A custom farmhouse wood sign. Your home number engraved in a rustic wood sign is a nice idea. You could even make a simple “Welcome” message at the front of your door. Who knows? You could even make an extra buck from this DIY project that you can do in just a few hours. I heard a substitute teacher who earned more than $1,000 selling wood signs. So if she can make money from this wooden craft, why can’t you?

So here’s how to make a custom rustic wood sign for your home.

Of course, you would need a block of wood, a sanding paper (or an orbital sander if you have one), paint, and a paintbrush. Refer to the video for the simplest instructions on how to finish a simple rustic wood sign.

1. Print out the word, house number, or date you want in your wood sign. You can start with your house number to make it simple.
2. With a protective surface, cut around the printed letter or number using a knife or a sharp cutter. Remove the printed sections. When done, you have actually created a stencil.
3. Use a painter’s tape to secure the stencil on the wood board of your choice.
4. Quickly blot the paint on with a dry brush. Since we are making a rustic design, blotting the paint on the stencil doesn’t have to be perfect.
5. While the paint is wet, remove the stencil and allow the paint to dry.
6. Age the paint after the paint is dry. You can use sandpaper to do this or your random orbital sander (black and decker orbital sander). When using a sander, remember too fast can destroy your work, too slow can take you forever. So just use the medium setting for this.
7. After sanding, you can add the handles to hang it on your door.

DIY projects are a great way to express yourself. This is a great activity that you can do with your kids too. And what’s good about it is that you can even make it to a hobby that’s earning you money.