Grandkids Make Life Grand Wooden Sign

Now that I have a baby (and gave my parents a grand baby) it is paramount that I start making grandparent gifts to celebrate their new parenthood, GRAND parenthood. (Lol)

Unfortunately, I’m also very cheap and while there are tons and tons of cute grandparents things that I could buy they are also like super expensive. So I decided to make my own after looking at some cute wooden grandparents picture hangers on Etsy and Pinterest.

I knew I wanted something that was kinda rustic and old farmhouse-ish but we also just moved so I didn’t have access to my old wood scrap pile (that stayed at our old house). So, I went to my trusty and cheap store, Michaels! The sign I chose was on sale and each section was painted differently or a different wood type so I knew once I stained it that it would look amazing.

Once I had my board I was able to figure out how big I wanted my wording to be.  I typed it out in Word and then took a screenshot of it and put it into Paint because Paint allows you to increase the sizing and print it in a way that makes piecing the different pages together far easier.

Once I had it all printed out and trimmed and checked and double checked I used an X-Acto knife to cut out each letter and creat a stencil. (*Pro-tip: If you are going to make multiple of these signs with the same sized words then use a sheet of plastic over the paper to create a stencil.) Then I just used a sponge to add paint to the letters and worked quickly because the paint will bleed through the paper after a while.  As soon as I finished painting the letters I removed the paper and let it dry. Some of the letters were a little sloppy but once it was dry it was easy enough to go back with a thin paintbrush and even out any weird lines. 

After it was completely dry and I liked how it looked I took my sander to it and scuffed it up a bit.  Don’t be afraid to take some paint off even on the letters.  All the imperfections add to the final product once you stain it.  Once it’s done being sanded I wipe it down with a clean cloth and then it’s time to stain.  I used Minwax Jacobean for my stain and brushed it all over the front and sides of the sign then wiped it back off with a clean cloth.  This helps to give it color but not overdo it. 

Once it was dry I sprayed it with a clear coat and then grabbed my jute rope and mini clothespins. I strung on how many clothes pins I wanted and checked to see if it would allow enough space for pictures and such once the rope was attached.  After that I marked where I wanted the rope to go and measured each side to be sure it was even and drilled a small hole through the boards, knotting the rope at the back of the hole.

That is really all there is to it.  I decided to keep my clothespins their natural color but you could always stain them or paint and then stain them.  Also if there are a lot of grand babies you could always make a bigger sign or add clothespins to the top that are hot glued on so that pictures could be added on top as well. 

This is such a simple sign to make that has lasting potential and has given my parents a wonderful centerpiece to their grand baby wall!