One of my favorite projects ever is the simple and easy DIY bakery sign I made a few months ago. I was actually inspired to do this after seeing a rustic bakery sign for sale on the Magnolia Market website. Being the thrifty gal I am, I decided to try making one of my own. I love how it turned out and I’m pretty darn excited to share it with you today!
This is a super easy project and works really well if you’re using a piece of old wood that has been painted white. If not you can simply paint the wood you have white and you’ll be all set to go! Here are the materials you’ll need and how I did it:
- any piece of rustic barnwood (the wood I used is actually from my childhood home!)
- large printed letters of your choice (the font I used was Modern No. 20 and the size was 600)
- scissors
- pen
- tape
- black acrylic paint and small paintbrush
- Shellac finishing spray
- small hand sander (optional)
After you have chosen the piece of wood you will use, print the letters of “BAKERY” and make sure they are the right size for your wood. I used the font Modern No. 20 (I thought this one matched very closely to the font on the Magnolia Market sign) and the size was 600. You’ll want to play around with the size of the letters so it fits nicely on the piece of wood you’re working with.
Then cut out all your letters.
After you have all the letters cut out, simply start by taping the letters to the wood.
Make sure to evenly space the letters out and do your best to make sure the letters are on the wood nice and straight. After you’ve taped them all on to the board, begin to trace each letter. I just used a pen for this part.
You can gently peel the tape up and trace under that area if needed. Or you just be a risk taker like me and skip that little spot all together.
Make sure to get all the edges, inside, and outside of the letter. This is what you’ll end up with:
Now that you have the letters on the wood, it’s time to paint!
I used a basic black acrylic paint from Michaels and a small paint brush (also from Michaels). I love this paint because it dries super fast. You’ll definitely want to get a small paint brush so you can get into all the tiny corners of the letters.
This is the most detailed part of the project, but it really goes pretty fast once you get the hang of it. Here’s the letters all painted and pretty!
This next step is completely optional.
If you love the way it looks now, just leave it. But if you’re looking for a more rustic bakery sign, I recommend taking a small hand sander and roughing the letters up a bit. Not too much, just a little does the job perfectly. But make sure the letters are completely dry before you do this!
Next you’ll want to take the Shellac finishing spray and spray the piece lightly. This just seals the paint and finishes it off. Done!
Thanks so much for stopping by! Be sure to let the know if you have any questions.
Great job Sarah!! I have an old pallet that I’ve been wanting to make a KITCHEN sign out of…you’ve motived me to do it!! Thanks!
Thank you so much Jamie, I can’t wait to see it!
That’s awesome and looks easy!
Thanks for the simple, easy idea ~ I’ve been painting signs this week and have added a BAKERY sign after seeing your post 🙂 I always use carbon paper to easily trace letters on my wood to save from cutting them out, and it lasts for-ev-ah. Thanks for a wonderful blog ~ just discovered you and love your sunny photos. (I live in Alaska where, although majestic and lovely, gets very dark in the wintertime.)
Awesome! Let me know how it turns out. 🙂
Could you tell me how to
Do your technique
I have been wanting to do a sign like this but it keeps getting put on the back burner. Thanks for the tips and reminder that it’s a simple project with big results!
Awesome, give it a shot!
I love how to showed how to make an awesome sign without a fancy machine! Now I need a spot in my kitchen for a sign like this. 😉
I’d love for you to share this project at The DIY Collective party that I co-host. My readers would love it! The party goes live each Thursday at 6am EST.
I’d love to! Thank you Ashley!!
Thank you Sarah for the inspiration! I want to make a sign to hang just above my kitchen sink window. I’ll have to tweak it though????
Awesome, that sounds like a perfect spot for a sign like this!
That is great, and you made it look so easy! I have been wanting to try a painted sign and something similar might work great for my kitchen/dining room.
Thanks so much Toni, definitely give it a shot!
I love the sign and your house is soooo cute!
Debbie, thank you for the sweet comment!
You know I love everything about this!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you so much Deborah, you are so sweet!
I love the wood you used for this sign. I also made one using very large stencils I bought at Michaels. I traced around the inside of the stencil… love the look 🙂
Some really wonderful work on behalf of the owner of this website , utterly outstanding written content.
Love all of your ideas and creativity. Thanks for sharing the details!
Thank you so much Karen!
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Thanks a million! Very helpful!
Glad it could help you Therese!
Some times its a pain in the ass to read what
website owners wrote but this web site is real user friendly!
I love your sign Sarah !
I can’t belive I haven’t visited your blog yet !
I’m so stealing this idea for my new house ????
Saved as a favorite, I really like your blog!
Hey very nice blog!
Thanks for your marvelous posting! I truly enjoyed reading it, you happen to be a great author.I
will always bookmark your blog and will come back down the road.
I want to encourage that you continue your great work, have
a nice holiday weekend!
bookmarked!!, I really like your web site!
What website do you use to print stencils??
Love it! Do you have a special place you get your fonts?
Thank you! This font is actually from Word.
Saved as a favorite, I really like your site!
I just made one last night- I’ve never done anything like this so was definitely out of my comfort zone! Your steps were easy to follow and clear and my sign looks amazing in my kitchen!!! Thanks so much for the idea and showing how to make it happen!
Oh yay, I’m so happy to hear it was easy to do and you love it Elizabeth!
Hi Sarah, Many thanks for sharing the Bakery tutorial. Both your blog and your sign are professional looking , yet easy to follow. Thanks again.
Hi, I Love all of your work and your blogs. How do you get font size to 600?
I got it. Loving all of your signs.
Love the farmhouse look
Thank you! I appreciate you sharing! I’ve wondered how to do this. Beautiful
Thanks for the great tutorial for making wood signs. I have over a 100 pieces of barn wood, I need to pick out some wood and get busy.