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DIY: Wood Sign Made With Stickers!

I love good quotes and I love wood signs, and I’ve always bought mine because, well, my handwriting is horrible with a paintbrush! Then while taking apart in my usual Pinterest addiction, I came across this amazing tutorial from Jennifer at Paisley Pink Polkadots. So, I took myself down to my favorite craft store and bought the following items:

1. Wood plaque
2. Letter Stickers (don’t be skimpy, better to have extra then run out!)
3. Paint


After I painted the sign white (will make letters white) I marked & measured so my letters would go on straight.

Make sure to press down the letters, otherwise paint will slip underneath.

Then I painted the whole sign. A little tip…less paint is more. With this sign, I painted to many layers and it seeped under the stickers. So with the sign I’m making now, I did a thin layer, which created a more shabby chic look!

After the paint had dried completely, I peeled each sticker off. I touched up some of the letters that the green paint had seeped onto with a little white paint.

After the touch ups dried, I sanded down the sign to roughen it up a bit and add a little a little character!

Then I added a little sparkle and glam, and ta-da!

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    2. Question… after you painted over the stickers isnt it hard to lift the stickers up????

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        Hello! so sorry for the late reply! its been a busy summer! I used a pair of tweezers to peel up the stickers afterwards and it worked beautifully!

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      I just picked some up at Hobby Lobby, or any other craft store in their scrapbooking department. Better yet, look in their clearance section!

      1. Could you get the sticker at Wal-Mart for this type of craft…..my cousin is doing a cloud and star design and thought I would add those to the canvas

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          I think any sticker would work great with this! as long as you make sure they are smoothed down before painting to make sure the paint doesnt bleed under the sticker!

  1. If you paint over the letters in the white paint first and let it dry before you paint the color you want your sign, any seepage will be the color you want it to be and your letters will be nice and crisp. Happy crafting!! 🙂

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    2. This is why I always read the comments before I begin a new project! Thanks so much for posting this hint which I will use on my next project.

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        Yes me to! Trial and error is usually my route, so I love it when people contribute their knowledge! Happy Crafting!

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    2. I love you,
      a bushel and a peck,
      a bushel and a peck with a hug around the neck,
      with a hug around the neck
      I love you, yes I do……….

      then it repeats with two hugs two pecks and on and on until you sing it a cabillion times……LOL

    3. I love you
      a bushel and a peck
      a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck
      a hug around the neck and a barrel full of heaps
      a barrel full of heaps and I’m talking in my sleep about you
      about you
      I love you

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  2. What if you put a light coat of say, white paint first. Let dry then paint with the white and your color? Would the stickers peel up the paint or what? I am wanting to do this today or tomorrow and I’ve been worndering why. Thanks.

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      I don’t have a picture of it, but I did paint the wood first with the off white paint. just make sure it is completely dry before applying the stickers! Have fun and share what you make! Love to see what others are creating!

  3. With cute and clever projects like this, you would be an amazing consultant for Uppercase Living! I took a class using their grande flowers to upcycle old wooden chairs. Thanks for sharing this idea!

  4. Hi Mallory!

    Love your work. Have you tried using Uppercase Living vinyl lettering? You can apply it straight to your painted boards or to your wall or vehicle or mirror….you get the picture!

    OR you can apply it to the board. Paint over it. After it dries peel off the letters. You won’t believe the clean lines!

    Let me know if you would like some info! http://chrisa.uppercaseliving.net

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        Spray Paint would probably work fabulous! I didn’t think of it at the time, but it would be probably a lot easier to peel off the stickers with spray paint. The paint can tend to get gooey or not dry evenly! Good thinking gals!

        If anyone tries this, let us know how it goes!

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  5. I love this, this is what I have always told my granddaughters since they were babies and we still say it and the oldest are 19 & 17.

