How To Make A Rustic Patriotic Wood Sign With Free SVG File

This DIY patriotic wood sign will definitely add some farmhouse charm to your home decor. I love to add Americana decorations to my home from Memorial Day through the Fourth of July. My husband and I both come from military families and are proud to be American!

How to make a patriotic wood sign for Memorial Day or the Fourth of July.

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This wood sign is simple to make with a scrap piece of 1 X 5 pine and three five gallon paint sticks. Here’s how you make it.

SUPPLIES

TOOLS

DOWNLOAD THE FREE SVG OR PDF AMERICA FILE

To download the America Cut File or PDF Printable, along with over 60 other free files, just subscribe at the top sidebar or at the bottom of this post. You will be sent a welcome email with the password to the library. Go to the library page and enter the password, then download any of the designs you would like. This file is available as PDF, SVG, and Silhouette. I’ve created both a stencil template and a vinyl cut file. You can choose if you want to stencil or just add white vinyl. This tutorial uses vinyl.

How to cut a stencil or vinyl on a Silhouette Cameo 4.
STENCIL FILE
How to transfer a white vinyl image to a wood sign.
VINYL FILE

CUT THE PAINT STICKS AND BOARD

Cut your boards to the correct dimensions. Keep in mind that different manufacturers paint sticks could vary in thickness and width. Purchase your paint sticks before you begin your project and build it accordingly.

CUT LIST

  • (2) Paint Sicks Cut To 10 3/4″
  • (2) Paint Sticks Cut To 4 1/2″
  • (1) 1X5 Cut To 10 1/4″
Cut List For DIY Patriotic Wood Sign.

When all of your pieces are cut, dry fit them together to ensure a tight fit. Now is the best time to make any adjustments to your cuts.

STEP 2: SAND THE BOARDS

You want to sand the boards before you assemble your project. Sanding will make the boards smooth, remove any writing from the paint sticks and help your stain absorb into the wood better.

I used a random orbit sander with a 60 grit disc and then moved to a 320 grit for the finish.

Sanding the boards for a wood sign.

I always sand the ends of the boards by hand to keep the edges square. The electric sanders take off too much material and have a tendency to round the edges.

When you’re done, wipe all of the boards down to remove any saw dust.

STAIN THE PAINT STICKS

I used Varathane stain in Early American. You’ll want to wear gloves when staining. Use a dollar store foam applicator and brush on the stain. Then, use a blue shop towel or thick paper towel to remove the excess stain. Let the boards dry.

How to frame a patriotic rustic wood sign.

Place your foam applicator in a sandwich size Ziplock bag. Then zip it up, so the handle is sticking out of the bag. This will keep your applicator wet, so you can use it to stain your wood filler later.

PAINT YOUR MAIN BOARD

Next, use Rustoleum Apple Red Spray Paint to paint your board. I applied three light coats of paint to the board, letting the paint dry in between coats. If you are using the vinyl for your sign, you need to apply a couple of thin coats of Krylon Acrylic Top Coat. Let it dry, preferably overnight. This will help prevent your vinyl from bubbling or peeling.

How to paint a patriotic rustic wood sign.

CUT YOUR VINYL ON A SILHOUETTE OR CRICUT CUTTING MACHINE

Open the SVG file in your cutting machine’s software program. If you are making a different size sign, adjust the size of the file. Then under the send menu, choose the Vinyl, Matte settings. Place your vinyl on a cutting mat and load the mat into your machine. Do a test cut. If it looks O.K., send the file to cut.

Next, weed out all the extra vinyl. Don’t forget the insides of the letters.

Weed the vinyl for a DIY patriotic wood sign.

Then cut a piece of transfer paper to the same size as your vinyl. Position the transfer paper on top of the vinyl and peel off the backing.

How to transfer a white vinyl image to a wood sign.

Use a credit card or bone folder to press the transfer paper to the letters.

How to transfer a white vinyl image to a wood sign.

Then slowly peel off the paper backing from the vinyl.

How to transfer a white vinyl image to a wood sign.

Line up your image over the wood and press it in place. Again, run an old credit card over the transfer paper to help transfer the image. Then peel off the transfer paper.

How to transfer a white vinyl image to a wood sign.

ADD THE WOOD FRAME

Add wood glue to the end of the main board. Set the board flat on your work surface, press the paint stick to the end and line it up. Using your brad nailer, attach the paint stick to the end of the board. Then, wipe off any extra glue. Repeat this process on the other end. Then glue and nail the top and bottom pieces.

Use a brad nailer to attach the frame to you sign.

Fill the nail holes with wood filler and wipe off the extra. Then use your foam applicator (with extra stain on it) to stain the wood filler.

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How to make a patriotic wood sign for Memorial Day or the Fourth of July.
How to make a patriotic wood sign for Memorial Day or the Fourth of July.

Have you ever tried making your own signs? Hopefully this DIY patriotic wood sign gives you some inspiration for your own project.

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2 Comments

  1. I love this! I’m changing my LR to red, white and blue for June and July so this will go perfectly! One question, when you nailed on the paint sticks did you turn the face board over and lay it flat or did you raise it up a little so you had a lip around the inner board? Thanks

    1. Hi Cathi. Great question. When I make signs this way, I place a couple of paint sticks under the main board, to raise it up a little. It leaves a lip around both sides. I also sand and paint the back side of the main board white. It makes a double sided sign. If you’re not adding hardware, you can use the other side for a different sign/season. I hope this helps!

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