Grab some Mod Podge, a cute holiday napkin, and some wooden craft sticks – we’re making a super cute rustic decoupage Christmas sign to decorate for the holidays.
Have a pretty holiday paper napkin laying around? Make an oversized ornament or mini wooden sign.
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Let’s make a cute slatted mini Christmas sign from wooden craft sticks
Can I take a minute and tell you about my latest craft supply obsession? Let’s talk about the humble wooden craft stick… some may call it a popsicle stick or jumbo popsicle stick. But whatever you call them, these guys are one versatile craft supply.
I mean… I made a Shiplap Christmas sign with them. Then there were the craft stick Christmas trees. Oh, and I made a mini church embellishment for my fuzzy winter wreath.
Why I love this Christmas Craft
I love finding craft inspiration in unexpected places… like napkins, or greeting cards. Do you ever see the artwork on something and think you just have to keep it? That’s how I feel about the pattern on the winter napkins used in this project!
P.S. – If you’re on the napkin crafting bandwagon already, give these decoupage wood round ornaments a go.
Supplies Needed
- JUMBO wooden craft sticks (check unfinished wood aisle at your local craft store
- masking tape
- miter shears or heavy-duty scissors
- pencil
- wood glue
- hot glue gun and glue sticks
- paint brushes
- decorative holiday napkin of your choice
- Mod Podge
- plastic wrap
- Fingertip Craft Knife – or any other razor blade, just be careful!
- Wood Half Balls
- Green acrylic craft paint
- water
- plastic sandwich bag
- holiday ribbon to coordinate with your napkin
- scissors
Tutorial: How to Make Decoupage Christmas Sign
Follow this quick video, or read the step-by-step directions below:
- Lay your jumbo wooden craft sticks down on your work surface. Lay the paper napkin on top. You want to cut the craft sticks to about the size of the napkin. To do this, you can lay masking tape vertically along both edges of the craft sticks. Use the straight edge of the tape to trace a straight line with a pencil. Peel away the tape, and cut along the pencil lines with miter shears (set at a 90-degree angle) or heavy-duty craft scissors.
- After the wooden craft sticks have been cut, re-assemble your mini sign. Lay the craft sticks flat, and secure across the back with tape.
- Prep the napkin. Cut apart the napkin – you only need one square. Carefully peel apart the layers of the napkin – you only want the single, top, printed layer. Discard the plain white layer(s) from underneath.
- Decoupage the front of the mini sign.Use a flat paint brush to apply a coat of Mod Podge to the front of the mini sign. Lay the napkin layer on top of the Mod Podge. Lay a piece of plastic wrap on top of the napkin. Use your fingers – starting from the center and working your way out – to smooth down the napkin and smooth out any air bubbles. Gently peel away the plastic wrap.
- Once the Mod Podge has dried, use a craft knife to gently cut slits in the napkin between each craft stick. I found an up-and-down motion to be more effective than slicing straight across. If you don’t cut all the way through the napkin, bend the sign pieces to fully rip the paper.
- Secure a permanent backer to the mini sign. Use wood glue (and hot glue if you want instant hold) to attach to wooden craft stick pieces to the back of the mini sign. Remove the tape.
- Embellish the sign. Place wooden half balls in a plastic bag with a bit of acrylic craft paint and a few drops of water. Close the bag and squish everything around until the wood is evenly stained. Lay flat to dry.
- Use wood glue to secure mini wood half balls to the top and bottom edge on the front of the mini wood sign.
- Hang with a ribbon. Simply hot glue the two ribbon ends to the back of the sign. Embellish with a bow.
Here’s my finished decoupage mini wood sign:
How to Make Decoupage Christmas Sign
Grab some Mod Podge, a cute holiday napkin, and some wooden craft sticks – we’re making a super cute rustic decoupage Christmas sign to decorate for the holidays.
Materials
- JUMBO wooden craft sticks (check unfinished wood aisle at your local craft store
- masking tape
- miter shears or heavy-duty scissors
- pencil
- wood glue
- hot glue gun and glue sticks
- paint brushes
- decorative holiday napkin of your choice
- Mod Podge
- plastic wrap
- Fingertip Craft Knife – or any other razor blade, just be careful!
- Wood Half Balls
- Green acrylic craft paint
- water
- plastic sandwich bag
- holiday ribbon to coordinate with your napkin
- scissors
Instructions
- Lay your jumbo wooden craft sticks down on your work surface. Lay the paper napkin on top. You want to cut the craft sticks to about the size of the napkin. To do this, you can lay masking tape vertically along both edges of the craft sticks. Use the straight edge of the tape to trace a straight line with a pencil. Peel away the tape, and cut along the pencil lines with miter shears (set at a 90-degree angle) or heavy-duty craft scissors.
- After the wooden craft sticks have been cut, re-assemble your mini sign. Lay the craft sticks flat, and secure across the back with tape.
- Prep the napkin. Cut apart the napkin - you only need one square. Carefully peel apart the layers of the napkin - you only want the single, top, printed layer. Discard the plain white layer(s) from underneath.
- Decoupage the front of the mini sign.Use a flat paint brush to apply a coat of Mod Podge to the front of the mini sign. Lay the napkin layer on top of the Mod Podge. Lay a piece of plastic wrap on top of the napkin. Use your fingers - starting from the center and working your way out - to smooth down the napkin and smooth out any air bubbles. Gently peel away the plastic wrap.
- Once the Mod Podge has dried, use a craft knife to gently cut slits in the napkin between each craft stick. I found an up-and-down motion to be more effective than slicing straight across. If you don't cut all the way through the napkin, bend the sign pieces to fully rip the paper.
- Secure a permanent backer to the mini sign. Use wood glue (and hot glue if you want instant hold) to attach to wooden craft stick pieces to the back of the mini sign. Remove the tape.
- Embellish the sign. Place wooden half balls in a plastic bag with a bit of acrylic craft paint and a few drops of water. Close the bag and squish everything around until the wood is evenly stained. Lay flat to dry.
- Use wood glue to secure mini wood half balls to the top and bottom edge on the front of the mini wood sign.
- Hang with a ribbon. Simply hot glue the two ribbon ends to the back of the sign. Embellish with a bow.
Recommended Products
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Don’t Forget to PIN this Mini Christmas Sign Craft for Later:
More Christmas Crafts made from Wooden Craft Sticks:
- Craft Stick Christmas Trees – an Easy DIY Christmas Ornament Idea
- Faux Shiplap Christmas Sign – Dollar Store Reverse Canvas Craft
- DIY Mini Wood Sign Ornaments From Wooden Craft Sticks
- Mini Poster Hanger Ornaments
More Christmas Crafts and DIY Decor Ideas:
- Fingerprint Christmas Wreath – A Christmas Keepsake and Kids Craft
- Christmas chalkboard cutting board
- DIY Jenga Christmas Ornaments – Dollar Tree Tumbling Tower Craft
- 20 Gorgeous Dollar Store Christmas Wreaths
Great instructions for excellent diy!!