DIY Joy to the World Wooden Christmas Sign

Wooden signs are totally in trend. Walk into any home decor store and you’ll see! I prefer to make my own because I can completely customize it to what I want and it is MUCH less expensive. Since not everyone uses power tools, I decided for this project I would use a pre-made sign that I purchased at my local Hobby Lobby. Which means that this project is something anyone can do! If you don’t have a vinyl cutter, odds are someone you know does. Or you can purchase them quite easily online these days. Here’s the full tutorial on how to make this DIY Wooden Christmas Sign.

I would like to thank both Cricut and DecoArt for sending me some free products to use in this project. Please know that all links in this post may be affiliate links, which simply means that if you order something after clicking on them I will get a small commission at NO EXTRA COST TO YOU. This funds my site and makes it possible for me to keep bringing you free tutorials. Thanks so much for your support! Questions? See my Disclosures page.

JOY TO THE WORLD WOODEN CHRISTMAS SIGN

Supplies I used:

• Wooden Sign with Metal Frame
• DecoArt Paints – or other craft paint
  Americana Decor Chalky Finish Paint – Relic (Dark gray), Rouge (red), Enchanted (green – note: I used New Life but it is not for sale on the site.)
  
• Cricut® Stencil Vinyl
• Cricut Explore Air 2 Mint 
• Cricut Transfer Tape

Here is a coupon for you!

Design Stencil:

For this project you’ll need a vinyl stencil. I used my Cricut machine to make my own. If you don’t have a machine you can contact me to order a stencil or you could purchase one online somewhere, like in an Etsy shop or something.

I actually purchased this design file because I loved it so much. Here is the link to the item: JOY TO THE WORLD SVG

Cut Vinyl Stencil:

You could use regular vinyl to make a stencil, but I absolutely love the Cricut Stencil Vinyl. The reason is that after you cut it out and press it onto your surface, you can see if it has adhered because it turns a darker blue once it’s sealed to the surface. It’s just easy to tell if there will be an seeping underneath. I really loved it on this project! Okay, so now cut the design out with your Cricut machine, or other vinyl cutter.

Be sure if you are using a Cricut to select “Stencil Vinyl” in Design Space before you cut.

Okay, now that your design is cut, go ahead and weed out the letters and design that you will be painting onto the wood sign. Remember, you only want to remove the parts that will be painted, since you are creating a stencil of the design, not the design itself. Sometimes that positive and negative space thing can become confusing with a intricate design, so I find it helps to have a picture of what you are making to reference.

I actually saved the lettering and put it on another piece of wood to paint over. Waste not want not. 😉

Alright, once you have the design weeded it should look something like this!

Apply Vinyl Stencil:

Now we’re going to use Cricut Transfer Tape and apply it across the entire design. If you haven’t done a vinyl project before, please refer to my Other VINYL Posts to read more on how to do these steps.

Alright, now time to apply the image to the wood. I always start by taping the stencil to the wood at the top. Fold the entire thing up and remove a section of the white backing paper. Then hold the stencil up and use the scraper to slowly and carefully press the stencil onto the wood without leaving any air bubbles. This takes practice, but you can do it!

And now the stencil is applied to the wood! Yay! Now remove the Cricut Transfer Tape by slowly peeling it off. Be careful not to lift the stencil.

Seal Stencil:

The next step is to seal the stencil with a decoupage product that dries clear. Seal the entire section that you’ll be painting. This seals the stencil to the wood even better and prevents any paint from seeping under the stencil.

Here I have coated the entire thing. Remember not to apply it anywhere but where you’ll be painting the colors. So not outside of the stencil. Let dry completely!

Paint Design:

Now time to paint! Grab your paint colors. Again, I used Americana Decor Chalky Finish Paint – Relic (Dark gray), Rouge (red), Enchanted (green – note: I used New Life but it is not for sale on the site.) At the last minute I used a metallic silver I had on hand for a few of the stems.

Choose one color and carefully paint the parts that you want. I chose to do red first. Then I did gray, silver and green.

All painted!

Remove Stencil:

Now carefully remove the stencil from the wood. This should be pretty easy, but I always go slow in case some paint sticks or something.

Remember to remove the tiny pieces that you may have painted over and are harder to see.

Finished!

And there you have it. A gorgeous Joy to the World Wooden Christmas sign!

Now find the perfect place to put it among your other Christmas decorations!

Here’s a closeup. You can see how perfectly the lines came out…no seeping at all!

Same thing on the bottom half.

I love the play this has on my little Christmas village pieces, as if we’re wishing their whole world joy.

As you can see it looks awesome even from across the room!

I hope you love this project and tutorial. You don’t have to be a woodworker to make your own wooden sign. Just head over to Shop Arts, Crafts, and More at HobbyLobby.com and pick up something from their WoodPile section. They have some great stuff and with the 40% off One Item at Regular Price at HobbyLobby.com. Ends: 12/31/17. Some exclusions apply coupon it’s a great deal!

If you like this project, please share using the social media links on the left or below this post! Thanks!!!!

Or PIN this image to Pinterest!

Related posts you may like:

12 Days of a DIY Christmas!

2 DIY Christmas Gift Ideas to Make with Your Cricut

DIY Just Breathe wooden sign using my Cricut

DIY Subway Art Faux Suede Christmas Ornament Tutorial