Welcome to day 12 of my 25 Days of Craftmas series! We are almost half-way through the series! Whew, that’s a lot of projects. And, there’s still a lot left to share. Have you started any Christmas crafts, yet?
This is a great project because not only is it functional (it displays your Christmas cards & photos), but it also makes a cute decoration for the holidays.
HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED
- Wood (30″ x 11.25″) If you want more display space, you could use a longer board.
- Vinyl (Color doesn’t matter)
- Jute Twine & Mini Clothespins (This is a great set)
- Paint (I used true red, yellow-green, kelly green, and brown) and brushes
- Hanger (optional)
- Transfer Tape
- Electronic cutter (cricut explore, silhouette or other cutter)
- Cut File (available for free in my resource library)
HERE’S WHAT YOU DO
The first thing you’ll need to do is get the free SVG file you’ll use for this project. I keep all the SVG files I use for the projects I make in my SVG Library. These SVG files work with Cricut and Silhouette machines, as well as many others. This library is open to everyone and is free! You can access the library here. Look for the file called Merry Mail. It will either be listed under the Christmas category-25 Days of Craftmas 2018 – Day 12.
Start by painting your board white.
While the paint is drying, open the design in your cutting software. Size the design to fit on your wood. Mine was about 10″ x 5″. Draw a box around the design to create a stencil.
Normally, when I create a stencil, I’ll make the box the same size as my board. Doing this helps me to make sure the design is straight and centered on the board. But, because this board is so long and the design isn’t in the center, I had to do it a little different.
I still made my box the same width as the wood sign (11.25″), but instead of making it the same height as the board, I just made the rectangle a couple of inches taller than my design. I decided I wanted the tops of the letters 1″ from the top of the sign, so I placed the top of the rectangle 1″ above the letters.
Do you need help creating stencil design? Check out this step by step tutorial for Silhouette Users here and for Circut Users here.
Cut the vinyl, weed out the letters, and then apply the transfer tape.
Remove the vinyl backing. Match the straight edges of your vinyl stencil with the top and sides of your board and then press down on the vinyl.
Rub over the vinyl to help it stick to the board. Then, remove the transfer tape.
Paint one coat of white over the vinyl stencil. This will help prevent bleeding.
Once the white paint has dried, start filling in the letters with your colored paint.
When the paint is dry to the touch, carefully removed the vinyl stencil.
To give your sign an aged look, lightly sand down the edges and then cover the sign with some watered down brown paint.
Let it sit for just a minute or so and then wipe off with a rag or paper towel.
Flip the sign over and glue the end of a piece of jute twine onto the back.
Then, wrap the jute around the sign several times in a random pattern. 
After you’ve wrapped the twin around 2 or 3 times, glue it in place on the back to help keep it in place. Then, keep wrapping.
Once you like how it’s been wrapped, glue the end of the jute onto the back and trim off any excess. If you want to hang your sign, add a hanger.
Flip the sign back over and clip the mini clothespins onto the jute.
Now, you’ve got a cute place to display your holiday greeting cards and photos!
Did you enjoy this post? I’d love for you to pin it to your favorite pinterest board.
