I’m a sucker for Rustic Wood Signs. They’re easy to make and really, you can’t do it wrong. Even if you think you’re doing it wrong, nobody will know you did it wrong. It’s rustic and chippy and perfect! This is not a pallet wood sign, it’s just a plain common wood board so here’s my technique on how to make a plain wood board look rustic.
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How to make a Plain Wood Board Look Rustic
To make a Rustic Wood Sign, I first stain the board with a dark stain. I used English Walnut Stain for this board but I also love MinWax Jacoean too.
After the stain was dry, I applied a coat of Vaseline around the areas I wanted the stain to show through. Just apply the Vaseline with your fingers, smear it on the board not too thick but all around the areas you want the stain to show through. Remember, you can’t do this wrong!
Then, spray paint the whole board with white spray paint . It will probably take a few coats of paint to cover the board if you are using a dark base stain. I like to use spray paint because paint and a brush tend to smear the Vaseline all over the board. It gets in your paint brush, smears all over the board and sorta makes a mess in my opinion.
After the spray paint is dry, wipe off the Vaseline’d areas with paper towel. The paint should chip off the board leaving the stained wood showing underneath. Now, use an electric sander to distress any other areas around the board you want to look old until you achieve that rustic, chippy look we all love!
There are lots of techniques on How to Make a Rustic Wood Signs but this is how I do it so, I hope it inspires you to give it a try too. Remember, you can’t do it wrong.. just do it! Click on the images below to see my Rustic Wood signs made with this technique.
Click on images to view more Rustic Signs and other creative Project Tutorials
I love seeing all your projects, and I’m sure your sister loved the sign. If I could change anything about my kitchen, I’d add a backsplash.
Oh. My. Goodness! THIS is beyond cute! I literally just finished a similar project five minutes ago.I love how you used a stain! You did a great job!
Thank you Brittany. Endless possibilities with wood for sure! Holly 🙂
Thanks!!
I’m having a hard time finding English Walnut stain. (And I REALLY love the color you have!) What Brand did you use?
Thanks Amy Jo. The stain is I used is Minwax English Chestnut which is sold at Home Depot. Should be easy to find. Good luck and Thanks! Holly 🙂
What font did you use for the “blessed”? This sign is adorable!
Thank Reagan. The font is called Grand Hotel and I had to weld the letters together to make a continuous script. Holly 🙂
I was curious what grain of sand paper did you use?
HI Veronica, I use an electric sander to disptress my signs. I think I buy the fine grit package. Thanks for stopping by- Holly
I thought this was a sign but you still have to use a something for the letters or route them or am I just stupid
Hi James, thank for visiting my blog. At the bottom of my post I have a link to the sign I made out of this board. Basically, I used my Silhouette to make a template then painted in the letters. Holly
What kind of wood do you recommend using for your wood signs?
Thanks for visiting Karen, I just use plain common wood boards from Home Depot for all of my signs. Holly
Any particular wood ??? Size ??
Hi Mary. Any wood board would work depending on the size of the sign you want to make. Good Luck! Holly 😉
How do get the lettering on the board?
Thanks for visiting Diane, at the bottom of the post, I have a link to the tutorial of the project I made. Basically, I used my Silhouette to make a template then painted in the stencil. Holly
I have limited time as we have 3 yr old twins and a 6 mo old. Could you make me a sign very similar to the Florida, Ky, KS blessed sign. I am willing to pay so please let me know. Thanks! !!!
If I don’t have a sand blaster in making wood signs, can I just use sandpaper to get the same effect?
Ha, thanks for visiting Shelly. Sure, you could use sandpaper. The paint chips off really easy over the Vaseline so you may not even need to much sanding. Good luck! Holly
Sorry. I meant electric sander not sand blaster (a construction wife)
Hello! What type of paint do you use for the lettering (white)? Is it a pen or actual paint? I am freehand writing mine and anything to make easier!?
Thanks!
Hi Abby. I usually just use regular craft paint when I do letters. Otherwise, it’s white spray paint to cover the whole board. Good Luck! Holly
If I wanted the sign to be just the rustic color do you still out baseline on it, or just paint it with the stain?
Sorry autocorrect… vaseline not baseline 🙂
Hi Melissa, did you read my tutorial? The wood board is stained, then rubbed in areas with Vaseline then the whole board is spray painted with white paint. After the paint dries, wipe off the Vaseline areas so the stain will show thru and use a sander or sand paper to distress it as needed. Then you can use stencils as a template to paint letters or freehand words, etc. Hope that helps – Holly
Beautiful project and blog! Thank you for sharing your talent. Keep doing what you are doing!
Thanks so much for visiting! Holly 🙂
thanks for these first projects sounding so easy -can’t wait to try some for next year gifts.got to think ahead.
Thanks for stopping by Cathy! Holly 🙂
Thanks for your creativity, I’m just trying to know how to make this wood sign. Im just learning and very grateful with the talent that you’ve shared. Greatly appreciated:) Would you pls. email me a link how to do the letters to write on the board.Thanks again!
Marilou
HI Marilou, thanks for visiting. To paint the sign, I used my di cutting machine to make a paper template, traced it on to the board then painted in the letters. Hope this helps- Holly
Would a vinyl stencil work? Does it pull up the spray paint?
Once the spray paint is dry, any type of stencil or vinyl should work great. good luck! Holly 🙂
This worked fantastically, thank you for sharing!
Thanks Kelly! I love hearing from my readers if my projects work out for them too. Holly 🙂
i have wood that is not smooth. Id like to stain it but not sure if it would look ok chunky. What are your thoughts
Hi Sandy, can you sand down the wood some? I think the whole technique would look fine with wood not smooth, give it more a rustic look. Good Luck! Holly
You do beautiful work, loved it all, thanks for sharing.
Thanks for visiting Sarah! Holly 🙂
Holly,
I’m always working on new things and have always wanted to learn how to make the rustic signs just because it’s so cheap and you can do so much….. In the process of decorating my sons first house. I had found a old wooden sign that originally said love….. with your great and easy technique I’m going to make it in to a sign with his name and girls name with the date they moved in…THANK YOU FOR THE VERY EASY TO FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS!11
Thanks great Sylvia! Thanks so much for sharing you idea, good luck! Holly 🙂
I came across some wood and decided to make them look like vintage signs so I stained them then painted them and before the paint dried I took water on my brush and went over the paint and wiped
areas to let the wood show thru so it looks like they signs faded. It looks rally cool.
Great idea, thanks for the tip! Holly 🙂
How do you get the vinyl letters to stick to wood signs?
Hi Melissa thanks for visiting. On this particular sign, I didn’t use vinyl but on other signs I’ve made, I just apply the vinyl on to the wood. Never have had an issue before with it sticking either. Hope that helps. Holly 😉
Hi! Did you spray your sign with a clear finish after your we’re completly finished with your sign? I just made this sign, and I love your easy process on making a distressed sign!
Hi! How did you secure and attach the wood pieces together?
Hi Cristy, thanks for visiting. I’m not sure what you mean attach wood pieces together, I used one big board. Holly
Holly, I’m so excited to try this. I’ve been wondering how to age wood. Was thinking of buying a bunch of wood and let it sit outside in my backyard for a couple years and weather…but that’s not timely when I want to make them now!! Lol. Thank you so much…i can’t wait to get started. Thanks for sharing the info freely.
Thanks for visiting Kathy. Yes, this wood distressing technique is awesome and definelty quicker than waiting on actually aging. I have used steel wool and vinegar to age wood but I like this way much better and smells a lot better..lol. Good Luck! Holly 🙂
How do you do letters etc? Stencils?