Fall Sign DIY Tutorial

“In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

1 Thessalonians 5:18, KJV

September is here! It marks the unofficial start of fall for many people. They begin planning for cooler weather, early sunsets, and the holidays. While exciting, this season can also be a source of stress due to grief, finances, and pressure to finish the year strong.

As we enter the final stretch of 2022, I encourage you to practice gratitude daily. Find a reason to give God thanks. Thanksgiving places God above our hardships. When God is prioritized, He supplies our needs (Matthew 6:33). A grateful heart opens the door for our prayers to be answered.

Today’s do-it-yourself project is for a fall sign. You will learn how to make a stencil with a cutting machine and best practices for stenciling. If you do not have a cutting machine, stay tuned! I will post a tutorial on how to make stencils by hand soon.

Overall, I hope my Fall Sign DIY tutorial will remind you to always give thanks!

How to Make a Fall Sign with a Cutting Machine

Supplies

• Wooden plaque
• Stencil vinyl
• Transfer tape
• Craft paint
• Mod Podge
• Foam brushes
• Cutting machine and tools
• Ribbon, flowers, or other decorative accessories
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks

Instructions

Step One: Design

Use your cutting machine’s workspace or a graphic design application to design your fall sign. Be creative! Experiment with different fonts, festive messages, and shapes. 

Step Two – For graphic design apps: Format

Download the design to your computer as a PNG file with a transparent background. Upload the file to your machine’s workspace. Lock the size and resize the image to fit your wooden plaque’s dimensions.

Step Three: Cut

Attach stencil vinyl to your cutting mat and load it into the machine. Follow the prompts to cut the vinyl.

Step Four: Remove and transfer

Remove the vinyl from the mat and weed away the letters to create a stencil. Use transfer tape to put the stencil on your wooden plaque. Smooth it down to release trapped air bubbles. 

Step Five: Apply Mod Podge

Apply Mod Podge to the stencil by painting strokes in every direction. This will prevent the craft paint from bleeding through the letters’ sides. Let it dry completely.

Step Six: Paint

Put a small amount of craft paint on the foam brush. Gently bounce it across the stencil to paint an even layer. Apply at least two layers, allowing the paint to dry in-between. 

Step Seven: Remove stencil

Lift the stencil from the wooden plaque. Use tweezers or a weeding tool to remove the shapes that form letters (e.g., e’s and o’s).

Step Eight: Add accessories

Use hot glue to add ribbon, flowers, or other decorative accessories to the wooden plaque.

Now all that is left to do is decorate! Your fall sign will easily complement your home or office. It would even make a beautiful gift for family and friends. How will you decorate? Comment below! 

Take 15 minutes today to read, write down, and meditate on this scripture: 
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” – Matthew 6:33 (KJV)