Ribbons & Glue

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How to make a Plain Wood Board Look Rustic

October 19, 2015 by Holly Gagnon 62 Comments




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.

How to make a Rustic Wood Sign out of and plain wood board, wood stain, Vaseline, spray paint and n electric sander. Easy DIY Project!

{this post contains affliate links referencing products used}

 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.

How to use Vaseline to make to make a Rustic, Chippy Wood Sign

 

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!

Spraying painting a wood board to make a Rustic, Chippy Wood Sign

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.

Use an electric sander to make a Rustic, Chippy Wood Sign

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.

 

Holly Signature

Click on images to view more Rustic Signs and other creative Project Tutorials

 

 

DIY Rustic Blessed Sign made from a painted and stained wood board that is personalized with States lived in.

 

 

How to make a One Sheet Cookie Box using one sheet of Scrapbooking paper and a score board!

 

DIY Noel Sign made from a painted board

More Silhouette Projects 

Pallet Wood Signs

Wood Stains Ideas 

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Filed Under: DIY, Home Decor, Paint, Silhouette CAMEO, Tutorials, Wood Tagged With: diy, Home Decor, Silhouette CAMEO, Tutorials, Wood

Comments

  1. Amy Coose says

    October 19, 2015 at 8:27 am

    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.

    Reply
  2. Brittany says

    November 11, 2015 at 8:45 pm

    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!

    Reply
    • Holly Gagnon says

      November 12, 2015 at 3:23 pm

      Thank you Brittany. Endless possibilities with wood for sure! Holly 🙂

      Reply
  3. vickie says

    November 13, 2015 at 11:35 am

    Thanks!!

    Reply
  4. Amy Jo says

    January 4, 2016 at 2:20 pm

    I’m having a hard time finding English Walnut stain. (And I REALLY love the color you have!) What Brand did you use?

    Reply
    • Holly Gagnon says

      January 4, 2016 at 8:22 pm

      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 🙂

      Reply
  5. Reagan Bates says

    February 4, 2016 at 10:03 am

    What font did you use for the “blessed”? This sign is adorable!

    Reply
    • Holly Gagnon says

      February 5, 2016 at 12:16 pm

      Thank Reagan. The font is called Grand Hotel and I had to weld the letters together to make a continuous script. Holly 🙂

      Reply
  6. Veronica says

    May 7, 2016 at 7:36 am

    I was curious what grain of sand paper did you use?

    Reply
    • Holly Gagnon says

      May 7, 2016 at 7:51 am

      HI Veronica, I use an electric sander to disptress my signs. I think I buy the fine grit package. Thanks for stopping by- Holly

      Reply
  7. James Queen says

    May 31, 2016 at 11:34 am

    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

    Reply
    • Holly Gagnon says

      July 9, 2016 at 3:42 pm

      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

      Reply
  8. Karen says

    June 29, 2016 at 4:08 am

    What kind of wood do you recommend using for your wood signs?

    Reply
    • Holly Gagnon says

      June 29, 2016 at 8:04 pm

      Thanks for visiting Karen, I just use plain common wood boards from Home Depot for all of my signs. Holly

      Reply
      • Mary says

        April 20, 2017 at 3:43 pm

        Any particular wood ??? Size ??

        Reply
        • Holly Gagnon says

          April 20, 2017 at 10:01 pm

          Hi Mary. Any wood board would work depending on the size of the sign you want to make. Good Luck! Holly 😉

          Reply
  9. Diane Decker says

    July 9, 2016 at 3:53 am

    How do get the lettering on the board?

    Reply
    • Holly Gagnon says

      July 9, 2016 at 3:40 pm

      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

      Reply
  10. Chris says

    August 11, 2016 at 11:17 pm

    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! !!!

    Reply
  11. Shelly says

    October 3, 2016 at 8:18 pm

    If I don’t have a sand blaster in making wood signs, can I just use sandpaper to get the same effect?

    Reply
    • Holly Gagnon says

      October 3, 2016 at 9:56 pm

      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

      Reply
  12. Shelly says

    October 3, 2016 at 8:22 pm

    Sorry. I meant electric sander not sand blaster (a construction wife)

    Reply
  13. Abby says

    November 28, 2016 at 7:59 am

    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!

    Reply
    • Holly Gagnon says

      November 28, 2016 at 11:42 am

      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

      Reply
  14. Melissa says

    November 28, 2016 at 3:17 pm

    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?

