Stenciled Christmas Sign Tutorial

 

 

I made this little, rustic Christmas sign for my mantel and thought I would do a tutorial for you.

 

 

For this project you need:

1 x 6 pine board 32 inches long (Mine was old and dirty and found in Joe's wood shop.)

Painters Tape

Martha Stewart's Pearl Craft Paint in Aqua

Minwax English Chestnut wood stain

4 inch Nueva Stencils

Stencil Brush

Staining Brush

Rag for staining

 

I wanted to keep it simple by just stenciling the word Christmas. I sanded the board and rounded the edges a bit with the palm sander.  I laid out my stencils to make sure I had enough room for the entire word. I used 4 inch stencils in Nueva font that I found in the drawing section at Michael's. I taped them in place. I used a stencil brush and Martha Stewart's Pearl Finish paint in Aqua. It took 2 coats for each letter.

I started a few inches from the left side of the sign and stenciled each letter; allowing a little drying time in between stenciling.

I really liked this glossy pearl finish.

Once I got all of my letters stenciled on, I let it dry for a few hours then brushed on Minwax English Chestnut stain (we used this on our stair refinishing project HERE.) I brushed the stain on the entire front side of the sign, right over the stencils, then wiped it off with a clean, lint free rag.

I stained all sides of the board in thin even coats and wiped the excess stain off.

 

Let each side dry before moving on to the next. Make sure you lay out a drop cloth and wear gloves because stain is well... it stains, everything. :)

The pearl paint is still glossy and bright but the stain gives it an aged quality. This is part of my Christmas mantel decor. I am still working out rest. This technique could easily be used for any sign.

Happy Painting!