DIY Wooden Sign

Some projects just seem more meaningful than others…and that was the case with this DIY Wooden Sign celebrating adoption.  It was needed for a planned photo shoot.  And, I must say, when I saw the pictures, my heart positively melted.  Of course, you can make this sign say whatever you want, in the color of your choice.  This tutorial merely shows you what I used to achieve this sort of distressed, rustic look. 

I started with tongue-in-groove wood flooring which you can buy at the hardware store. (I got a packet of 10 for about $12.)  Decide which direction you want the wooden slats to go, and how big you want your sign, and cut the wood accordingly.

Once the pieces were all cut, I painted the wood in two differing shades of beige.  I figured this would help give it even more of an aged look.  But, of course, it’s not necessary.  Any color will do.

Once the paint dried, I took a medium grit sandpaper and sanded all the slats, particularly around the sides.  This helped remove the paint along the edges, giving it that weathered look.

Using the tongues and grooves of the wooden pieces, I then put my sign together. At this point, I didn’t secure them permanently because I knew I might need to take them apart to get my paint brush into some of the grooves.  So, I ended up putting tape across the back to hold it in place temporarily.

Before penciling in my lettering, I played around with how I wanted it to look on my laptop, experimenting with different fonts.  This is the picture that was given to me, when I was first asked to make this DIY Wooden Sign. You can see there wasn’t much to it, but what it said was beautiful.

Once I knew how I wanted it to look, I penciled everything in and started painting.  (Another option for this project is vinyl.  Unfortunately, I don’t own a Cricut, so I went old school.)  I have a fine-tip paint brush that I use for many of my projects, but this time I decided to try some fine-tipped paint pens that I found at Michael’s.  Just so you know, even though it says “fine-tip,” it’s not as fine as you might think.  I ended up using a combination of paint pen and paint brush.  And, as suspected, more than a few times, I had to take apart the wooden slats to get my brush into the grooves.

 

With my sign all painted, it was time to put it together permanently.  I put wood glue inside each one of grooves, then attached it to the corresponding tongue.  I then used some scrap wood and cut two strips that I glued across the back to further secure the whole thing.

I nailed the two strips from the front of the sign, so the nail heads would show.  This added to the look.

For an even more personal touch, I put the child’s name, and date of adoption on a separate slat that is easily hung on to the bottom of the sign.  (For good measure, I painted an extra slat for a future brother or sister.)

 

I love the way this DIY Wooden Sign turned out.  But the real payoff came a couple of days later.  That’s when I received this picture from the photo shoot.  There simply are no words describe this precious family.