DIY reverse stencil wood sign tutorial
Equipment
- Bless our nest SVG
- Paint brushes
Materials
Instructions
- CUT AND WEED YOUR DESIGN
- PAINT YOUR LETTER COLOR
- APPLY YOUR STENCIL
- SEAL YOUR STENCIL
- PAINT THE BACK
- PAINT THE FRONT
- PEEL UP YOUR STENCIL
- FINISH
Notes
Meganplusfive.com
DIY REVERSE STENCIL FOR WOOD SIGNS
How to reverse stencil on wood + FREE SVG
How to stencil on wood with no paint bleed. I completely understand your frustration when that happens when painting stenciled wood signs. I have been there and am so glad I learned how to paint signs without these issues now AND I’m happy I get to show you how to paint wood signs without the headache.
One of the easiest methods to stenciling painted wood signs is the REVERSE STENCILING METHOD. It’s the sign painting method I suggest people start with when they are just learning how to paint signs. No matter if you are wanting to learn how to paint signs for a hobby or you are wanting to start your own momma side hustle this is THE sign painting tutorial you need to start with. I don’t want to overwhelm you with too much sign painting lingo but this is also referred to as the PVPP method. Or in other words, Paint Vinyl Paint Peel. But I like to call it a reverse stencil because that just sounds better to me ;).
DIY REVERSE STENCIL WITH YOUR CRICUT, the NO paint bleed method
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After making thousands of hand painted wood signs for my own business I think I’ve picked up a thing or two about how to paint signs and I am so excited to be sharing my tips, tricks, and techniques with you. So hopefully you don’t make the same mistakes that I did starting out.
If you have a Cricut or Silhouette cutting machine you can purchase the SVG FILE for BLESS OUR NEST here. If you’re just getting started with your Cricut I highly recommend you read this list of 10 things you need to get started with your Cricut. .
If you’re planning to make lots of signs like I do you may want to consider ordering stencil film in bulk to save some money. Here’s how I save 40% on my Oramask 813 stencil film.
Watch the video below or keep scrolling to read the written sign making tutorial.
—–> If you LOVE this DIY sign painting tutorial be sure to check out this fun DIY HOT MESS SIGN
DIY NO PAINT BLEED REVERSE STENCILED SIGN
Here’s what you’ll need
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Wood base
Helpful tools
1. CUT AND WEED YOUR DESIGN
The first thing you want to do is cut your design out. I use my Cricut to do this on Oramask 813 stencil film. After having issues with pretty much any other kind of “stenciling” material, I have found this stuff truly works and does the job it was made to do. Using things like shelf liner, aka contact paper, and oracal 631 they can cause so many issues and a giant headache. So now I just stick to what works and Oramask 813 works! Instead of weeding out the letters like you would on a typical stencil you will actually weed out the background, leaving the letters.
2. PAINT YOUR LETTER COLOR
I know this is going to sound super backwards BUT you want to paint your wood sign base whatever color you want your lettering to be. I have to add that if you are wanting your lettering/design to be multi colored this method will not work. But, if you want one solid color like the design I’m showing here this reverse stencil method is perfect. Let your paint dry.
3. APPLY YOUR STENCIL
After your letter color paint is dry you want to apply your stencil. At first it can be tricky to apply your stencil perfectly straight but with practice it gets easier. Place your transfer tape over your design, use your vinyl squeegee to gently remove any air. Flip your stencil over and carefully remove the paper backing. Go slow you don’t want to rip your design. After you’ve removed the paper backing place your stencil down on your wood sign base sticky side down. Use your vinyl squeegee to remove any air bubbles then remove the transfer tape from your design, leaving your stencil film on your wood sign base.
4. SEAL YOUR STENCIL
This is THE STEP to do if you want ZERO PAINT BLEED. I don’t know about you but I’m a busy momma and business owner and I don’t have time to daintily paint around stencils then cross my fingers that it won’t bleed. Nope! Instead, I seal my stencils with the same color that is under the stencil. So in this case I sealed my stencil with black paint. You want to paint a SUPER THIN layer of paint over your stencil. Be sure it’s a thin layer, this step does not need a lot of paint.
5. PAINT THE BACK
This step isn’t a must but I always finish the backside of all of my signs. It gives my signs a more polished look. When the sealing step is dry just flip your sign over and paint the back the same color you are going to paint the front. I just do one layer of paint for this step. While on this step I add a layer of paint to the sides of the wood base.
6. PAINT THE FRONT
Once the front is dry flip your sign over and paint a SUPER THIN layer of whatever color you would like your background color of your sign to be. Let that dry completely. After the first layer is dry you can add a second layer if you’d like more coverage.
7. PEEL UP YOUR STENCIL
This is personal preference but I recommend peeling your stencil up while it is still wet. I find that a sharp xacto knife or sewing pin works perfectly for this step. These tools are able to easily get under the stencil film to lift it up and off the base without damaging all the hard work you just did.
8. FINISH
Let your sign dry completely. You can leave it as is or your can sand around the edges to give it a more distressed look like the Bless our Nest wood sign I made.
I hope you enjoyed this sign painting tutorial and it helps you on your sign painting journey. As with all of my tutorials, if you have any questions please leave them below in the comments.
