It’s not very difficult to come by scrap wood so here is an idea to use it – a reversible rustic holiday sign. This is definitely a cheap and cheerful way to add some festive decor to your porch for multiple seasons.
The best things in life are free. – Luther Vandross
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Turning a Free Find to Create My Rustic Holiday Sign
So here’s how this went down…..
I went to a yard sale and saw a stack of wood in a pile off to the side, but clearly part of the sale. As I browsed, I asked how much for the scrap wood. They advised that it was the free pile. In case you ever wondered, saying free pile is my love language.
Do you know why the wood was in the free pile? It was because it had holes in it.
In the car, went the free stuff and off I went.
I decided to use some wood filler, leftover from this Garage Door Makeover project, to fill in the partial holes.
If I didn’t want to use the wood fillers, I could have cut off the parts of the wood that were damaged.
REVERSIBLE HOLIDAY SIGN INSTRUCTIONS
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In case you haven’t worked with wood filler, here’s the process.
- Fill in the holes with filler using a putty knife.
- Let it dry.
- Sand
- Repeat as necessary to get a flush surface.
After the wood was filled, I was ready to make the reversible holiday rustic sign.
Using the paint I had on hand, I painted the wood with a brown base on the FALL side and white on the CHRISTMAS side, letting it dry before flipping.
I first made a line the same distance on the top and bottom of the sign. Then, I measured the distance, between the line, that the letters would be on the sign. Ie. If the measurement was 12 inches and there were 3 letters, space would be about 4 inches. You would need to take into account the space needed in between letters -equally.
With a pencil, I began tracing out some letters. After it seemed about right, I then painted the letters.
There was one hole in the wood that went all the way through so I took a piece of scrap ribbon and tied it to the top for the JOY sign. When the sign is flipped over to the FALL is on the bottom and not seen.
SIGN INFORMATION & TIPS
So, why do I share this info with you? Do I really think you will just randomly come across a free pile of salvaged wood at a yard sale? Well, maybe you will….. but if you don’t, you could come across a piece of wood that can be used with this technique.
Also, we hope to inspire you to see something when others may see nothing.
TIPS
- Feel free to use a stencil if you are wanting something more exact. You can do this with stencil letters or using a Cricut machine.
- Smaller paintbrushes work better for the detailed edges. If you want info on where to find salvaged wood and how to clean it, we added some of that information on this post: DIY Reclaimed Wood
MORE WOOD PROJECTS
We love salvaged wood and we can not lie!
Here are a few more of our salvaged wood projects. Most of these are used with pieces of free wood…our favorite word!
Where to Buy Signs
If you are unable to make a sign, you can purchase one from a small business (maker).
I love your fun double-duty sign Deborah! I think it’s perfect. And FREE will always be the best buy 😉
Merry Christmas friend xx
Cindy, You know it 🙂 Marry Christmas to you as well!!!
Such a great idea Deborah!! Thrifty and beautiful. Merry Christmas to you sweet friend! xoxo
Vanessa, And to you and your family as well!!!
I have a couple double sided signs, I think its smart. Also helps on storage with my sign addiction!
I hear ya. I have several addictions including a blanket, picnic tin, and a pillow one my husband is esp concerned about. 🙂
I have wood filler!! I do I do!!! Fantastic stuff. Your ideas are amazing and I love hanging out with you in the TST!
Julie, I love being part of the TST team. Thanks for having me
Great way to reuse a piece of wood, and it’s double duty! Love this Deborah. Happy Holidays!
Thanks so much Kristi 🙂
ha, love your confused seasonal sign 🙂 Merry Fall Christmas
Laura, 🙂