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  6. Super Cute! I’m absolutely going to try this! Just thinking of the quote I want now. I pinned this! An idea for you would be to rename your images with your blog post title and the name of your blog so you get credit. =)

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      Thank you so much!! And thank you to for the credit idea, but I got this from a fellow crafter and don’t want to take any credit for it! It’s just fun to be crafty and share!

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  7. I have never heard anyone else know this saying. I sing it to my baby all the time. My husbands grandfather started singing it to the baby and he would just laugh. It caught on.

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  8. Hi Mallory,
    Thanks for this tutorial! I did it last night and it worked so well. I’m posting about it next week on my blog! I LOVE how my sign turned out! Thank you again!

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      Sorry it took me so long to get back to you Crystan! Holidays got busy around here! I let my paint dry over night and that seemed to be long enough. I’m sure spray paint would work great! Might even be better! Let me know how it turns out!

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      I’m sure any paint would do, but I used Acrylic paint! As long as there is not to much paint layered on the sign, there shouldn’t be any peeling.

  9. I love your idea! I have a family member who wants a specific quote on a plaque and she can never find it. I might try this idea out.

    Any ideas on how I can give the sign a country rustic look?

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      Thank you! and this is the perfect DIY for gifts! I would love to see your sign when you are finished!
      To give it a country rustic look, I would paint it, and then use sandpaper to rough up the edges and sand away some of the paint, then you could stain it using coffee! Take a brewed cup of coffee and using a paint brush, paint the coffee over the dried paint….should give it a “dirty & old” look

  10. Love this idea! I’ve made a few so far. I put hooks on one and made it a key rack. Working on my next one for Valentine’s Day!
    The boards can get expensive so I went to thrift store and bought some older boards and the ones that had stuff on them already I just primed and sanded before painting. Works great!

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      I love the hook idea! lol would be great for my keys since i’m always misplacing them! And I agree, signs/boards are ridiculously expensive…thrift stores are a great place to stock up!

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  11. OMG what a nice sign! And I always wondered how to get letters on a picture like that. Finally I know! Thank you very very much!

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      Thank you very much! They are such a blast to make and really are pretty easy! I could easily have these all over my house 🙂
      Enjoy making your own!

  12. Wow! I am SO glad I stumbled across this, I grew up with my grandfather singing this song (The Bushel and a Peck song) sadly he passed away a couple years ago, but this sign will be a great way to remember him at my wedding this Summer! Again, SOO glad I found this! Thank you!!

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      Melinda, it was also a song my great grandmother used to sing…love it! And I love that you are incorporating it into your wedding! That will be so very special!!

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      Hey Jen and Betty!! Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you! I’ve been a little MIA lately! To answer your questions, yes these were just ABC stickers I got out of the scrapbooking section of the craft store! and I think spray paint would work amazing!!! Might solve the problem with the paint bleeding through some of the stickers! Let me know how it turns out if you try it!

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      Nikita, any size wood sign or canvas would work along with any size stickers (though the larger stickers are much easier to maneuver)…it all depends on the size of sign you want and how many letters you need to fit on it! Good luck!

  13. I just did this on a canvas panel and it worked out perfectly! Thanks for the instructions and all of the comment input. After placing my letters, I painted the color I wanted them first, and then the sign color. Just like everyone suggested, it worked perfectly to stop the bleeding under the stickers. I even found the same stickers you used and they were on sale at Hobby Lobby this week. For anyone still wondering the brand, they are “The Paper Studio” near the barcode it says “Brush 1 inch Burgundy”.

    Here’s a link to a pic of mine…
    http://instagram.com/p/cug8W7ojmk/

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  14. This is a great idea! One way to solve the problem of paint seeping under the letters is to paint one layer the same color as the background (in this case white) that way if it does seep it won’t matter. Should be NO touch up! 🙂

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      Oh no Brittany! A few of my stickers did that as well, mostly on spots that I hadn’t let the base paint color dry all the way. Mine came off pretty easy just by using a small X Acto knife, but I did have to do some paint touch ups after. Hope you figured it out and sorry it took me so long to get back to you!

