The DIY Fall Porch Sign You Didn’t Know You Needed

A tutorial with detailed instructions and images that shows you how to make this gorgeous fall porch sign.

Fall is just around the corner y’all! It’s time to get out all of the wonderful fall porch decorations!

I love decorating for fall because it’s my second favorite time of the year, just behind Christmas. I really enjoy that the weather is no longer scorching hot, so you get to pull out those cozy sweaters, drink hot cocoa, and go for walks to admire the beautiful warm colors of all the leaves in the neighborhood. And you get to decorate for fall!

I have always loved putting out pumpkins on my front porch, bales of hay, and flower pots filled with yellow and orange mums. A beautiful fall wreath for the front door is a must. In addition, I enjoy putting out lanterns, cotton stems, and throwing in some bats.

In fact, I have a post all about how to decorate your front porch for fall, right here.

But for a long time I have wanted one those pretty wooden welcome signs that leans so effortlessly and proud against the empty porch wall. So I decided that I should make one!

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Would you like to know how to make this fall porch sign? Follow along below:

In this post, I will show you how to make this Fall sign using easy to follow images and detailed instructions.

How to Make a Fall Porch Sign

1. Gather materials

Here’s what you will need:

• 10”x4′ pine board– The actual dimensions are 9 1/8” x 4’1”. I purchased mine from Lowe’s.
• Sander and disc sandpaper – this is optional, as you can sand by hand.
• Regular sheet of sandpaper for hand sanding.
• Pre-Stain Conditioner– This helps the wood take the stain with fewer blotches.
• Minwax Wood Stain– I chose the color Jacobean.
• Rags– these are for applying the conditioner and stain onto the wood.
• White acrylic paint for lettering
• Polyurethane to seal the stain and stenciling
• Small paint brush for stencil
• 3” Synthetic Bristle Brush for Polyurethane
• Cardstock or Vinyl for stencil- 5 sheets
• Transfer Tape (only for vinyl stencil)
• Weeding tools (only for vinyl stencil)
• Painters Tape (only for card stock stencil)

2. Prep your board

The first thing I did was sand my board. I used a random orbital sander since I happen to have one due to my husband being somewhat of a tool hoarder. But I’m glad, because it makes the sanding process a lot quicker. I just like to make sure the board is nice and smooth. I don’t go crazy with the sanding, just enough to take the tame the roughness and take the sharpness off of the edges a little bit. We don’t want a crazy sharp lethal fall sign!

After sanding, I wiped my board down with a clean rag so that there was no more sanding dust on the surface.

3. Apply conditioner

Now, this step may seem a bit ridiculous, but it does make a difference in how the wood takes the stain. With the conditioner, the stain comes out a lot less blotchy.

I applied the pre-stain conditioner with a rag. I simply dipped the corner of the rag in the can and then wiped it on the board.

The conditioner can be wiped off 5 to 20 mins after it has been applied, and then stained within 20 minutes to 2 hours. I wiped the conditioner off after 10 mins and stained about 20 mins later.

4. Apply stain

Now it’s time to stain!

I chose the Jacobean color stain because of it’s rich deep tones that leaned neither warm or cool, just very neutral.

I applied the stain the same way that I applied the conditioner, with a clean rag. Make sure you place a drop cloth of some kind around the area. I dipped the corner into the can and smoothed it generously onto my board, working from one end down to the other. I also made sure to get the edges. I didn’t worry about getting the back since it wouldn’t be seen.

However, if you wanted to make a reversible sign, then you could go ahead and stain the back as well.

5. Create your stencil

I created my stencil with my cricut machine. Now, there are two different types of stencil materials from which you can choose, card stock or vinyl. I decided to use card stock for my stencil, which involves using painters tape later on in order to attach to the board.

However, I do not recommend this method, as the paint had a tendency to bleed around the edges. This can’t be seen from far away, but up close it’s a bit, shall we say, rustic?

So if you can, go for the vinyl.

You can find the exact design for my stencil right here!

6. Tape stencil down

Once I had my stencil cut out, I laid it out onto my board to get an idea of how everything will look.

When I was happy with the placement, I taped everything down with the painter’s tape.

Now, if you were using vinyl, painter’s tape is not needed since the vinyl sticks onto the board itself.

7. Paint

Now we paint!

I got my white acrylic paint out and my brush and carefully painted in my stencil lines. This should be done slowly so as not to get carried away and go passed your stencil border and get paint where you don’t want it. It’s hard to get off!

I recommend doing two coats of white paint.

8. Apply some poly

Our final step is to add a couple coats of poly. We want to do this so we protect the wood and design from the elements, since the sign will most likely be outdoors.

Make sure you stir the can. Then apply a thin and even coat with a synthetic bristle brush.

Allow this coat to dry about 2 to 4 hours (follow the directions on your can) and then re-apply. Then make sure you let the last coat dry at least 24 hours before handling.

And that’s it!

Those were all of the steps I used to create my fall porch sign. I LOVE how it turned out actually! It’s just what my porch needed.

This was a project that I really enjoyed and I think you will enjoy it also! So what are you waiting for??

It’s almost fall! Time to crank one of these signs out haha.

Anyways, I hope this post was helpful to ya. Let me know in the comments if you made your fall sign yet!

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