding on the front, be sure to wipe them down so you get all of the sawdust off of them. I LOVE my RYOBI CORDLESS SANDER , it is what I use for all of my wooden projects. But, if you don’t have a sander you can get the job done with 120 grit sand paper.

TWO- Cut your stencils out. If you want to use an SVG similar the ones in this tutorial you can go here to grab your SVG files. I’ve found that using true stencil film works best for stenciling wood signs. I highly recommend cutting the designs out on Oramask stencil film. I used a Cricut Explore to cut the files for this fall craft. I weeded them with an xacto knife once they were done cutting.

THREE- Now you can start painting! You want to paint each sign a different color. Start by painting a thin layer of paint on the front of each sign. You want to leave a small border around the edge. This should look kinda rough and uneven, it will give it lots of character when finished this way. Wait for the first layer to dry completely then paint a second THIN layer on top of that. I don’t recommend painting more than two layers of base paint. the more layers you have the more problems you will run into when peeling up your stencil.

Repeat this step for all 3 signs. Once they are all TOTALLY DRY you are ready for stenciling. They must be completely dry otherwise your stencil will not stick to the wood and it will be an ugly mess.

I don’t have pictures of how to do the next steps on the fall mini signs BUT I am sharing pictures of a similar craft that I made for winter themed signs. You can read the full winter themed tutorial here. Both sign trios have the same steps, the only differences are the stencils and paint colors, everything else is the same :)!

FOUR- Start by removing the paper backing from your stencil. This works best if you use a vinyl applicator {here’s what I use} or you can use a stiff store rewards card, I don’t recommend using your bank card as it could break during the process.

If you’re using your own stencils you’ll need transfer tape to transfer your stencil onto the wood in one piece.

Start by rubbing the front of the stencil with your vinyl applicator. Be sure you move in one direction.

Then flip it over and do the same to the back.

Now slowly peel the paper backing away from the stencil. This works best if you start at one corner and peel away at a sharp 90 degree angle. Go SLOW.

Before you start applying your stencils decided which stencil you will put on each board.

First, you’ll want to place your stencil where you want it on your board. I wanted mine to all be centered so that’s what I did but you can place them anywhere on the board you’d like. I just recommend keeping the image within the painted part of the wood.

Using your vinyl tool rub the stencil, using the same technique as before. Now SLOWLY peel the transfer tape {the clear sticky stuff} away from your stencil. I do this at a sharp angle and I will slowly roll it off of the stencil.

After you get the transfer tape off rub your finger along all the exposed stencil edges {anywhere there is wood showing thru}. this helps to get s good seal on your stencil.

FIVE- Now you’re ready to start painting your stencil! Use one end of your cosmetic sponge LIGHTLY dip it in the paint color you’d like your design. BE SURE TO USE VERY LITTLE PAINT, this is key to getting little to no paint bleed under your stencil. Dab the sponge on a paper towel a couple times then onto your stencil, do this till you have a very THIN even coat {you should be able to see thru the first coat}. LET DRY, repeat till you are happy with the coverage.

SIX- After you’re finished sponging the stencil you can peel it up immediately. I know all tutorials can vary with peeling the stencil up while the paint is still wet or waiting for it to dry. I have had the best luck peeling the stencil while the paint is still wet. Use an xacto knife or sewing pin to aid in this step.

As with all of my DIY tutorials if you have any questions please ask in the comments below:)