Bring a little of that beach feeling into your home by making some rustic looking beach signs. We will show you how to turn regular wood into weathered looking beachy signs perfect for your coastal themed home.
Ideal for bathroom decor or any part of your home that boasts that beautiful coastal decor look!
Weathered Beach Signs
Spring break has come and gone and many people hit the beach during this time of year. We come back home with a bag of seashells, a collection of sea glass, the sound of the ocean waves crashing in our ears, and the smell of warm, summery air in our nostrils.
RELATED: See how you can use your collection of sea glass to make this beautiful sea glass planter for your summer flowers or potted plants!
These beach signs are just simple slats of wood you can buy at the craft store. Mine actually started out with the distressed primitive look, I made them when I still had my craft store back in 2003. They definitely needed updating, so I sanded them down as much as I could before getting started.
What You’ll Need to Make Weathered Beach Signs
I originally made this beach signs project for JoAnn Fabrics via DecoArt. I used the following supplies:
Supplies:
Americana acrylic paints
Americana actually has quite a few new colors that are very beach-worthy as well, so I’ll be using some of those in the future.
First I gave them all a coat of Cool White and let them dry.
Then I painted each one with the different colors noted above.
I used Word to create the words surf, relax, beach and sand. If you don’t like the fonts that I chose, you can certainly make your own! If you like them, the Word pattern file is in the printable instructions below. Trim the words and place them on the slats.
Use a ballpoint pen, or a stylus if you have one, to trace around the words, pressing firmly to create indentations in the wood below.
This makes it a lot easier to paint your letters!
Use a liner brush to fill in the letters with Cool White. Note: You could probably use a white painter’s pen to do this too!
Dry brush some streaks across the surface with a wash brush.
Then do some sanding to create that weathered look. Sand lightly in some areas and harder in others.
You can see that I have sanded through some of the lettering as well as exposing the wood in the corners and on the edges.
It’s totally up to you how much you expose.
When you’re done sanding, brush them off really well so there’s no sanding dust left on them. Spray them with acrylic sealer in a matte finish.
I used wall putty to hang mine, but you could certainly attach a picture hanger to the back.
Here are some close-ups at different angles:
These would also be fun attached to a spike and placed in the yard or on the porch!
If you like these signs, you will love this coastal themed Clay Pot Lighthouse project, this Twig Coastal Wreath, our DIY Driftwood Signs, or this fun Coastal Striped Fish Decor.
Weathered Beach Signs
Supplies
- 4 – 7” x 3” wood slats
- Flat paintbrush
- liner paintbrush
- Toothpick
- Pattern for fonts
- Sandpaper preferably a handheld power sander
Americana Paints:
- Buttermilk
- Warm Beige
- Spa Blue
- Mint Julep Green
- Cool White
- font pattern
Instructions
- Paint wooden slats with Cool White paint.
- Paint each slat with a different color (Flesh Ton, Spa Blue, Mint Julep Green and Buttermilk).
- Use Word to create the words beach, surf, relax and sand or print out the pattern.
- Place each word onto a slat and trace the words using a ball point pen or a stylus, pressing firmly so as to create indents in the wood slat underneath.
- Use Cool White to paint the words.
- Dip flat paintbrush into Cool White and wipe off all of the excess paint onto a paper towel. You want to create a dry brushed looked, so lightly paint streaks across the surface of the slat.
- Sand the edges and lightly across the top of the slats to create a weathered look.
- Spray with an acrylic matte sealer.
This post was originally published on this blog on May 5, 2012.
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Cheryl Atkinson says
Hi Amanda! I just found your blog thru Andrea’s blog from The Cottage Market and i am so happy! I live in a Coastal city so i am a big fan of Coastal decor. I have a booth that i sell my projects so I am always looking for new ideas. Thank you for your inspiration. I am Pinning quite a few.
No Thanks says
I love this project but where can I get the fonts?
Amanda Formaro says
Hi there :) The font pattern link is in the printable instructions at the end of the post. But here’s the direct link for you https://craftsbyamanda.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Beach-sign-fonts.pdf
Pat O. says
Love these! I would never have thought to print out the lettering and trace around them onto the wood for the pattern; I would just have free-handed it–great idea!
Amanda Formaro says
So much easier!
Julie says
Hi! I love these but was just wondering what you mean by “do some streaks with a dry brush…”
Thanks!
Amanda Formaro says
Hi Julie ) Dry brushing is a technique that allows you to add a weathered look to something. Dip your paint brush in the paint, wipe off excess on rim of paint jar. The idea is to pounce the brush on a dry cloth to remove most of the excess paint so that when you brush across your surface you get streaks and lines instead of solid wet paint. Hope that helps!
Shelleen bowman says
I was wondering where you purchased your wood planks. The signs look great !
Amanda Formaro says
Oh my goodness, those are from soooo many years ago. I believe I got them from Michaels, but it was well over ten years ago. All craft supply stores have a section with wood and I believe they all have similar slats to these :)
Nan McDonald says
Love this!!
Amanda Formaro says
Thank you Nan!
