She's Crafty: How to Make a Tennessee Wood Sign

Have you ever been in a cute local boutique and seen a sign with your home state and wanted one of your own? I am going to show you how easy and inexpensive it is to make a Tennessee Wooden Sign that you can give as a gift or display in your home.

Easy to Make State Sign | use this tutorial to make a sign representing your home state | Tennessee State Sign

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There are a couple of boutiques in my area that have the most darling Tennessee signs. Usually when I see something I can make, I have a hard time buying it. So I have been meaning to make a Nashville, TN sign for a long time.

I am working on a basket for a silent auction (more to come on that) and it gave me just the boost I needed to do this project. It was so easy! I should have made one a long time ago. Well - this sign is actually being donated, so I still need to make one for my home. hmmmm.

Anyway... onto the tutorial!

How to Make a Tennessee Wooden Sign

Like most of my tutorials, this one is super easy! Since I am a ~~hoarder~~ crafter, all of these supplies were in my stash. But even if you had to purchase everything, this is a very low cost project.

Supplies needed for TN Wood Sign

1" x 8" x 18" piece of wood - can be purchased new or repurposed from another project
black vinyl
vinyl cutting machine
black and plaster chalk paint
weeding tool
sand paper
matte finish top coat

Instructions for making TN Wood Sign

Find a piece of wood in your gigantic stash in your garage. If you don't have a stash, you can go to the hardware store and have them cut a 1" x 8" down to 18" for you.

How to make a Tennessee wood sign from reclaimed wood

My piece was already painted black, but I was unsure what finish was already on the wood, so I gave it a coat of No Prep Chalk Paint. This chalk paint, purchased at Walmart, is my favorite one. It goes on smoothly, has good coverage, and dries quickly.

Use chalk paint to make a Tennessee wood sign

While waiting for the black chalk paint to dry, work on the vinyl design. I had previously purchased a TN design, so I pulled up the designing space in the soft ware of my die cut machine. Size it to fit the length of the wood. You can move the heart to anywhere on the state. I moved mine to the center, where Nashville is. Then cut the shape out of vinyl.

Use vinyl as as stencil to make Tennessee Wood Sign

Apply the vinyl to the wood piece. Smooth all of the edges down well, so paint doesn't seep underneath.

Paint the entire piece of wood, including over the top of the vinyl. Let it dry and give it another coat if needed.

Use weeding tool to remove vinyl from wood sign - Tennessee wood sign

Once the paint is completely dry, use the weeding tool to pick up a corner of the vinyl design and carefully remove the vinyl.

Distress the piece with sandpaper, giving the edges a little extra distressing, like would happen with natural wear and tear.

Distress the edges of Tennessee wood sign with sand paper

Wipe off the dust and top coat the piece with Satin Varnish. I like Dura Clear because it dries very quickly!

Use dura clear Satin varnish to top coat Tennessee Wood Sign

You can use Command Velcro on the back of the sign to hang it on the wall.

Making a Tennessee State Wood Sign is so easy! Maybe you can make some a sell in a cute boutique store! Let me know if you do!

How to make a Tennessee wood sign | Use this easy tutorial to make a Tennessee state sign to display in your home or give as a gift | She's Crafty

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