Sorry it’s been so long! I have lots of projects to share, but they are all half-finished and/or not photographed! D’OH!
Anyway, I decided to share a “how-to” on my country signs since a few people have asked me how I make them. I recently made this sign for a lady at the co-op and decided to show you a step-by-step of the process.
Finding pre-weathered or barn wood is ideal. Since I can never find it, I just buy these pre-cut boards at Lowe’s. Use whatever kind of wood you’d like! Paint the board the base color you’d like and sand down to your liking.
For the letters, I use this heavy body acrylic paint. It’s wicked expensive but a little goes a long way, and I use it for tons of projects. It works great on the signs! Use a basic sponge for applying the letters.
Foam stamps usually come like this. Don’t try to tear them down the perforated edges- I have ruined stamps this way. Cut them!
Lightly moisten the sponge. Ring out all excess water…you don’t want it wet; just “pliable.” Dab in your paint and tap off the excess.
Carefully dab the foam letter surface with the sponge. This process goes quickly. You have to do it this way or else way too much paint gets on the stamps. Dipping the stamps directly into the paint will result in waaaay too much paint on the stamp surface, and squish out the edges when you press on it. Trust me!
Line up the edges of the letters with your other letters by looking down the side of the stamp and eyeball it. I don’t lay it out ahead of time…though I probably should! If you mess up, quickly use a damp paper towel to wipe off the letter that you messed up. It comes right off if you do it quickly, so you can re-do/re-position that letter and try again! *Note- that only works with smooth wood that’s been spray painted like the one shown here…it probably would not wipe off of an uneven surface easily, so just be careful!*
Press down evenly, and pull directly up, so as not to smear it!
Once done stamping, I like to immediately wash my stamps off in the sink to get the paint off before it dries. Use running water and just rub/wipe the paint off and lay on a towel to dry.
Once the sign is dry, use a gel stain or regular stain to “distress.” I use the gel stains because they are not as messy and sticky to deal with. Wipe off the excess with an old rag. Sand more if you’d like. Make it as old and distressed looking as you’d like!
The imperfections are what make these signs great, and one-of-a-kind!
The other one I made for her…
Here are some other signs I have made using foam stamps.
Well that’s it for now. I hope this tutorial was helpful! As always, I’d love to see pix if you try to make these! Signs are fun and make great gifts…give it a whirl!!! 
