DIY Large Wood Welcome Sign for a Front Porch

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A large wood welcome sign seems like the perfect way to greet guests at my front door.  I’ve wanted one of these big signs for years and finally set out to make my own.  It cost just a few dollars and is a wonderful addition to a Spring front porch. 

Watch how easy it is to make a welcome porch sign and learn how you can create your own!

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My front porch always looks so sad and bare when Spring rolls around.  I jump at the first hint of warm weather and use this time to add color and life to my porch. 

I’ll show you my full Spring porch soon, when it’s safe to plant annuals, but for now let’s take a look at how I made this welcome sign. 

Wood Welcome Sign Supplies

• 1×10 piece of wood, 6 feet long – this can bought and cut to size at Home Depot or your local hardware store
• Sandpaper
• Spray paint in white and gray
• Letter stencils – I’ll share how to make your own or check out these alphabet stencils
• Temporary spray adhesive
• Spray sealer – learn how and why to seal wood signs

I used a 6 foot board because fits my porch perfectly, but this project can be scaled to fit your needs. The 1×10 is the ideal size for the following stencils. Pick up a piece of common board from Home Depot and have them cut it size in the store.

I started by sanding down any rough edges of the board, then adding a few coats of satin white spray paint.  I let the paint dry fully and started to create the stencils. You could also roll or brush on white paint for this step.

You’ll need a Cricut for this project, learn how to get started with your Cricut Explore Air 2, this is a great beginner project. 

How to make your own alphabet stencils

In a blank canvas in Cricut Design Space type the word Welcome, then choose a stencil font like. A stencil font allows you to cut a letter from a piece of paper or other material without any pieces left behind on your mat. Everything is connected.

Resize this word until each letter is approximately 8-10 inches. Then ungroup the letters so they can be cut separately.

I cut each letter from a piece of 12×12 cardstock. This scrapbook sized paper is thick enough to work with the spray paint I’ll be using but not too expensive. Make sure the letter sits in the middle of the mat and you have an inch or 2 on each side.

To cut this design, lay piece of cardstock on a Cricut mat and lead it into your machine. Repeat this for each letter until you have 7 stencils.

Painting a Welcome Porch Sign

First, I line up these stencils on my board painted board. I like to dry fit everything to ensure I have even spacing all the way down the welcome porch sign.

To make sure I got crisp lines with these paper stencils I used a temporary adhesive on the back of the paper and stuck each letter to the wood board.  This doesn’t leave any residue behind when I’m finished with these stencils.

Once the stencils were laid out as I wanted them, I sprayed a few very light coats of gray spray paint over the letters.  I waited for the paint to dry a bit between each coat.  When I was happy with the color I pulled off and discarded the stencils.  I was left with nice lines and a big bold welcome sign!

The 12×12 scrapbook paper covers the 1×10 board perfectly so I didn’t get any overspray from the paint.

Once the gray paint was dry, letting it rest overnight is best, I added a few light coats of sealer to protect my sign.  You can find out why I chose this sealer and what sealer is best for your wood signs here. 

This welcome sign is the perfect addition to my porch, it welcome guests and adds some much needed interest to the front yard.

I keep my sign in a covered area so the wind doesn’t catch it. It also is protected from the elements. I did seal this sign, but keeping it out of the rain helps it stay white and bright.

Be sure to pin this project and share it with your DIY loving friends!

How do you decorate your front porch?

Thanks for visiting!

Paper Butterfly Wreath

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