    Reply
    • Melissa says

      November 28, 2016 at 3:19 pm

      Sorry autocorrect… vaseline not baseline 🙂

      Reply
    • Holly Gagnon says

      November 28, 2016 at 11:43 pm

      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

      Reply
  15. Silvia says

    December 17, 2016 at 4:17 am

    Beautiful project and blog! Thank you for sharing your talent. Keep doing what you are doing!

    Reply
    • Holly Gagnon says

      December 18, 2016 at 11:04 pm

      Thanks so much for visiting! Holly 🙂

      Reply
  16. Cathy Helms says

    January 2, 2017 at 11:41 am

    thanks for these first projects sounding so easy -can’t wait to try some for next year gifts.got to think ahead.

    Reply
    • Holly Gagnon says

      January 3, 2017 at 10:26 pm

      Thanks for stopping by Cathy! Holly 🙂

      Reply
  17. Marilou Bautista-Godhe says

    February 1, 2017 at 7:20 pm

    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

    Reply
    • Holly Gagnon says

      February 3, 2017 at 10:30 pm

      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

      Reply
      • Lori says

        July 12, 2017 at 10:35 am

        Would a vinyl stencil work? Does it pull up the spray paint?

        Reply
        • Holly Gagnon says

          July 16, 2017 at 6:57 pm

          Once the spray paint is dry, any type of stencil or vinyl should work great. good luck! Holly 🙂

          Reply
  18. Kelley says

    March 26, 2017 at 7:37 pm

    This worked fantastically, thank you for sharing!

    Reply
    • Holly Gagnon says

      March 28, 2017 at 9:23 pm

      Thanks Kelly! I love hearing from my readers if my projects work out for them too. Holly 🙂

      Reply
  19. Sandy says

    March 29, 2017 at 10:29 am

    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

    Reply
    • Holly Gagnon says

      March 29, 2017 at 8:31 pm

      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

      Reply
  20. Sarah says

    March 30, 2017 at 5:34 am

    You do beautiful work, loved it all, thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    • Holly Gagnon says

      March 31, 2017 at 11:41 pm

      Thanks for visiting Sarah! Holly 🙂

      Reply
  21. Sylvia says

    June 5, 2017 at 4:02 pm

    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

    Reply
    • Holly Gagnon says

      June 6, 2017 at 9:44 pm

      Thanks great Sylvia! Thanks so much for sharing you idea, good luck! Holly 🙂

      Reply
  22. Sylvia King says

    August 21, 2017 at 12:06 pm

    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.

    Reply
    • Holly Gagnon says

      August 22, 2017 at 3:04 pm

      Great idea, thanks for the tip! Holly 🙂

      Reply
  23. Melissa says

    August 30, 2017 at 7:44 pm

    How do you get the vinyl letters to stick to wood signs?

    Reply
    • Holly Gagnon says

      August 31, 2017 at 4:42 pm

      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 😉

      Reply
  24. Samanthe says

    November 26, 2017 at 6:15 am

    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!

    Reply
  25. Cristy says

    November 30, 2017 at 8:26 pm

    Hi! How did you secure and attach the wood pieces together?

    Reply
    • Holly Gagnon says

      December 4, 2017 at 9:15 pm

      Hi Cristy, thanks for visiting. I’m not sure what you mean attach wood pieces together, I used one big board. Holly

      Reply
  26. Kathy says

    January 8, 2018 at 9:23 pm

    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.

    Reply
    • Holly Gagnon says

      January 16, 2018 at 11:15 pm

      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 🙂

      Reply
  27. Terri says

    December 9, 2018 at 5:33 pm

    How do you do letters etc? Stencils?

    Reply

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All content posted on this blog, unless otherwise referenced, is the original work of Holly Gagnon of www.ribbonsandglue.com. If you like my work, you are allowed to feature one photograph from my blog along with a link back. You are however, not allowed to alter my photograph in anyway. I currently design for various craft manufacturing companies and am compensated either monetarily or with products. I provide affiliate links to products that I use in my creations and receive a small percentage of purchases made. The opinions I express on this blog related to the products I use in my creations are solely my own and are not paid endorsements. Please be respectful of my original work and do not copy my original designs and attempt to claim them as your own. Any unauthorized use of my designs or artwork is prohibited. If you would like to use my designs or artwork for anything other than personal use, please contact me. Refer to contact info in the About me tab.

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