I’ve been dying to do some fall decorating and some fall related posts but it’s just been too hot in Cincinnati for me to get into the fall spirit.  I haven’t even had my first PSL and they have been out for over a month!  It’s totally unlike me.  Since the summer heat is sticking around, I spent my week inside and finished a sign for my dining room that I had started several months ago.

I wanted a quote sign for the blank wall in my dining room and I love the look of the popular ones such as “They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts” or “thankful” or “Bless this food before us, the family beside us and the love between us ”.  The problem is, I see them everywhere.  Well, not literally everywhere but I must have seen hundreds of variations of these signs.  So I did some googling for dining room quotes and I came across a quote from Virginia Woolf.  It says One cannot think well, love well, sleep well if one has not dined well.

I really like this quote and I think of it meaning two very different things.  First, be conscious of what you eat.  Proper nutrition fuels a healthy body and mind and you will see the benefits throughout many aspects of your life.  Other days I look at this sign and think, heck yeah, I should treat myself and have a really delicious meal even if the calorie count is more than I may need.  We all deserve it sometimes ;).

I don’t have a cricut or a silhouette machine so my method for sign making may seem archaic to some.  I know that one of these machines would make the job easier and maybe a bit cleaner but I don’t plan on making more than 2 signs a year so I just can’t justify the $200+ investment.  This tutorial is perfect for anyone searching how to make a farmhouse style wooden quote sign without a cricut or silhouette machine.  I may invest in one some day if I find more projects to use it for but for now, this easy method works just fine for me!

Let me walk you through what you’ll need.

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Materials

24” x 36” craft board (I bought mine at Lowes in the craft board section)

Flat white paint

Paint brush or roller

Black acrylic paint

Small artist paint brush

Carbon Transfer Paper

24″ x 36″ print (download in step 1 below)

Pencil

(2) 1”x2” x 96” wood boards (for the frame)

Wood glue

Stain

Brad nails

Tools

Miter Saw 

Brad Nailer

Directions

Step 1

The first thing you’ll need to do is print the 24″ x 36″ print.  If you don’t have a plotter of your own, you can order an engineering print (blueprint) from a store such as staples.  You can download the print below.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE 24″x36″ VIRGINIA WOOLF QUOTE PRINT 

I took a few screen shots of the process on  Staples website so that you can reference this if you’ve never ordered engineering prints from them before.

Set the color to black and white.

For the media option, choose 24″ x 36″.

The orientation should be portrait.

Step 2

Paint the 24″ x 36″ craft board white on one side

Step 3

Align the print over the wood board and then place Carbon Transfer Paper (dark side down) underneath the print at all areas where there is text.

Step 4

Place the print back over the board and tape it down with painters tape so that it doesn’t shift.  Once it is secure, use a pencil to trace each of the letters on the print.  The pressure from the pencil will result in a transfer of the marking through the carbon paper.

Step 5

After all letters are traced, use the black acrylic paint to paint over each of the letters.

Step 6

Cut the trim pieces to make a frame for the sign.  I used 1″x2″ boards.  I first cut the top and bottom pieces to 24″ and then cut the two side pieces to 37.5″ each.  Stain the frame pieces the desired color prior to attaching them to the sign.  I used Minwax early american stain if you’re looking to match the color of my sign.

Step 7

Attach the frame pieces using wood glue and brad nails.

Isn’t she pretty?  It fills the blank wall that I’ve been annoyed with for the past 3 years perfectly.

If you want to save this post for later, you can pin it below 

What methods have you used to make quote signs for your home?

<3 Hannah