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!
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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
- 1 x 5 SCRAP PINE BOARD
- (3) FIVE GALLON PAINT STICKS
- RUSTOLEUM APPLE RED SPRAY PAINT
- KRYLON PROTECTIVE TOP COAT
- WOOD GLUE
- WOOD FILLER
- STAIN
- WHITE VINYL
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.
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″
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Use a credit card or bone folder to press the transfer paper to the letters.
Then slowly peel off the paper backing from the vinyl.
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.
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.
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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Have you ever tried making your own signs? Hopefully this DIY patriotic wood sign gives you some inspiration for your own project.
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
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!