DIY Farmhouse Welcome Sign Tutorial

Hi Guys!

I’m so excited to share with you this tutorial today for my DIY Farmhouse Welcome Sign!

Welcome signs are popping up everywhere online and I know it would be a cute addition to our front porch too.  

The only problem is that they are all roughly $60-80 on Etsy plus shipping (which is roughly the same price due to the weight of the product).

Plus– we are DIYers and I thought I had the skills to make one myself- it was just a matter of the time required.

And then COVID hit…and I found myself at home writing a to-do list of projects I’ve wanted to complete and put the DIY Welcome Sign on the list!

Perfect 🙂

But before I could begin, I needed to get some in-tell as to how to make the sign. I started watching YouTube videos about the different ways to create wood signs… stained, painted, stenciled, hand-drawn, or even using a decal.

In the end, I decided to go with a painted hand-stenciled Welcome Sign in black. The black would stand out on my porch and create a lot of curb appeal against our brick too!

DIY Welcome Sign- Materials Required:

Once I knew what I wanted the sign to look like, the next step was to shop for materials.

Here is what we used:

• 7 ft x 1 ft piece of barn board
• Welcome Stencil- linked–> Barn Star Stencils on Etsy
• black paint *
• white paint *
• primer paint
• small roller/ paint tray
• makeup sponges & paper plate
• Sikkens clear coat wood sealer
• Sponge brush
• Cloth to wipe down
• Palm Sander
• Painter’s Tape
• Black Sharpie

**we used Beautitone’s Trim & Door Interior/ Exterior paint in the color Black Cat and Milk Mustache from Home Hardware.

OK, ready to check out how to make your own custom DIY Welcome Sign?  

Here we go…

DIY Welcome Sign Tutorial

So…you have all the design in mind and materials ready to go.  Here are 6 simple steps to making your own DIY Welcome Sign!  

Enjoy~

1-Prep Wood

• Cut your barn board down to the appropriate size for your porch.  We had to buy an 8ft x 1 ft piece and cut it down to a 7ft x 1 ft board.

• Sand your wood on both sides using a palm sander.
• Wipe your board clean in order to prep it for priming & painting.

2-Prime & Paint the Board

• Unfortunately, we can’t just start painting the board black.  The first step is to prime the board using a primer that blocks wood knots.  This is what we used–

• We did 2 coats of primer to make sure that our knots won’t show through.

• Once dry, it’s time to paint the board.  We chose to paint it black.  Make sure to paint all sides of the board and cover it with a few coats to get the desired look.
• This part takes the longest as you need to do multiple coats and flip the board over to repeat.
• Use your small roller and paint tray.

3- Measure Stencil

• Great!  The board is ready for the stencil 🙂

• The first step is to space out the stencils and tape it down using Painter’s Tape.
• We measured 1 ft from both the top and bottom for our 1st and last letter.

• Then, we equally spaced out the remainder of the letters in between.
• Finally, make sure everything is centered horizontally on your board before taping the stencils down with painter’s tape!

4-Paint Stencil Letters

• There are lots of different methods of painting stencil letters and I feel like I tried each one!  This was the trial and error portion of this DIY and let me tell you…what a nuisance! 
• I figured that since it was the 1st time making my own sign, I better try out which method works the best in case I decide to make more signs in the future.
• Here’s what I did–>
  • 1-Spray paint– When I spray painted, I did very light coats.  But no matter what…it bled through under the letters.  I figure it might have worked if I wasn’t looking for my letters to be filled in completely.
  • 2-Sponge Brush- I tried painting using my sponge brush next but it turned out lumpy and inconsistent after a couple of coats- I was really not happy with this method!
  • 3-I tried a combo of sponge brush for the 1st coat and spray paint for the 2nd coat.  The light spray paint was supposed to fill in the gaps- but again, I was not happy.
  • 4-Finally…and the method that WORKED and I would use 100% in the future is using a makeup sponge!  🙂  YES- A makeup sponge!

• I will say that the makeup sponge took much longer- roughly 20 minutes per coat (and I did 3 coats), but I had way more control and there was no bleeding under the letters.
• I did 3 coats in order to get the desired look that I wanted on my letters and by the time I was finishing my last letter, I could start all over again at the top because it was dry already.

**Side Note- each trial and error meant that I had to sand and paint over the board again.  As I said, it was necessary for me to find the best method and it took way longer than desired to create this board.  But…I thought that it was important for you to hear my honest advice as to how I created this board.**

5-Final Touches to Paint

• Now I’m a perfectionist and I wanted the letters to look…well, perfect with crisp lines.  I mean, this sign was going to be on my front porch and one of the first things visitors see when arriving at my door.
• Look closely at this letter E– it’s not perfect and the lines need to look way more defined–>

• So…ready for my secret?

A BLACK SHARPIE!

• Because I have a black sign, I chose a black Sharpie.  But other options are Sharpie Paint Pens to draw the crisp lines as they come in many different colors.  They can be purchased at craft stores or online on Amazon too!
• It’s as easy as tracing the lines carefully to achieve the nice straight letter lines.
• And voila– ready for the last step!

6-Seal the Sign

• OK, in order to do this final step for your DIY Welcome Sign, make sure you are in a ventilated area, but closed to the elements such as a garage.
• All you need to do is to put the clear coat on your board- all sides.
• We did 2 coats of our Sikkens Clear Coat in order to seal the board and protect it from the outdoor elements like rain, snow, wind, and sun.   
• **It’s not necessary to use Sikkens, it’s what we already had on hand from other projects- any clear coat will work at this point!**
  
• We used a sponge brush to apply the clear coat and left to dry.

• This was a really simple step and it’s easy to apply.
• I applied 1 coat first thing in the morning, and then another before settling down for the night.
• Then the next day, I flipped the board and repeat.

The final look!

I’m in love with how this sign looks on our front porch!  

 

 

 

 

Cost to Make the DIY Welcome Sign:

• 8ft Wood Barn Board- ~$10
• Primer/ Paint/ Clear Coat- from around our house already- $0
• Painting Rollers and Sponges- less than $10
• Stencil- $25 and REUSABLE! (future side business?)

Total Cost:  $45.00

*Don’t forget that the going rate to purchase a sign like this online is anywhere from $60- 100+ shipping & handling!

It was a learning process for sure, but if I ever did this again, I would know exactly how to complete this more efficiently!

Here is what I learned…

• Do research to see the different types and methods of creating similar signs.
• Be open to altering our method if one way doesn’t work out!  This happened a lot during my stenciling step!
• Don’t give up 🙂

So…inspired to make your own DIY Welcome Sign?  Leave your comments below- share your image if you followed this tutorial!