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Jaime Costiglio

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No Tricks Only Treats Handpainted Sign

September 21, 2015

We’re talking handpainted signs today.  I’ve made a bazillion handpainted signs without any fancy machinery.  And today I’m sharing how to make this ‘no tricks only treats’ sign for your Halloween front door.
how to make a handpainted sign

A DIY tutorial to make a handpainted sign for Halloween. No fancy stencil or cutting machine necessary here just your computer and a steady hand.

This painting technique is simple and straight forward and there’s no vinyl cutting machine necessary.  To be honest I actually prefer the variations that come from handpainting the letters.
Halloween themed sign for front door

Sign Backer

For this sign a few bits of scrap wood from the cut off bin put together to make the background and frame.  Then you can use my printable PDF file below or make your own design.

Printable Sign Pattern

free template
detail view of handpainted letters
no tricks only treats sign on exterior door

Supplies:

  • 2 – 1×6 scrap wood @ 16″
  • 2 – 1×2 wood @ 16″
  • 1×2 – 2 @ 11″
  • 1 1/4″ pocket hole screws
  • 1 1/4″ finish nails
  • wood glue
  • drill
  • printed template (click here for free PDF file)
  • ballpoint pen
  • acrylic paints
  • paintbrush
back side of wood sign

Step 1: Make the backing for the handpainted sign.  Attach the 2 – 1×6 @ 16″ together side by side using wood glue and 1 1/4″ pocket hole screws.  Alternatively you could use mending plates if you don’t have a pocket hole jig.  Also stain the boards (if desired, on the front) before you add the frame.

handmade wood sign backing and frame

Step 2: Then cut 4 – 1×2 pieces for the frame and attach using wood glue and 1 1/4″ finish nails.

tracing printed template with ballpoint pen

Step 3: Print out the lettering template (use my file here or create your own).  Center the print out on the wood and trace the letters using a ballpoint pen with heavy pressure.

handpainting letters onto wood

Step 4: Paint on and inside the indent left behind by the pen.  I used white acrylic craft paint with a small brush.  Go slow.

adding shadow to painted letters

Step 5: Create a shadow with a darker color paint adding a line down and to the right of each letter.

handmade wood sign with wood frame
At this point I hung it on the door and decided I definitely needed to paint the frame.
painting trim on sign after attached to body

Step 6: Mask off the sign portion and paint the frame.  Then sand to distress and apply stain to enhance the distressing.  Finally seal everything with exterior use clear poly.

Thanks for joining me for this scrap wood handpainted sign project. Please follow me on social media for sneak peeks and more project inspiration:

Instagram / Pinterest / Facebook / Youtube / Twitter

SHOP THIS PROJECT:

A few more handpainted sign ideas I’ve shared over the years:
Multicolor planked refreshments sign:
large refreshments planked sign for party decor
Peace, love and sandy feet:
peace, love and sandy feet handpainted signs
Keep out with skull and crossbones danger sign:
diy keep out skull and crossbones arrow sign
Emerson quote beach sign:
emerson quote on handpainted sign

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Filed Under: DIY, FALL, HALLOWEEN, HOME DECOR, HOME DECOR, PAINT, SEASONAL3 Comments

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mindi Carwin says

    September 23, 2015 at 12:16 AM

    Love this sign Jaime!! The orange on the outside is perfect!

    Reply
  2. Amy says

    September 26, 2015 at 2:56 AM

    Love your sign! I've got to try your painting technique, your signs always look amazing.

    Reply
  3. Dani says

    January 19, 2019 at 2:23 AM

    Great! Thank you. I’m not much for transfer stuff.. most of the time I still have to go back over it anyway and hand painting it you can get a lot more detail . I really like the idea of the ballpoint pen . Thank you very much you gave me a project to do this weekend . Thank you so much for your ideas and I hope you have a wonderful weekend

    Reply

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