I’ve officially caught spring fever, and can’t stop crafting.  This year I’ve been on a farmhouse decor kick and I wanted my Easter decorations to fit with that theme.

I knew I wanted to make a Rustic Easter sign,  and once I found the perfect paint color, I knew exactly how I wanted it to appear.  From there, this sweet piece of Easter decor was born!

It’s sweet and simple, and super easy to create!

DIY Rustic Easter Sign

Of all my Easter crafts, this one is my absolute favorite!  I adore how it turned out!  I’m seriously going to have a hard time putting this one away when Easter passes!   It was a fairly simple project too, and one I hope to re-create in the future with some sweet farmhouse sayings.

Craftiness Level (0-10): 5

Time Investment: 30 minutes (including design time)

Materials:

• wood – cut to size (picture is 16X20)
• Sandpaper
• Stain
• Gloves
• Staining cloth
• paint brushes
• paint ( primary color and darker to distress)
• Vinyl (651)
• transfer tape
• weeding tools
• accessories
• Silhouette or other die-cut machine
• Silhouette Studio or other design software

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1.  Sand

I got my wood from Lowes as a 44X16 pine wood plank.  They cut it in the store for me, and I used the other piece for a different sign.

Overall, the wood was pretty smooth, but the corners and edges where it had been cut were a little prickly, so I sanded them down.  I went over all the areas on the board a couple times just to be consistent.

Be sure to wipe your board down before staining, as sanding will leave little wood particles behind and make a mess of your paint!  I’ve learned this the hard way a time or two!

2. Stain

Before staining you’ll want to make sure you have a few things ready.

First of all, you’ll want a drop cloth, or some old sheets or towels to protect the surface that you are staining on.   I happened to have some old bed sheets that worked perfectly.

You will also want to get some gloves.  The stain will stain more than wood.  And it will NOT come off easily!  So do yourself a favor and grab some gloves.  I just used some medical latex gloves we had laying around.

You will also need a cloth to stain with.  You can pick up some stain clothes at the Hardware store, but I am cheap.   I actually use orphan socks for this purpose.  It’s the perfect way to re-purpose them before tossing them out.

For this project I wanted  a dark stain so I chose Red Oak by Minewax.  I applied a couple of layers to achieve a darker stain.

3.  Design and cut stencil

The design for this was super simple.  I’d found this SVG on Etsy and used it for my Easter burlap banner and coir doormat.

I cut a stencil using some Oramask I had left over, but could’ve just as easily used 651 or 631.   I cut the design about 12 inches tall by 10 inches wide.

Because of the nature of this design, you will not reverse weed your stencil.  You will weed it exactly the same as if you were applying a decal to something.  I left the cotton tail in place too, as I knew I had something I planned to use in it’s place.

4.  Apply stencil

You will need to apply the stencil very carefully.

I carefully measured from each side to make sure it was centered on the wood.  When I applied it, I was very careful to smooth out any bubbles in it.

If you leave any bubbles in the stencil, paint will likely leak through.  While it is possible to clean this up with a q-tip and a little nail polish remover, it’s certainly more idea to get it right the first time by making sure your stencil is bubble free.

5.  Paint

Once the stencil is in place, you will need to apply a coat of paint.  I loved this beautiful mint green and thought it complimented the dark finish of the wood beautifully.

Be sure to paint over the whole stencil thoroughly, not missing any spots.  Once the first layer has been fully applied, wait about 20 minutes and then paint another.

The paint I chose to use was fairly thick, so I only needed two layers, but depending on your stain color, and the paint you chose, you may need to add another layer.  However, if you want to distress it, and do so naturally, be sure not to layer it on too thick!

6.  Peel

This step is pretty straight forward.

When the paint is almost dry, you will need to find an edge of the stencil and slowly peel it back.

This will let the stained wood peek through for a charming, rustic appearance.

7.  Faux Distress & Accessorize!

When I initially envisioned this project I knew I wanted it to have a distressed look.  However, I got a little heavy-handed with the paint, and when I went to sand it down, couldn’t quite get through the layers without too much effort.

So instead I decided to faux distress it. To achieve this look, I used a brush with hard bristles (actually very hard as it had some dried paint from a previous project).   I lightly dipped the brush in dark brown paint, and then swiped in a random pattern around the sign.  I like how it turned out, but think that less is more in this case.

After distressing it, I added a simple burlap flower in place of the cotton tail.   I picked it up on clearance at Hobby Lobby, not knowing what I’d use it for.  Turns out, I’d been saving it for this project!

Later, as an after thought, I added this cute ivory bow.  When my girls were little, I made their hairbows, and I still have a small stash of supplies.  I think it added the perfect touch!

Obviously, there’s more that could be done with this, and with different accessories.  My vision for this sign was clean and rustic, so I stopped there, but there are so many different ways you can make it your own!

And there you have it!  One adorable DIY rustic Easter sign that you will want to leave up year round!

Like this craft?  Be sure to check out all my other Easter crafts in my  Easter craft roundup!  And don’t forget to follow me on Pinterest, where I’m pinning all the cute crafts that come across my feed!

And don’t forget to pin this for later!