This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
Oklahoma Crafts


How to make Wood Signs


By Percillia McCrary


Design custom fall decor in eight easy steps. Photos by Percillia McCrary


Needed materials Instructions


1. Sand down the pieces of reclaimed wood you have found.


You will need:


✓ Old lumber scraps or reclaimed wood at least four inches wide and six inches long. If you do not have any old scraps, you can buy a 2”x4” or 2”x6” from your local hardware store and have them cut it into multiple pieces.


✓ Sandpaper or a sanding block ✓ Assortment of acrylic paint ✓ Styrofoam plate


✓ Large paintbrushes (sponge brushes work great!) ✓ Small paintbrushes


✓ Glass jar or disposable cup filled partially with water ✓ Paper towels


✓ Lettering print offs or simple designs from your computer (or you can free- hand wording or designs on paper)


✓ Ballpoint pen


Optional: Clear coat spray paint Q-tips (for making polka dots)


24


2. Decide what color you want the back- ground to be. You can either leave the wood natural (looks great on reclaimed wood) or paint it using acrylic paints. When painting the boards, squirt the paint directly onto the sur- face and spread it across the front and sur- rounding edges using your large paintbrush. Let dry, then add a second coat if needed.


3. While the paint is drying, you may free- hand a design, trace from a magazine/poster or use a word processing program to print a de- sign to paint on your board. A large, boldface font is easier to paint for beginners.


4. After the base coat is dry, lay the paper on the board so the design lines up where you would like it applied. Using a ball point ink pen, very fi rmly trace over your chosen design, leaving a small indentation in the wood below. This will be your stencil when you get ready to paint the letters and/or design on your board.


5. Squirt a small amount of the color paint you chose for your sign wording onto a styro- foam plate. Then, using a small paintbrush carefully begin painting the letters on your sign. Don’t worry if you paint outside the lines a bit, this can be fi xed later. You will need to dip your paintbrush into the glass of water and


dry it on the paper towel periodically as the paint starts to dry in your brush. It may take several coats of paint to get the letters fi lled in completely, depending on how thick your acrylic paint is.


6. If desired, you may use the background color to paint over small imperfections made when painting the letters/design.


7. Optional: To fi ll in blank space around the design, you may dab Q-tips in another color of paint to create a polka-dot design on your new sign.


8. Optional: Add a clear coat after your wood sign is completely dry. In a well-ventilated area, spray even coats of the clear coat onto your completed sign. This must dry for at least 24 hours without being touched.


Completed signs


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132