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I partnered with Stencil Revolution for this post in order to create this beautiful farmhouse inspired sign for my mantle.  They sent me this large, great-quality stencil in a gorgeous font and it only took me an afternoon to create this sign from scratch.

Materials:

• Stencil Revolution Blessed 11×24″ stencil
• Rustoleum Briarsmoke Stain
• Rust-Oleum 249126 Painter’s Touch Multi Purpose Spray Paint, 12-Ounce, Flat White
• 1×12 inch lumber @ 4 feet long
• 1×2 inch lumber @ 8 feet long
• Sharpie Oil-Based Paint Marker
•  2 inch brad nails
• nail gun
• sliding compound miter saw

The first thing I did was cut my 1×12″ lumber to size.  The board was 4 feet long so cutting it to 24″ was pretty easy using a sliding compound miter saw.

Next, I lightly spray painted the board with the Rustoleum flat white paint.  I painted it lightly and didn’t sand it first (it didn’t really need it), but I wanted the surface to stay a little rough and rustic looking.

Time for the fun part!  I placed my stencil on the wood and centered it.  You can use painters tape or some spray adhesive to keep it from moving around if you want, but I didn’t need to since the stencil is large.  When I stencil large words like this I prefer to trace the inside of the stencil with a sharp pencil and then use a Sharpie Oil Marker to trace my lines for really sharp edges.  Sometimes, even with spray adhesive, painting over a stencil can give you fuzzy edges if the paint bleeds under even slightly.  With this technique you can avoid that issue completely.

Here’s my stencil after I traced the pencil lines with the paint pen.  I love these Sharpie Oil Markers.  They are so smooth and cover completely.  I used the marker to color in the letters, but you could also paint them with a small artist’s brush and use the lines as a guide.

All done with the marker!  These markers dry so quickly too, which is awesome.  I wanted to add a rustic frame and used my 1×2’s to make a mitered edge.  I first set my compound miter saw to 45 degrees. I mitered the 1×2 on the long edge so the frame would over hang the wood board from the front.  I marked the short edge of the next miter and lined my saw blade up with my pencil line making the angle extend away from the line I drew.  If you’re geometrically challenged, a good tip is to mark the short edge (like the photo below) and then draw a rough line in the direction the miter is supposed to go.  This way when you carry it outside to cut it you don’t get it turned all backwards and upside down. 🙂  Yes, I still have to do this sometimes, haha.

Once all 4 sides are cut and the miters all line up, use an old rag or sock and stain all sides of the 1×2’s.  Stain the edges where the mitered edges will touch so you don’t see any bare wood.

I used Rustoleum Briarsmoke Stain, which is a nice warm brown with slightly grey undertones. Once it was dry I used my nail gun to attach it to the wood board.  Lying it down on a completely flat surface helps keep every thing lined up and then clamping it down will help make your mitered edges perfect.

If you want you can add a clear coat to keep it protected, but it isn’t completely necessary once it’s dry.  My favorite clear coat is Rust-Oleum Varathane Polyurethane Clear Interior Matte Finish. That’s really all there is to it!  Thank you again to Stencil Revolution for sending me this exquisite stencil.