You’ve seen them everywhere…farmhouse signs! Have you admired them from a distance but feel like you can’t afford them? Well, I’m here to say Yes. You. Can! I’ll show you exactly how to make a DIY farmhouse sign with this complete beginner’s guide.

This post contains affiliate links, and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. For more information, please see my disclosures.

Making a Farmhouse Sign for All Seasons

You may remember the DIY farmhouse sign I made for my fun black-and-white Halloween mantel one year.

For my winter mantel decor, I decided to use the reverse side of the sign because…why not?!

I chose a fun phrase from the song My Favorite Things to set the mood. (Can’t you just hear Julie Andrews singing?)

In case you didn’t catch that, this sign is reversible and changeable! Don’t believe me? Here’s a look at the same sign I repurposed for another Christmas.

If you like to change your mind as often as this girl does, you’re in for a real treat!

You can get all the details in this YouTube video where I walk you through each step, including what to consider when creating your wooden sign.

DIY Farmhouse Signs – Do I Need a Cricut?

Okay, I know some of you don’t own a Cricut or Cameo. I got ya covered!

I’ll give you another alternative for hand-drawing your sign below.

First, let me explain why you’d want to use a Cricut or Cameo instead of manually drawing each letter.

• It’s much faster and less tedious.
• You can easily increase/decrease the font size.
• You can always remove the vinyl and start over.

Have I convinced you yet?

Check out more of my Silhouette Cameo projects if you need more convincing.

How to Make a DIY Farmhouse Wood Sign

For this tutorial, I’ll share the exact dimensions for my sign, but please don’t feel like you have to stick to the script. This is your baby!

Supplies

• Plywood (30.25 x 26 inches, at least 1/2-inch thick)
• Furring strips (0.75-in x 1.5-in x 8-ft)
• Wood stain
• Chalk paint*

If you have a Cameo or Cricut machine, you’ll also need the following:

• Black removable vinyl
• Transfer tape

Step 1: Prepare plywood for painting

I like to use scrap wood for projects like this, but (fun fact) Home Depot or Lowe’s will make a few cuts for free.

Note: For best results, get plywood with a decent finish that doesn’t require lots of sanding.

After cutting your wood to size, you’ll want to sand all edges and dust off the surface.

Next, apply 1-2 coats of this chalk paint. Chalk paint dries quickly, but you should still wait 20-30 minutes in between coats.

“Why use chalk paint,” you might ask? It gives a smooth, matte finish that looks like bonafide farmhouse decor.

*Pro Tip: My hubby and I use this chalky paint additive to turn any regular latex paint into chalk paint.

Step 2: Cut and stain the sign border panels

For this project, I used a pull saw to cut the furring strips for my frame.

I measured the top and bottom strips to extend beyond the plywood so the side strips would fit snugly inside (see below).

No fancy mitered corners here!

You can choose a dark stain or light stain for this project…whatever floats your boat. I went with this light-colored stain for a nice neutral look.

Tip: Be sure to stain all sides of the panels if you plan to make your sign reversible.

Step 3: Attach frame strips to plywood

To attach the frame to the plywood, you can use either wood glue or finishing nails. You could also use small screws if you pre-drill holes first to prevent splitting.

I hit the “easy button” and simply nailed the strips in three places on each side.

Step 4: Design farmhouse phrase

You can design your DIY farmhouse sign to include any phrase or image you like.

For both my Halloween sign and winter sign, I used a fun combination of farmhouse fonts, which you’ll find in my free fall fonts post.

If you want to get inspired with my library of free printables, you can sign up below!

Step 5: Use Cameo or Cricut to cut design (or skip to optional method)

Below is my view of the winter sign in the Silhouette Studio Designer Edition software:

Since my phrase was quite large, I decided to use this roll of removable vinyl to cut my design.

Here are three things to know if you’re using a roll like this with a Cameo:

1. You’ll need to switch the orientation to landscape. (See photo above.)
2. Make sure you adjust the width to be at least as long as your design. (Each square is about 1 inch.)
3. There’s no need to use a cutting mat, but I do recommend advancing your roll forward/backward with the arrow keys on the machine to make sure it will feed properly.

The last point is reeeeally important. I messed up a few pieces of vinyl when the roll got off track because it wasn’t feeding properly. Argh!

Tip: Print your design on paper before cutting the vinyl, just to make sure the font size looks good.

Step 5: Remove the excess vinyl and transfer your design

Once you’ve cut the vinyl, you’ll want to “weed” the design, which means removing the negative space to reveal only your letters.

