DIY: Simple 5 Step JOY Sign

Last week I shared my new festive JOYful Christmas mantel and many of you commented on how pretty and unique my JOY sign looked {thank you}.

Since y’all gushed over it so much, I’m going to show you how quick and easy it was to create. (And remember you can be inspired by this and create something similar with words that are near & dear to you).

Simple-to-follow tutorial on how to create a JOY sign

1. Cut the wood to your desired height and width. I used leftover pallet scraps to create this sign, but you could also use new wood instead.  I like the old pallets because they’re free, plus they have a distressed, worn look, which means no “beating up” the new wood.

2. Create the sign and sand.  If you have more than one piece of wood, you’ll need to attach them from the back.  Across the two pieces of pallet boards, I nailed two smaller pieces of pallet scraps on the back so the sign stayed together. Then I gave the wood a good sanding on the top and sides.

3. Paint the sign.  I painted the base of the sign with plain ole’ white paint leaving some of the raw wood to show through.

4. Outline letters.  I freehand sketched the letters J – O – Y on the sign.  You could use a stencil or silhouette if you wanted.

5. Paint the letters. Then I filled in the letters with red craft paint.  I used about 3-4 coats, but it dried quickly.  To give an even more distressed look, I gently went over the surface with a piece of sandpaper (by hand).

And that’s it.  Pretty simple, right?!

And if you missed my mantel, here it is…

I hope you’re having a JOYful Holiday season!

If you were to create a sign like this, what word(s) would you use?

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