DIY Custom Wood Sign

I am back, and better than ever. I told you guys I had some projects coming up, bet you didn't think I get anything done that quick though right? This project was created based off budget for me. Did I have to DIY it? No. Was it a ton cheaper to DIY it? Hell yes. I have been scoping out these custom signs for a while now but for the size I wanted (5ft x 2ft) prices were sometimes over $200 (or they didn't come in that size at all). Not happening in my world. That's okay though, because you can DIY almost ANYTHING these days.

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First, I created the sign online. There's tons of free poster creator sites you can use or, like me, you can use good old fashioned paint shop.

Next, I went to Hobby Lobby and grabbed my letters in three sizes. If you wait for them to go on sale you can do this project even cheaper! I got the 10" letters (wood) for the first line, then I grabbed the smaller chip board letters for the second line and finally, the mini wood letters (they come in a bag, I needed 2 bags) for the final line.

After that I went to Lowes and got a piece of 20"x 72" edge glued pine, 3 pieces of 1x2x6 boards and a 6ft piece of flat trim.

When I had all my supplies on hand I started the project off by spray painting (I used Rustoleum Chalked spray paint) to get those letters a flat black color.

Then I cut down my sign (to 5'5" ) and painted it white (leftover paint i had on hand) and stained the 1x2 (after I cut them to make a frame around the edges of my sign) and whitewashed them.

Assembly time! I arranged everything to see how I wanted it to look then measured measured measured to make sure everything was even. i used scrap wood as spacers and wood glue to secure the letters to the board.

After I let it dry flat overnight Zack and I attached the frame around the edges with our nail gun.

Here she is in all her glory.

So pretty and total cost for the project was only around $70

Large letters: $1.49 each =$10.43
Medium letters $0.99 each= $10.00
small letters $3.99/bag= $7.98
wood sign $29.95
1x2x6-$2.96 each = $8.88
flat trim $4.96
paint/glue= $0.00 items I had on hand
Total: $72.20

---Jackie

*some people have been asking me what to do if their name doesn't sound good with 'mercantile' so I came up with a list of other options below

-General Store
-Market Place (or Market)
-Textiles
-Commissary
-Wholesale
-Trading (or Trading Post)

You can also choose to do things like
-Bakery
-Cafe
-Parlor
-Brewery
-Bake Shop