Add rustic charm to your home decor. Follow this tutorial to create a customizable and reversible wood plank sign using paint stir sticks.
Unleash your creativity with this fun, budget-friendly DIY project: a reversible plank sign crafted from wooden paint stir sticks
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Are you looking to add a touch of rustic charm to your home decor? Creating your own reversible plank sign using wooden paint stir sticks is a fun and budget-friendly project that will impress your guests and allow you to switch up your decor with ease.
In this step-by-step tutorial, I’ll guide you through the process of making a beautiful, reversible plank sign that you can customize to fit your style and preferences.
What size paint sticks do I need for this craft?
I normally craft with regular paint sticks. But for this picket fence, I thought regular paint sticks would be a bit too small.
So, I went up a size to jumbo paint sticks. These are bigger than regular paint sticks, but shorter than the yard sticks.
For reference: regular paint sticks measure 12 inches long. The jumbo paint sticks are 21 inches long.
This means my project is 21 inches tall long of just 12 inches. Of course, you could use regular paint sticks. Your finished sign would just be a bit smaller.
How do you cut the paint stir sticks?
If you’re comfortable using power tools, a table saw is the quickest option. But I know this may not be an option for every crafter.
I often cut wooden craft sticks and paint sticks with my hand-held miter shears. These shears have seen it all! You can easily cut thin pieces of wood. And since the shears are adjustable, you can make cuts at precise angles. So handy!
Now, at first I was a bit frustrated with these shears. It seemed I had to press really hard, and my craft sticks would often splinter.
Here are a few tips I’ve learned while using miter shears:
- Don’t expect to cut through on your first pass – I prefer to score the wood from both sides, before trying to cut all the way through. This will prevent splintering and save stress on your hands and wrists. If you are cutting a thicker piece of wood (like in this project) you may need to score several times before cutting all the way through.
- Lay your wood stick face-up on the miter shears – Sometimes, the numbers on the face plate of the miter shears leave indentations in softer wood. If you way your wood face-up, those indentations will be on the back of your project.
Why did you stain one side of the wood sign and paint the other?
This was actually a very intentional choice. I wanted a stained wood sign, so that’s what I set out to make.
Paint sticks have a ruler printed on one side in very faint white ink. I had those facing the back when I stained the sign.
Then, after my initial sign was complete, I thought it would be such a waste to not use the back as well.
Since the back had the printed ruler marks, I decided to paint over them.
Ok, now with all of that background on paint stick selection and miter shears, let’s get making!
Video Tutorial
Watch this quick video to see how my reversible plank sign came together. NOTE: this video is a compilation of paint stir stick crafts, so I hope you find plenty of crafting inspiration!
Paint Stick Reversible Wood Plank Sign
Add rustic charm to your home decor. Follow this tutorial to create a customizable and reversible wood plank sign using paint stir sticks.
Materials
- 4 jumbo paint sticks
- 8 regular paint sticks
- wood stain
- white chalk paint
- wood glue
Instructions
- Watch the video tutorial before you begin, and let that be your visual guide for this project.
- Lay 4 jumbo paint sticks horizontally on your work surface. Alternate the directions of the paint stick handles.
- Lay 4 regular paint sticks vertically - 2 on each end of the sign. Use miter shears to cut all 4 paint sticks to match the height of the sign.
- Stain all the wood pieces. Let dry.
- Glue two cut paint sticks to each end of the sign. Apply a dots of both wood glue and hot glue - one for long-term hold and the other for quick hold so you can move onto the next step.
- TIP: to help align the vertical sticks while you glue them, lay a spare paint stick along the edge of the sign. and then place the two cut sticks next to them.
- Flip the sign over. Cut four more vertical paint sticks.
- Paint the back of the sign and the 4 cut paint sticks with white chalk paint.
- Assemble the back of the sign as described in steps 5 and 6.
- Decorate both sides of the wood plank sign however you like.
Making a reversible plank sign out of wooden paint stir sticks is a delightful DIY project that allows you to unleash your creativity and personalize your home decor. By following this step-by-step tutorial, you’ll have a stunning and versatile sign that adds a touch of rustic flair to any room.
Enjoy the process, and don’t forget to have fun with the design and colors to match your unique style!