  15. Another great method and a wonderful artist. Thank you Mallory for sharing this method. You are so sweet!

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      Marybeth, this would work great on canvas!! I actually did a project with my kids with canvas and stickers! We covered the canvas with stickers, then let them fingerprint all over it and when the paint dried, peeled off the stickers! Same effect as the wood sign!!

  16. Several people had asked about using spray paint instead for a sign, but never shared their results. I just made a sign with 12 lines of text and it turned out great! I spray painted the whole board white, then stuck my letters on top once it dried, and then spray painted over the stickers with pink spray paint. Once it dried I peeled the stickers off with an exact knife and I have very few letters that will need to be touched up. Hope this helps someone! 🙂

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      Thank you so much Stacy for sharing! I’ve been wanting to do it with spray paint myself so I’m glad to here it turned out so well! not to mention it was probably faster!

  17. What kind of paint did u use? I’m trying with acrylic and it’s not going as planned so far but we’ll see what happens…

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  18. I know its been awhile since this was posted. I tried this with acrylic paint and I can not peel off my letters. I have tried everything including an exacto knife. I have to sand off the stickers to start over but need help as to how I should do it this time.

  19. Tip: Paint a layer of Mod Podge over your letters to seal the edges (let dry really well) before you paint your background color. This will prevent the paint from seeping under the letters.

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      Kari, Thank you!! That is a great tip! I hated having to go back and touch up my letters that had seeped through!

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  20. How do you peel the letters off with out the paint coming off with them???? I’m sure you’ve already answered this question so my apologies for asking it again. I have lots of different stickers that I seem to collect for one reason or another so this would be super cute if I can get the paint to stay as well. 🙂

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      Hey no worries about asking! That’s what DIY is all about!
      The only paint that came up was the paint on the stickers. I haven’t had any problems with other paint coming up as well. Just make sure you don’t do too many coats of paint over the stickers! I think it comes down to just trying it and figuring out what works. Good luck!!

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      Thank you! Any flat object will do! 😉 fence boards, canvas, cardboard…any craft store has wood plaques for sale in numerous sizes! Happy crafting!

  21. Anyone know why the vinyl lettering does not stick to chalk paint? Just curious what I was doing wrong. Thanks!

  22. Omg.. you are a genius. I have been rattling my brain thinking of ways I can do this one design on my plank and haven’t been able to figure out how my letters weren’t gonna look messy and never even thought of this. LOVE IT. Thanks for the great Idea!

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      I can’t take all the credit for this but thank you! Glad that it was able to help you out with your project!!!

  23. I use a Cricut to cut out sign letters and stencils. I use Mod Podge to seal the edges of letters. When dry, paint with color and you get great crisp edges on your letters.

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      David, that is a great way to do it! thanks for sharing! Never thought to mod podge it first!

  24. So happy to now know how to letter something because I have awful handwriting !
    Thank you, Love your page!

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      Thank you! And I feel ya on the bad handwriting! I took a calligraphy class and my handwriting is still terrible!

  25. I know this is an old post but have questions? I think spray paint would make the sign smell really bad because spray paint has strong odor. I am not understanding how to use the mod podge on the letters? Do i paint the sign first and then mod podge stickers on that and then paint top paint? Wouldnt the mod podge seal the stickers down and they wouldnt come off? Maybe im just dumb. Im 57 and never ever done any crafts. Just wanting to make and sell small signs for all the medical bills i have. No insurance really cost alot. Thanks for any and all help. Debbie

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      Hello Debbie! No question is a dumb question! I don’t think spray paint would be a bad idea, though I just used simple acrylic paints. Also after applying the letter stickers to where i wanted them, I did just a light layer of modpodge over them. It seals their edges so the next layer of paint doesn’t get under them and I was still able to very easily peel them up afterwards. Good luck with your crafting and I applaud you trying something new for the first time! Hope this is helpful to you!

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      Hello! The stickers were very simple scrapbooking stickers I picked up at Hobby Lobby! I think they have the best variety of fonts!

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