I have always wanted some pretty front door decorations for the holidays. I imagined I would buy a set of fabulous wreaths to hang up (we have double doors). However, my Christmas budget seemed to be gone before I even got to look, and we all know how expensive those wreaths can be. So this year I decided I was going to make exactly what I wanted: a farmhouse Christmas sign. The best part? It was inexpensive and I have the whole tutorial below so you can design your own too.
For the Love of Farmhouse Christmas Decor
To start, I just adore the holiday season. One of the best days of the year for me is when I get to take out my Christmas decor and dress up my whole house.
I’ve also come to be quite fond of the farmhouse style. Blame Joanna Gaines I suppose, but its such a comfortable and cozy way to decorate the home.
Signs and quotes are present in just about every room so it wasn’t surprising that I chose to make a Merry Christmas sign for our front door. It turned out to be an easy project that even a beginner DIYer can do, and since I had some of the supplies already, it didn’t cost too much either.
DIY Farmhouse Christmas Sign Tutorial
What you will need:
- 18″ Wooden Round (I found mine at Home Depot for under $7)
- Fine grain sand paper
- Wood stain in your choice of color. I used Varathane Kona
- White Acrylic paint
- Polyurethane
- Foliage/stems/greenery (I got mine from Hobby Lobby in the Christmas section where everything is 50% off around the holidays)
- Ribbon (wired preferred, also from Hobby Lobby)
- Staple gun and staples
- 2-screw eyes
- Cricut (optional, I will show you a way to do this without it)
- Adhesive vinyl (if using the cricut)
- Piece of chalk (if using the non-Cricut method)
Step #1: Sand and stain your wood.
Take a fine grain piece of sand paper and lightly sand your wooden round surface. Then, wipe away any dust. Apply your stain to your wooden round. Be sure to take a rag and wipe away any excess stain before allowing to dry.
I only did one coat and I waited 24 hours before moving on to the painting step. Read the instructions on your stain and follow them for dry time and multiple coats.
Step #2: Design your template in Cricut Design Studio or a Word document.
Ok here is where their are 2 sets of instructions. The first is if you are using a Cricut for this project, which is the method I used.
The second is an alternative method that I have used in the past, called the chalk method, which I will demonstrate below. Both turn out great! However, the Cricut method is a little less tedious.
For the Cricut:
- Choose your font and message in Cricut Design Studio and cut it out on a piece of adhesive vinyl. You can use either permanent or removable. I used permanent because it is what I had on hand.
- Once you have the cut done remove the lettering with one or your tools. This is generally the opposite of what you would do to apply words to a piece but we are using the vinyl as a stencil in this case. See picture above.
- Once the lettering is remove, cover your vinyl with a piece of transfer paper and pull the vinyl off of its paper backing.
- Next, transfer your vinyl stencil onto your wood and peel off the transfer paper. You should be left with a perfect guide for your words.
- Now that you have your vinyl stencil in place you can take your white acrylic paint and fill in the lettering. You will likely have to do 2-3 thin coats depending on the shade of your stain underneath. Allow to dry properly between coats. Once the desired number of coats is achieved allow the paint to dry over night.
- When your paint is dry you can carefully begin to peel off the vinyl stencil to reveal your lettering. Finish by lightly sanding your piece once more.
Without a cricut:
- For this method you will use a word program to choose a font for your message. Then print out your message on a regular piece of printer paper.
- Turn your paper over so that you are looking at the back. Take a piece of chalk and, using it the long way, color the back of your paper on the area where your message is on the front. Still with me? See the picture above if you are confused.
- Next, place your piece of paper back down onto your wooded round. You can tape it down to prevent any movement if you want. Using a pen trace along the font edges pressing firmly as you go. Once you are finished tracing pull the piece of paper straight up to reveal a neat stencil of your message.
- Now comes the tedious part. Using a white paint pen or a fine paint brush and acrylic paint, paint in your chalk stencil. The paint pen is much easier. Both of my white paint pens were dried up when I did this (go figure) so I hand painted this demonstration with a small brush. You may need to do a couple of coats to reach your desired look.
- Allow the paint to thoroughly dry overnight before moving on.
Step#3: Add a coat or two of polyurethane.
I added two coats of satin clear polyurethane to protect the finish of my Christmas sign. I lightly sanded before and after each coat. Then allow to dry for 24 hours before handling. Check the drying recommendations on the label.
Step #4: Attach the eye screws and hanging element.
I took two eye screws to use to hang my piece.
I was able to start the eye screws by hand but had to use a pliers to grasp it and screw them in the rest of the way.
I placed the eye screws spaced out at the top like this.
I used white cording as my hanging element and simply threaded it through the eye screws and tied it together. You can also tie each end to each eye screw. Other ideas for a hanging element are different types of cord, wire, or a vine.
Step #5: Attach your greenery and ribbon.
You can choose whatever greenery you want to use for this project. I used three different types. I separated mine into smaller pieces and used a staple gun to securely attach them.
Then, I trimmed the greenery with a wire cutters to take off the extra stem portion.
When you make your bow I highly suggest using a wired ribbon, its easier to work with and shape. If you need a bow making tutorial, check out this one.
To attach the bow I used two small brad nails. You can also use hot glue if your prefer.
I hid the nails in the layers of the bow and carefully hammered them in to secure it.
The Finished Product
You’re done and your gorgeous new farmhouse Christmas sign is ready to hang on your front door!
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