Follow along as I explain how to make Do It Yourself Farmhouse sign!
This Do it yourself easy farmhouse sign was made for my newly remodeled laundry room. View the post here.
Farmhouse sign
So I kinda cheated the system for this do-it-yourself farmhouse sign. I think, originally I was looking for an MFD board. But I didn’t like the price and maybe the texture? I found this Reversible Prefinished Handi-Panel at Menards, just under $10!But it was white on one side and a white/brown on the either. It looked like an antique look and I believe that was supposed to be the front. It resembles the pre-made shelving Menards has except it’s a tad bit thicker and heavier! I liked this because I didn’t have to take the extra step in painting before I put my lettering on. It also had that nice, smooth, glossy finish to it.
This board I bought is a 4 foot by 2foot size. I had used 3 feet of it for the dining room sign I made previously. And this I had this other foot off the board just laying around waiting for me to need it. And when I started on the laundry room I knew I finally found a use for it! My husband actually hates I keep every scrap piece leftover from projects. But that’s fine I always end up using the scrap pieces anyways.
For my words/lettering, I used my Cricut. And it’s okay if you don’t have one. I was lucky my sisters’ boyfriend’s mom was wanting to sell her old Cricut and I got it for a steal at $50. I just couldn’t get myself to pay for one full price. But I did many projects without this Cricut. You can use stencils, our print-off from your computer, and trace those!
Cricut Method
I think the hardest part is finding the right fonts! And by hardest part I mean the most annoying part! I pay $10 a month for Cricut Access. It’s not necessary but I do find it nice that I have access to all the fonts. But there are plenty out there that are free. I will be posting some of my favorite and go-to fonts for my projects!
For this project, I used Typewriter STD Regular and Mahogany Script STD Regular.
Whenever I am using my Cricut for a project I like to measure my material and then base my lettering size off that. Sometimes it’s just not quite right and I have to end up cutting again but that’s me jumping the gun and not thinking it completely through.
So, once I have it all typed out in the right size and font, I cut my pieces of vinyl down to the right size before cutting. I highly recommend buying the cutting mats. I originally thought the mats were for the blade not to cut through the vinyl. That’s not it at all. It’s for the vinyl to stay in place while cutting. I got these two at Walmart. It’s a pack of two so the price is pretty good.
Great Amazon Cricut Tools
For any vinyl project, you will need some tools. A weeding tool, squeegee, scissors. Things of that nature. I got this toolset from Amazon and it works amazing! 21 pieces for $8!
The vinyl I have been buying from Amazon as well. You get at least twice the amount of vinyl for half the cost. I’ve been buying the brand oracle. It has great reviews and I haven’t had any issues. I also bought this giant roll of transfer tape from Amazon as well!
So once I have my lettering cut out on the Cricut, I then cut out each word individually. I make sure to cut as close to the word as possible so I don’t have to mess with a lot of extra vinyl to pull off. You don’t want to mess with a lot of extra vinyl when pulling it off it can get stuck to what hasn’t been pulled. That also goes for long words or big designs. If you do have those- I suggest cutting the extra halfway or so.
Once the words are all individually cut, it’s time to weed the lettering. Any letters like a, e, o, etc that have extra insides that need to go. after the weeding is done, cut a piece of transfer tape off and peel the back off. Place the word face down. Take the squeegee to this so the vinyl sticks to the transfer tape and not the back of the vinyl. Then peel the back off. Next is to peel the extra vinyl around the letters off, making sure it doesn’t stick to itself. Then you just place the onto your board, take the squeegee again, now to make sure it sticks to the baked and not the transfer tape. Then just peel the transfer tape off and there ya go. Just repeat the process until all your words are on the board.
The last step is to add your border. I use furring strips from Menards. It’s 1 by 2 by 8 feet long for $1.78. Just stain and cut to length. A good tip whatever pieces will be on the inside they will be just a tad smaller than the length of your board. If you look at this sign- the bottom and top are inside so they are a little shorter to fit inside the outside borders. I use panel boards nails from Menards and hammer them in. You want your borders to sit flush with the back so they overhang on the front.
And there it is! That’s how I make my farmhouse signs! I hope you enjoyed this little “how-to”. The links and products mentioned are not sponsored or affiliated. Follow Roost Eleven Eighteen on Instagram for more behind the scenes and day-to-day posts.
