DIY ‘Welcome Santa’ Holiday Sign

Our favorite Dawn is here for 12 Days of Christmas with a beautiful project for your holiday door decorating! Be sure to follow along here on the site or on Facebook to see all 12 days!

Hello there! Dawn here, from DesigningDawn.com, and I have a fun little project to show you today as part of the Remodelaholic 12 Days of Christmas Series.

Every year, I seem to stick to the same old Christmas decorations around the house, but this year, we have a completely updated home exterior, complete with a bright new front door. So I felt like the same old wreath I usually hang there needed a little updating, and I had just the project in mind.

How to Make Your Own Hand-Painted Holiday Sign

by Dawn of DesigningDawn.com for Remodelaholic

 

This ‘Welcome Santa’ sign is super fun and easy to make. Trust me! Here’s how I created this DIY door sign for the holiday season:

Materials:

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• scrap wood
• white chalk paint (available here on Amazon)
• clear wax or sealant (optional; available here on Amazon)
• sand paper (optional)
• paint pens (also available here on Amazon)
• scrap paper
• ball point pen
• small picture hanging kit (like this)
• wreath (optional; see some great winter wreaths here)

I started with a scrap piece of wood from the pile in my garage. (Do people actually use garages for parking cars??) It was already pretty much the size I had in mind, but if not, just trim that baby down.

Before breaking out the paint, I used my scrap paper to trace around the outside of the board, so I would know what size I was working with for my lettering.

Next, I coated the board with a quick layer of white chalk paint, and while that was drying, I got to work on the lettering.

For my board, I just sketched out the lettering I wanted, making sure to keep everything sized appropriately for the space (this is why it’s nice to have the outline of the board to work within). I am a big fan of hand lettering, and love the personalized look it adds. That being said… I’m an artist and designer by profession, so it comes naturally to me. If freehand drawing your design sounds intimidating, don’t give up. I have a plan B! Just measure your board and type out your text on the computer to fit within your space. Print it out, and you’re ready to go!

Whether you have a digital print, or a hand-drawn sketch, this will be your design template and the next steps are exactly the same. Once your board has dried, tape the template (your sketch or print out) onto it, making sure it is placed where you’d like it. Make sure to tape the edges securely so the paper doesn’t move around on you. This might mean folding it over and taping it to the back.

Then grab your ball point pen (any color) and trace around the outside of the letters or graphics on your template. At this point, you aren’t filling anything in, just try to get as close to the outside edges as possible, and apply a good amount of pressure.

Once you’ve traced around all the letters, remove your template and you should see a light indentation on your painted board, showing the outlines of each letter.

From here, it’s super easy to fill the letters in using your paint pen, and decorate to your liking. It takes a little patience, but is actually very easy and therapeutic. Just like coloring in a coloring book! I used a combination of black and gold paint pens to get a classic look.

Once I was finished with my lettering, I let it dry a bit and then distressed it with sandpaper. You can also seal your sign with clear wax, to help it hold up a little better.

To hang the sign, I broke out a picture hanging kit, screwed two tiny eye-hooks into the top of the sign, and strung a piece of twine between them.

Then I just layered it on my front door with a wreath I picked up at Target and added some gold ribbon to tie in with my gold paint.

I am so happy with my new door sign, and I think it’s the perfect thing to spice up the front porch this year! Didn’t I tell you it was easy peasy? I think I’ll be making a few more so I have options for all year round… not that Santa’s not welcome to stop by anytime.

Thanks for following along with my tutorial today, and thank you to Cassity and the Remodelaholic team for having me. I hope you’ve found this fun little DIY inspirational. I’d love to have you visit me over on my blog, DesigningDawn.com, or follow along on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest. Happy Holidays, friends!

-Dawn

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Don’t miss yesterday’s black and gold Christmas printables!

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