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DIY Wooden Signs with Sayings with Free Cut File!

Would you love to make your own DIY wooden signs with sayings?? Check out this easy to follow step by step tutorial to make your own farmhouse decor!

Hi Friends!  Today I have a quick and easy tutorial for you.  I just remodeled my upstairs hallway and added a bookcase where my cabinets were.

I needed decor to fill the bookshelves and I didn’t want to spend any money so I made these cute DIY wooden signs with sayings!  I have so much wood lying around and one of my New Year’s resolutions was to use all my wood up so this project was perfect.

And if you own a Cricut cutting machine, then learning how to make wood signs with sayings is probably easier than you think!

DIY wooden signs with sayings

Materials for DIY Wooden Signs with Sayings

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links from Amazon and/or Cricut.com. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my links (purple text).

  • wood – I had a piece of wood that was 7.25 inch wide that I cut into squares
  • Miter saw or a jigsaw or regular saw if need to cut wood.  Lowe’s employees are always great about making cuts for me if you don’t have a saw!
  • stain – I used Dark Walnut (found here!) and weathered gray
  • sandpaper or orbital sander
  • vinyl or contact paper for stencil
  • transfer tape
  • chalk paint
  • mod podge (optional)
  • Cricut or another cutting machine (or already made stencil)
  • Cut File – see below

I had everything on hand so these DIY wooden signs cost me nothing!  I love how they came out and how nice they look on my new bookshelf.  So, let’s get going!

Preparing The Wood for Stencils

First off, pick the wood you want to use.  I had a long piece of 1-inch thick wood that was 7.25 inch wide.  I measured 7.25 inch down and cut the wood with my miter saw.

DIY wooden signs with sayings
cutting wood with a miter saw

After I cut three out, I sanded all of them with 120 grit sandpaper and my orbital sander.

sanding wood

Dust off the sawdust and stain your wood.  I like the combination of dark walnut and weathered gray as I used on my DIY farmhouse table.

staining wood with minwax
Brush on MinWax dark walnut then wipe off with cloth. Let dry for a few hours.
staining wood with weathered gray
Then brush on weathered gray, let sit for a few minutes, and then wipe off. Let dry.

Done with the wood prep, now on to cutting the stencil!  I ended up using contact paper for this one since it wasn’t a very intricate design and my wood was super smooth.

How to Make Wood Signs with Sayings

I had to fight with the contact paper a little more to release from my transfer tape since it’s so thin.  Vinyl adheres much easier but it’s more expensive.

Space the words out a little bit on the Prepare Screen in Cricut Design Space before you cut them so there’s some room around them since you’ll be using it as a stencil.  Cut on Vinyl- (if using contact paper) setting and weed out the cut.

cutting stencils with cricut

Apply your transfer tape to the top of the stencil and center it on the board.

DIY wooden signs with sayings

I use blue tape to hold it in place once I’ve measured both sides and made sure it’s straight.  Then fold over the stencil and peel off the back paper.

applying stencil to wood

Now you will have the sticky side showing.  Flip it back over and lay it down on the wood.  The tape should hold it in place.  Scrape it down with a credit card or scraper.

DIY wooden signs with sayings
applying stencil to wood with transfer paper

Then you’re going to slowly pull off the transfer tape.  Sometimes the little pieces will pull up if you are using contact paper so push them down with your finger.

peeling off tranfser tape

Scrape it down really well again so no bubbles are showing around where the word is.  I like to put a layer of Mod Podge over it before I paint it to seal the edges even better but this is an optional step.

DIY wooden signs with sayings

Once that dries (about an hour or so), paint the stencil with chalk paint.  I let it dry for about 10 minutes and did another coat.

how to stencil on wood

Let that dry for about an hour and then peel off the stencil!  Carefully remove the small pieces with a utility knife or weeding tool.

stenciling on wood

There you have it!!  Cheap and easy DIY wooden signs with sayings to use as your own DIY decor or they make great gifts!

DIY wooden signs with sayings

I love what they add to my hallway bookcase remodel!  Reminds us all of what we need to live by!

DIY wooden signs with sayings

You can learn how to make this DIY special dates sign here!

FREE Wood Sign Sayings SVG File

As a reminder, all of my FREE SVG files are for personal use only and not for commercial use. Please click here to purchase a commercial license if you want to use the files for commercial purposes such as to sell items for your small business.

Sometimes the file will look blurry when you first open it, but once you download it, the SVG will open up clearly.

If it doesn’t automatically download, you might need to right-click on it and Save As. If you need additional help, make sure to check out my post on how to download and upload files to CDS.

Or check out my Cricut Design Space 101 series for even more tutorials.

faithlovefamilypeace

Click here to download the SVG Files

DIY wooden signs with sayings
DIY wooden signs with sayings

The “Bless Our Nest” DIY Chalkboard sign is super easy to make also!  Click here for my DIY chalkboard sign video tutorial.

DIY wooden signs with sayings
DIY wooden signs with sayings

This is such an easy method to use to make decor!  I’ve made some cute clipboards that you can check out by clicking here and a dog sign (found here!)

DIY wooden signs with sayings

Thanks so much for stopping by!!  Would you like to save this tutorial on how to make wooden signs with sayings for later?  PIN it now!!  Thanks so much!

DIY wooden signs with sayings

Thanks for stopping by and have a creative day!

partysignature

Debbie

Wednesday 23rd of January 2019

These are beautiful! Thank you so much!

For those asking how to convert the file to use with the Silhouette Cameo, this is what I did to get cut lines around the file. I imported it to my Silhouette library, ungrouped the design to separate each line, then I traced each one. After I removed the top layer, the design was there with cut lines around it. I actually traced the entire design first, but then I couldn't ungroup them to use separately, and that's why I ungrouped them. There may be an easier/better way to do it, but it's what worked for me.

Leap of Faith Crafting

Friday 25th of January 2019

Thanks Debbie!

Christina

Saturday 17th of March 2018

Hi, loved this tutorial! Which Cricut are you using?

Leap of Faith Crafting

Sunday 18th of March 2018

Hi Christina, thanks so much! I use the Cricut Explore Air. I'd love to have the Cricut Maker but haven't made that jump yet!

Candace Stotz

Wednesday 21st of February 2018

I'm new here. How do I save the cut file to my Silhouette Studio app?

Leap of Faith Crafting

Saturday 24th of February 2018

Hi Candace! Sorry, I'm not going to be any help to you because I've never used a Silhouette machine so I'm not sure if it's the same as a Cricut. Cricut has an upload button that you push and then you can search for the file on your computer.

Annette Allen

Saturday 27th of January 2018

Can you make a commercial license available for purchase? I love this and I'd rather pay to have it already done for me than have my over analytical brain go into a tailspin :) Just thought I'd ask, so far it's been my favorite of these words I've seen.

Leap of Faith Crafting

Tuesday 30th of January 2018

Hi Annette! Thanks for stopping by! I am fine with you using it to make things to sell just as long as you are not selling the file itself. I'd love to see how they turn out!

Amanda Costa

Wednesday 24th of January 2018

These are adorable! But I downloaded the file, how to I convert it to my Silhouette software? Is it for Cricut only? Thanks!

Leap of Faith Crafting

Wednesday 24th of January 2018

Hi Amanda, thanks so much! Hmm, I actually don't know! I thought Silhouette was able to use .svg files too. It's not specific for Cricut since I designed it in Inkscape. What kind of files can you upload to your Silhouette? I might be able to convert it for you. Thanks!

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