How to Easily Make a Farmhouse Kitchen Sign – No Stencil Needed

Make a Farmhouse Kitchen Sign using this simple carbon paper technique. No stencil required.  

Hey there! In the process of adding the final touches to our kitchen I felt the space above the doorway needed some farmhouse love.A closer look at the loneliness. I just can’t get enough of farmhouse signs. I love to make them the perfect amount of dirty so they look like they were tossed on a back road for a week and then I picked it up and gave it a new home. Luckily I don’t have to drive around on back roads out in the country looking for a dirty beat up sign…I can create my own kind of…dirty…in regards to signs that is.

Although I do own a Silhouette cutting machine for this tutorial I will show you how to use carbon paper to transfer an image. When using larger letters I find it often easier to do these by hand, plus the hand drawn look adds character to the farmhouse appeal. I already created the graphic for you so you can easily print and transfer onto a piece of wood.  

*This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy. 
*Super important make sure you have your Safety Gear. For this project I recommend safety goggles and ear protection.

Lets get stating making this sign! Here is how you do it.

TOOLS FOR FARMHOUSE KITCHEN SIGN

• Chop saw or miter saw – I use this saw 
• Sander or sand paper – I used 220 grit 
• Scissors
• Paint brush – large to paint board and small for the letters

SUPPLIES FOR FARMHOUSE KITCHEN SIGN

• 1 x 8 x 6 wood piece
• Chalk Paint – I used this white and black chalk paint
• Scotch tape
• Pencil
• Carbon paper
• 2 – Sawtooth hangers 

CUTS FOR FARMHOUSE KITCHEN SIGN
*If you don’t own a saw ask the hardware store to cut it for you. 

• 1 – 1 x 8 cut at 36 inches 

STEPS TO MAKE FARMHOUSE KITCHEN SIGN

Step 1) After cutting the wood I sanded it. Then I applied a couple coats of white chalk paint. Step 2) While the paint was drying I created the FARMERS MARKET graphic. It took me some time to make this as I had to keep adjusting it since I wanted the letters to fill up the sign as much as possible leaving as little white space. Once I was happy with the graphic then I uploaded it to Block Posters.  Love this site by the way! I used Block Posters when I made my Large Pallet Sign and DIY Pallet Wood Letter. I already uploaded it to Block Posters and created the document for you (personal use only).

Get your graphic here

Print your graphic which will be 5 pages long, then cut around the letters, but make sure to leave a little bit of paper around the letters (I cut too close to the edges).  This will make it easier when it comes to tracing. Then tape the graphic together. Step 3) Center and line up the graphic with the wood. Tape in place in a few spots. Place a sheet of carbon paper under the graphic. Then trace the letters with a pencil. Carbon paper works awesome for transferring images and one sheet can be reused multiple times. Once this was complete I outlined the letters and filled them in with black chalk paint. At first, I started with an oil-based paint pen, but I didn’t like the results of this and ended up going over it with the chalk paint. 

Step 4) To add a worn look I sanded it all over. 

*BTW if you own an air compressor I learned this great hack. While you are sanding the letters turn the air compressor on and blow the sand off of the wood. If you wipe it the black colors the white around it whereas the air just blows is off…my favorite new trick. Oh I am just so in love with the faded letters look after sanding.

Then I added a mixture of water to black paint ratio 4:1.  Using a small paint brush I painted this mixture on in random areas. Then I quickly wiped it off with a dry paper towel.

I added a couple coats of a spray sealer to protect it and two sawtooth hangers to the back. If you need some tips with hanging this masterpiece on the wall, check out this post on How to Easily Hang Picture Frames Perfectly Level. 

Thanks for sticking around to see this DIY farmhouse kitchen sign and learn this carbon paper copy trick.

So what did you think of this copy technique? There are several ways to transfer or copy an image what are your favorite ways? 

Happy building,