DIY Rustic Wall Art Directions:
1. Decide on the size of your sign. Measure your wall and find the perfect spot.
2. Now you need wood. If you want a more rustic look you can find a wood pallet you love - you can get these at most lumber yards - super cheap and already cut to size and roughed up a bit. Or you can buy inexpensive wood boards from your local hardware store. My boards are 4' x.
3. Remember to buy enough wood for your sized sign and 3 extra wood boards to glue vertically to the back of the wood boards (this keeps your sign in-tact).
4. Lay your wood boards on the floor so they are all touching.
5. Using wood glue, lay your first "extra wood board" to the back of all your wood boards. Once in place, glue it to all the horizontal wood boards. You will do the same with the middle wood strip and the end wood strip.
6. Let dry for 24 hours. (NOTE: If you are using a wood pallet that is very rustic I recommend nailing your boards together with the strips on the back instead of glue. Some wood boards can bow and not be very straight and for this nails work best.)
7. Once your sign is dry you are now ready to stain. Flip your sign over so the three strips are on the back. I recommend sanding the front of the sign a little before you add the stain. Just to remove any rough spots or jagged wood pieces that are sticking out.
8. Now using an oil based stain and a paintbrush stain the front of your sign. I used a Walnut and I only did one coat because I want mine to look rustic. Obviously you can do whatever you want. Let dry for a couple hours.
9. Now your sign is ready to paint. Depending on the size of your sign you may be able to find pre-made stencils at your craft store. My sign was too big so I had to use 18pt card stock and draw out my own stencils and then cut to size.
10. Lay your stencils on your board and carefully paint. If your stencils gaps at all, I recommend using painters tape to stick it down to your sign. You don't want any paint going under the stencil where it shouldn't be. Let dry.
11. Lastly, when the sign was completely dry, I went over my stenciled letters with my sand paper to make it look a bit more rustic.
