DIY Front Porch Welcome Sign

Well, hello there February, it’s nice to finally see you!

I’m not sure why January felt like it lasted six months this year. Maybe it was simply because life has been hectic lately and the days never seemed to have enough hours in them. This might also explain why the supplies for this $10 DIY Front Porch Sign sat in the corner of my office for two weeks before I finally had a chance to get crafty.

So maybe it’s a positive sign that I’m kicking off the month of February with a new post and a finished DIY project.

After taking down my Christmas décor, my front porch looked pretty bleak. Much like the month of January, it looked cold and empty. I managed to squeeze in a quick wreath project to add a little color, but it definitely needed something more.

How about a cute Welcome sign for my front porch?

Don’t Just Buy It…DIY It!

These vertical signs have been super trendy since last year and you can find them at almost any craft or home décor store. My local Hobby Lobby usually has several versions depending on the season and, if you can catch them on sale, the price tag isn’t too steep.

But why buy what I can DIY?

This isn’t the first porch sign I’ve created. Last year I made custom signs for Fall and Christmas using a leftover board from my DIY Entry Table project. But for this sign, I utilized my new Cricut machine. (If you don’t own a Cricut, you can still create your own affordable signs using this projector method or this tracing paper method.)

Because I decided to repurpose craft items I already had on hand, the only thing I actually purchased for this project was the board. I picked this one up in the wood craft section at Hobby Lobby for around $5. (It’s regularly priced at $9.99 but, because Hobby Lobby does sales every few weeks on unfinished craft wood, I recommend waiting until items like this go on sale).

What You’ll Need

• ¾”x9 ¹/₈” x48” wood plank
• White paint (I love using this spray paint for projects. However, since I was out, I ended up using acrylic paint for this project.)
• Black chalk paint
• Small and large paint brushes
• Mod Podge or similar glue
• Cricut Explore Air 2
• Removable vinyl (I picked up a sample pack of removable vinyl at Walmart when I first got my Cricut to experiment with, so I used a couple of sheets from that instead of buying stencil vinyl sheets. As long as it’s removable and not permanent, I say it’s okay to go with whatever is least expensive.)
• Transfer tape (I’ve also read that clear contact paper is a good alternative to this.)
• Paper cutter or scissors
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Paint sticks*
• Furniture tacks*

*These are optional items that I used to add my own details because they were items I already had on hand. You can leave your sign simple with just the lettering, add some florals with a hot glue gun, add a nautical twist with jute cord…or anything you like!

Let’s Get Crafty!

The first step in this project is kind of obvious and very simple…painting the plank. As I mentioned above, I’m a big fan of using this spray paint for projects like this. Since I was out, I just used white acrylic paint. It takes an extra coat to fully cover, but otherwise, the result is the same.

My first step for this project was to design the layout and style of my letters. Cricut has a library of designs available (some for free and some for purchase) or you can check out places like Etsy to buy designs.

I always prefer using my own designs whenever possible to ensure correct sizing and customization. This is the SVG file I created for this sign. (I use Adobe InDesign for creative projects but you can also create simple designs like this directly in the Cricut Design Space).

If you have a larger cutting mat and longer sheets of vinyl or stencil material, this next step is unnecessary, Again, I chose to reuse items I already had to minimize cost. I formatted my letters to fit on two separate 12”x12” vinyl sheets (Four letters on one sheet and three on the second). Once I had the letters appropriately positioned, I welded them in the design space and continued with the steps to cut them out.

For the next step, I simply removed the letters to create the negative space and applied my transfer tape.

Sometimes You Have To Improvise

The next part wasn’t difficult by any means, but it was tedious. Because I was using smaller vinyl sheets for a larger sign, I had to cut my sheets to sperate the individual letters. Then I laid them out on my (dry) plank. Using a pencil and a ruler, I marked where each letter should be to ensure everything was centered and properly spaced (I measured about 1.5” from the bottom of one letter to the top of the next).

Once I was happy with the placement, I peeled off the backing from the vinyl sheets, applied them to the plank, and then removed the transfer tape. (Do you. Absolutely have to use transfer tape? No. However, I have learned that it makes placing your stencil about a 100x easier).

Have you ever done a stenciling project before or heard someone else that did one and griped about paint bleeding under the stencil? And, therefore, running the nice clean lines?

Well, turns out there is a super simple, cheap fix for that!

Easy Stencil Hack

Use Mod Podge (or similar craft glue) to seal the edges of your stencil before painting. I wish I could take credit for this hack, but I can’t. I learned it from reading a blog post. (Sadly, I can’t find the exact post I read when I started using my Cricut. However, ALittleCraftInYourDay.com has some great Cricut articles).

After the glue was dry, I used two coats of my black chalk paint to fill in my letters. Another quick tip: when removing your stencil (or peeling it off the cutting mat or removing transfer tape) go slowly and have a weeding tool and a paper towel on hand. Some letters may need a little help unpeeling without ripping the vinyl and there’s a really good chance you’ll get a little paint on your hand.

I went back with my white paint to cover up any stray pencil marks or black paint splotches and finished by spraying the whole board with varnish. (This is something I do with any painted project to protect my hard work. You can use polyurethane and apply it with a paintbrush, but I’ve found using a spray varnish carries less risk of smearing anything.)

Make It Your Own

Essentially, at this point, your sign is done and ready to be displayed.

But, what’s the point of creating a custom sign if you don’t add your own details?

I went rifling through all the random detritus in my garage and found a couple of unused paint stir sticks and leftover furniture tacks. I cut the notched ends off of the sticks, painted them with my black chalk paint, and glued them to the top and bottom of my plank. Then I quickly nailed added a few furniture tacks for a little faux-industrial style.

Again, this is where you can get creative and add any special touches you want. Glue on some faux flowers or jute rope, stencil on some flourishes, add some trunk hardware…the possibilities are endless.

Happy crafting!