Marcia Karnopp says
These are great! I love the idea but might change the words
to create a sign in my yard for:
welcome
cookies made by Grandma
garden
patio
Amanda Formaro says
Those would be fun Marcia!
Amanda Wulf says
This is so awesome! I live in the USVI right now so these are perfect for my decor!!!! Thank you for sharing these with us!
Amanda Formaro says
Thanks Amanda! I hope you have fun making them :)
Ana says
Where are the instructions?
Amanda Formaro says
Hi Ana. I’m confused by your comment. The blog post IS the instructions and there’s a printable version of the instructions at the end as well…
lesley kim says
what an amazing idea!! i cant wait to try this! =)
Amanda Formaro says
Thanks Lesley!
Mabel Watson says
Love this!!!! P
Amanda Formaro says
Thank you Mabel!
Penny Johnson says
LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! Thank you. I see where you listed the site to find the fonts, but when I “copy and paste”,I get an error message that the address is not valid. What am I doing wrong? Thanx so much…
Amanda Formaro says
Hi Penny! It should work fine now, sorry about that. If you still have trouble, email me amanda@craftsbyamanda.com I just moved my blogs to a private server and it may not be completely updated in your neck of the woods!
Georgia says
wow thanks a lot amanda! i’ve been looking for something like this for ages, but all the other methods were too hard! I’m wanting to transform my bedroom into a beach/nautical themed bedroom, so these are perfect. Thank you!
Amanda Formaro says
Glad you like them Georgia!
Ashton says
HI Amanda,
where did you get your wooden slats?
Also I cannot find the link to the fonts above that you mention. Can you tell me which ones you used?
How long do you let each layer dry?
Would sandpaper work alright, I don’t have a power sander?
Thanks!
Amanda Formaro says
Ashton, I am so sorry for the delay on replying to this! The wooden slats I bought at Michaels. The font link should now be fixed. I would allow for an hour between coats. Yes, sand paper is fine!
Peggy says
Wondering where the buttermilk comes in?
Amanda Formaro says
Hi Peggy! The buttermilk is the light color that looks like a pale yellow :) Hope that helps!
Jan says
Could I purchase the 4 signs I would pay for sipping as we’ll. thanks
Amanda says
I’m sorry Jan. I was contracted to make those through DecoArt. Anything they contract me for, I ship the finished craft straight to them.
brittany says
i loove this and im in the process of doing it but i realized the lettering isnt big enough and i tried editing the fonts and making them bigger but it wont let me is there anyway you can make it bigger and send me the link?? id appreciate it !
Amanda says
Hi Brittany. Just use the enlarge feature on your copier :) or printer.
Kim says
Love the signs and thanks so much for directions. Have been looking for a way to transfer! Just love your site and blog.
Amanda says
Thanks Kim!
julie says
genius idea on how to trasfer the letters! why have i never thought of that over the yrs!! love the signs and the fonts too!
Amanda says
Thanks Julie! Yes i’ve been using that method for years. Used to transfer whole patterns that way for tole painting :) but I used carbon paper to transfer it, so the indents just made sense!
ATasteOfMadness says
Wow, so creative! I love it!
Christine says
I love these! Can you tell me what fonts you used? I love the ones you picked but I need to use different words. Thanks!
Amanda says
Hi Christine! Here are the fonts in order of how they are listed on the PDF pattern :)
Baby Potato (MUST BE TYPED IN CAPS to render font)
Hecubus
harrison
English
Christine says
Thank you thank you!
Ramya says
Wow! This is such an awesome project…. The signs look so cool!!luv it..
Amanda says
Thanks Ramya!
Debra says
These signs are GREAT! I’m a sign person and a beach person and wish I was crafty.lol
Marie Vickers says
Hi came across this tutorial via Stumble – I love it! They look great – thanks for sharing this :)
Lauren @ The Well Crafted Home says
These are so cute! I love your blog! I am off to pin your wonderful project!
Maria says
What beautiful signs! Love the colors and the summery look! Reminds me of a beach house, just beautiful!!
Suzanne says
Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for sharing your super cute signs and tutorial!
Brenda @ a farmgirl's dabbles says
I’ve always wanted a beach house with beach signs!! Yours look great (and fun to do!).
Cookie 17 says
These are great Amanda look so easy ,thank’s for great project as usual,,Fantastic Job!!!,,,
Shelly says
What a surprise to find one of my very favorite pastimes.. making signs in my inbox. I never knew the trick w/ the ballpoint pen and the fonts on paper. I always did it free hand and ended up waisting as many signs as I made:) Happy! Happy Happy! Thank you Amanda!
Terri Betz says
These are stunning n expensive looking! Will be making these as soon as I can score some paints! TY Amanda!
carol says
Very very nice. Tute was done so well even I could follow without once stopping and saying “What”. Nice job just like everything you do. Thanks so much.
gail says
love your weathered beach signs amanda! :) they are great. Super tute too.
hope you’re having a great weekend!
gail
Amanda M. says
WOW! LOVE these so much!!
becky says
love these so very much!
Amanda says
Thank you Becky! :)