DIY Tall Porch Sign

DIY Tall Porch Sign by Darlene Schacht

I’ve wanted to make a welcome porch sign for a while now. I’ve seen them cropping up all over our city, but they usually run from about 50-75 dollars each. If you’ve got a fence board and some craft paint, you can make one for free, but if you don’t–like me. It will cost you about 10 dollars for the board and 10 dollars for the stencil.

But, here’s the thing, if you have a steady hand, you can probably save yourself some money and free hand these letters. If I didn’t have essential tremor I’d definitely be doing that, especially with letters this large!

Before I set out to make mine, I wondered… do I make it white or black? So I asked my daughter Madison and here’s what she told me.

“If your house is dark, make a white one, and if your house is light, make a dark one.”

I like that rule of thumb, and so, I made a white one to stand out against the dark siding of my front entrance. And, instead of the standard “Welcome” I went with “Home Sweet Home.”

My sign is only 4 ft. high, but my friend Elaine has a welcome sign that’s six feet high and it’s awesome too. Decide what you like best when picking your supplies out.

Supplies:

• 4 ft x 8 inches pine board (1/2 inch thick)
• A piece of sandpaper
• Home Sweet Home Stencil
• White primer
• Black acrylic craft paint (dollar store)
• Stencil brush
• Spray lacquer

Instructions:

1. Sand and prime your wood.
2. Paint your board with either a white or black background color
3. Lay the stencil out and tape it in place

4. Using craft paint, stencil your design using as little paint as possible on your brush. The trick is to layer the paint little by little to avoid bleeding.
   
   Note: I can’t stress this enough. The less paint your have on your brush, the less likely it is to bleed past the stencil line. In order to get crisp, clean lines, build your color with a little paint at a time. See my stencilling video if you need help with this step. I ignored my own advice, and had to clean up my lines on this project as you’ll see below.

5. Remove the stencil and touch up any crooked lines that need touching up. You’ll save yourself a lot of headache on this step if you heed my warning in step 4. Also, I always fill in the white spaces of stencils as I don’t think the letters look complete with them.

6. Topcoat with spray lacquer. And place outside your front door.

About the Author:

Darlene and her husband Michael live in Manitoba Canada where the summers are beautiful and the winters are cold. Together they’ve raised four children and have welcomed two grand children into their family.

She began her publishing journey about fourteen years ago when she pioneered one of the first online magazines for Christian women, known at the time as “Christian Women Online Magazine.” After three years, Darlene left CWO to blog as a solo author at Time-Warp Wife Ministries.

Being the youngest of six girls in a house without boys gave Darlene the opportunity to watch, to listen, and to learn what it takes to manage an organized house.

My P31 Home is a warm blend of Darlene’s writing and love for a comfy, pretty, and organized home. It’s a small corner of the world where faith, family, and home come together in one beautiful place.

Find Darlene on the Web at:

Time-Warp Wife Ministries
Facebook: @timewarpwife
Pinterest: @timewarpwife
Twitter: @timewarpwife
Instagram: @timewarpwife