Wooden signs with words or sayings on them are very trendy right now. I myself have several different signs in my house and love them. What I don’t love or understand, is how expensive some of these can be in the stores. I have come across several signs, turned it over, saw the price and gently put it back on the shelf. I am sure I am not the only one, so today I am going to share how you can make an incredibly easy and affordable wood sign. This particular sign only cost me about $1.

For this sign I am using wood lath pieces. What is lath? Well, lath is thin, light weight strips of wood sold in bundles at the hardware store. It is usually not sold with the rest of the wood, but may be in the concrete isle or with ground stakes. Just ask someone if you can’t find it. I picked up at 50 count bundle at Lowe’s for about $15. You only need 2 pieces for this project, leaving you plenty for future projects! If you don’t think you will ever use lath again or don’t want to drop $15, you could also use paint stir sticks. Just go to the paint counter and ask for some of the 5 gallon stir sticks. These are also thin, light weight wood pieces. I am guessing you would need about 7-8 stir sticks, but I can’t be sure.

Supplies/Tools:

1. Wood lath pieces
2. Paint (whatever color you want)
3. Paintbrush
4. Sandpaper
5. Hot glue gun and glue
6. Wood saw
7. Pencil
8. Sharpie or other marker
9. String/ribbon
10. Stapler
11. Template

STEPS:

1. Cut 6- 12″ long strips (Tip: To correctly cut wood to length; mark your length with a measuring tape by drawing a line/dash. You do not want to cut directly on your “line” because the saw blade has a width to it and if you cut “on” your line your piece will be too short. Hopefully, these pictures help show what I mean.

Measure 12″ and mark a line

CORRECT side of line to cut on

INCORRECT side to cut on

2. Cut 2 back pieces. Lay the 6 front pieces flat, pushing them together, then measure the width. It should be roughly around 8.5” or less. Cut 2 pieces to your needed length. I cut my pieces 8 3/8″.

3. Hot glue back pieces on. Lay your (6) 12″ pieces flat on a table or the ground, putting the nicest side, face down. Run a zig-zag of hot glue on one of the back pieces and press it down, gluing it to the back. Do the same for the other piece. I glued mine, roughly 1/2″ in from the edge.

The back should now look something like this and should be stuck together. You could use wood glue to secure them, but the wood is light weight enough that hot glue seems to be just fine! Also wood glue takes much longer to dry and I am impatient. For this application, hot glue is fine.

4. Sand. Use sandpaper to smooth out any areas that may be rough. I always give my edges and corners a once over. Don’t spend too much time here since we are going to add paint.

5. Paint. I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Pure White, but use any paint you have laying around. I did paint the back, although that is probably not necessary.

6. Distress. If you want a distressed look, take some sandpaper and sand edges, corners and a few spots on the front.

7. Add words. You will need to print off the Template, (click for printable pdf) if you chose to use it. Below is a short video showing how to use the template to trace your words onto your sign. If you have good, even handwriting you can just go for it! I have terrible handwriting, so I always use a stencil or this technique. Also, feel free to type up any word or phrase on your computer, print it out and use it for a template.

8. Add String. Cut a piece of string to your desired length. Tie a knot on both ends. Take a stapler, open it up, then staple the string down just behind the knot, to the backside of the sign. I had to try multiple times on one side, because the staple kept bending or went in weird.

That’s it! Excluding paint dry time, this sign probably took me about 30 minutes to make. Awesome, right?!? You CAN do this!

Thanks for looking!

Emily