Rustic Stained DIY Plywood Monogram Sign
For our next tutorial in our #PlywoodPretty week (did you catch the first one yesterday?), we have our very talented contributor Colleen here to share with you a minimalist modern rustic plywood monogram sign:
Hello you lovely Remodelaholic readers! Colleen here, back again from Lemon Thistle (home to DIY, Hand Lettering & Home Decor) to share this super simple graphic plywood sign as part of Remodelaholic’s #PlywoodPretty challenge! I really love working with plywood and use it quite often for projects and signs in my home. I’m especially a fan of this really light birch plywood- it has such a modern, scandi aesthetic. Plus! It’s made for crafts so it is NO prep, which is a handy shortcut.
This plywood sign is super simple to make but I love how graphic and bold it is. I chose an ebony stain from Minwax for this one and I love how it contrasts the light birch while letting the beautiful wood grain show through. You could do a fancy script monogram using this technique as well- I chose a simple rustic S since I was making it for a little boy- the font I used is called True North and it’s one of my favourites for an imperfect sans serif. The wavy edges on the font is perfectly suited to this technique since it allows for some bleed. Craft plywood REALLY bleeds with stain. You can use a different type of plywood if you didn’t want a bleed (I’ve done a similar project with SPF and there was no bleed at all).
How to Make a Rustic Stained Plywood Monogram Sign
Alright… ready for the DIY instructions? Start by cutting yourself out a stencil. You could do this freehand, by printing out a letter then cutting out of vinyl or transfer paper OR you could do what I did and let a cutting machine do the work for you. I just added my S directly into Cricut’s Design Space and cut it out from there. Then, lay down your stencil on your plywood and make sure it’s smoothed down SUPER well.
Next, stain! The dryer you stain it, the less bleed there will be. If you want a darker color, like this charcoal- you’ll want to put it on a bit heavier- the trade off is the bleed. I actually really like how the bleed plays with the uneven edge of this font- it looks perfectly rustic to me! I used a rag (brush goes on even heavier!) to apply the stain and made sure to start my strokes on the stencil and wipe away from the edge to avoid build up and a dark line around the outside of the stencil.
When you’re happy with it, let it dry before peeling back the stencil to reveal your masterpiece! The craft birch plywood only comes in two sizes at my local craft store- 12×12 or 12×24. I knew I wanted it larger than 12″ square so got the 12×24 one and cut it to size afterwards. I just did this using a jigsaw with a fine blade- these are great for not chipping the more delicate plywoods like this. Give the cut edge a light sand (120 grit is great) and call it a day! If you got stain on any of the other edges and want an unstained edge (shown), just run your sandpaper over the stained edges to remove.
That’s all there is to it! I really, really love it in a vignette like this. I would love to see it displayed in a modern kiddos bedroom on a picture ledge as well. You could totally hang it in a gallery wall as well- I add sawtooth hangers to thin pieces like this using super glue and it works super well (pardon the pun) since the art pieces are so light.
See more wood projects at Lemon Thistle:
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Choose Kindness Plywood Wallhanging | Wooden Sign Painting Tips | How-to Foil on Wood Signs
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I'm the DIY and lifestyle blogger behind Lemon Thistle: home to DIY, hand lettering, home décor and design. I’m a mom to three kids under three, I love to entertain, and my awesome hubby and I are working our way through major renovations on our new home. I believe you can have a beautiful life, home, and party without spending a lot.