Don’t forget those small spaces inside the letters, especially when working with script fonts.

As you can see, I love using this weeding tool to get all the nooks and crannies.

After your design is ready to go, you’ll use transfer tape to “pick up” the letters from the carrier sheet and then place them on your sign.

Here’s an example of using transfer tape when I made a back-to-school chalkboard sign.

You simply line up the letters on your surface, press down firmly, and lift away the transfer tape.

Tip: Measure the distance from the top of your sign to the top of the letters to make sure the phrase is aligned properly.

Optional Method: Pencil Transfer or Carbon Paper

No Cricut/Cameo? No problem. Try one of the methods below to make a DIY farmhouse sign!

Pencil transfer method:

1. Print your design on computer paper.
2. Turn the paper over, and scribble pencil marks over the areas where the text is printed.
3. Place the paper on your surface (design facing up) and trace an outline of the printed letters with a pen. (The pencil on the other side will make faint marks on your wood.)
4. Remove the paper and fill in the text with a permanent marker or black paint.

Carbon paper method:

1. Print your design, as in Step 1. under pencil transfer method.
2. Place a sheet of carbon paper (shiny side down) on the wood surface.
3. Cover the carbon paper with your printed design (design facing up). Then, trace the letters with a pen, making sure you press hard enough to transfer your design.
4. Fill in the traced letters with a black marker or paint.

Final Look: DIY Farmhouse Sign Project

Well, how do you like your DIY wood sign?

If you change your mind with the seasons (like me), you can always remove the temporary vinyl or repaint the sign.

Hopefully, you’ll get to enjoy it a while before then!

Pin it for later!

Happy DIY-ing!

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Farmhouse Signs DIY Tutorial: Complete Guide

Yield: 1

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Active Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Estimated Cost: $15-20

Make beautiful farmhouse signs for your home with wood and a few simple materials!

You can use either removable vinyl or paint to make these rustic farmhouse signs. This tutorial includes options to use a Cricut or Cameo machine or hand-paint lettering directly onto the wood.

The best part about this sign construction is you can make the sign reversible to use it for multiple holidays or occasions.

Print

Materials

• Plywood (30 1/4 x 26 inches)
• Furring strips (1 x 2-inch strips, usu. 8-ft long)
• Wood stain
• Chalk paint
• Black removable vinyl
• Transfer tape

Tools

• Cameo or Cricut (optional)

Instructions

Cut and paint plywood

1. After cutting your wood to size, sand all edges and dust off the surface.
2. Apply 1-2 coats of chalk paint. Chalk paint dries quickly, but you should still wait 20-30 minutes in between coats.

Cut, stain, and attach border panels

1. Cut the furring strips for the frame using a pull saw or other woodworking tool. (Home Depot or Lowe's will usually make a few cuts for free.)
2. You can measure the top and bottom strips to extend beyond the plywood so the side strips fit snugly inside.
3. Apply a stain color of your choice to the strips before attaching them to the sign.
4. Attach the frame to the plywood using either wood glue or nails.

Option 1: Create a farmhouse phrase and cut with Cameo/Cricut

1. If you use a Cameo/Cricut, cut your design on removable vinyl (preferably) or permanent vinyl.
2. Weed the design by removing all negative space you do not want to be transferred.
3. Apply the design to the wood using transfer tape.

Option 2: Print and transfer design using pencil

1. Print your design on computer paper.
2. Turn the paper over, and scribble pencil marks over the areas where the text is printed.
3. Place the paper on your surface (design facing up) and trace an outline of the printed letters with a pen. (The pencil on the other side will make faint marks on your wood.)
4. Remove the paper and fill in the text with a permanent marker or black paint.

Option 4: Print and transfer design using carbon paper

1. Print your design, as in Step 1. under pencil transfer method.
2. Place a sheet of carbon paper (shiny side down) on the wood surface.
3. Cover the carbon paper with your printed design (design facing up). Then, trace the letters with a pen, making sure you press hard enough to transfer your design.
4. Fill in the traced letters with a black marker or paint.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  FolkArt 34151 Home Decor Chalk Furniture & Craft Paint in Assorted Colors, 8 ounce, Sheepskin
• 
  Cricut Premium Vinyl - Removable, 12” x 180” Adhesive Decal Bulk Roll - Black
• 
  Craft Weeding Tools-Vinyl Weeder Basic Tool for Silhouettes, Cameos, Lettering (Hook Weeder)
• 
  Cricut Maker, Champagne
• 
  Silhouette CAMEO 4 (White Edition)

Did you make this project?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram and tag @firstdayofhome!

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