DIY Fall Welcome Sign

Let’s talk about how to make a DIY fall welcome sign. Have you seen all those gorgeous huge welcome signs that everyone has on their porches and in other spaces where guests are welcomed into the home? I’ve seen these same types of signs at Home Goods, Hobby Lobby and Michael’s, but usually for not less than $30.

I almost parted with money for one, but then thought “well, I’ve got paint and wood and paintbrushes, so why not just make one?” And, so I did.it! And now I want to share my DIY Fall Welcome Sign project with you!

This post contains some affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase I may receive a small commission but at no extra cost to you! And I sure appreciate your support so I can provide more content and keep my site ad-free! You can read my full disclosure policy here if you’d like.

Project Supplies Needed

Large wide board or plank – I used a size 12 inch wide by 4 feet long MDF board from the lumber supply section of my hardware store

Chalk Paint

White Wax

Artist Brushes and Chalk Paint Brushes

Printed Letters from Canva.com in Size Desired

Printed artwork from Canva.com in Size Desired

Gator Hide Top Coat

Steps To Creating Your DIY Fall Welcome Sign

Step 1: Use Canva, photoshop, or Google Docs to print out your lettering and phrases

Because my board was so big, I wanted the Letters spelling out “Welcome” to be quite large and placed vertically down the board. I went onto Canva.com where I create all my pins for Pinterest and many of my graphics for blog posts and social media posts. Canva is super cool because of the wide range of things you can create using many fonts, phrases, and elements.

The options are endless on Canva. But don’t let that scare you away. You can keep it super simple. Canva offers a free membership or a Canva Pro membership. The free option will work for most folks.

Step 1 Part A

I chose to create a letterhead size design. Next I searched for the font I wanted. I chose a font called Lemonada Semi Bold. It’s one of my favorite fonts. I typed my first letter “W” in the text box and then just stretched it to fit the letterhead size. I printed a test copy to make sure it was the size I wanted. to determine the size of each letter, I measured the space vertically where I planned to place the letters and then divided by the number of letters. This determined the average height of each letter. Then I copied that page for each remaining letter, changing the text to finish spelling out “Welcome”.

Step 1 Part B

Next I found an element I liked. Canva is fun because you can search for an element in the search bar. So if you search “fall” or “pumpkins” it will pull up all of the elements that you could choose from. Some elements are free and some available only to Canva Pro users or for a small fee if not a Canva Pro user. I found two elements that looked simple to trace but really cute, a pumpkin graphic and a fall leaf. Once you find the element you like, size it to your needs and print.

Step 1 Part C

The last thing I printed was a phrase “It’s Fall Y’all!” I chose the font called Playfair Display for this phrase. I typed out that phrase and stretched to the size I needed and printed. This takes a little measuring, along with some guesswork and test prints to get the size you need for your project.

Canva Printed elements — These letters were for a different sign but they show an example of printed letters and phrases one per page from Canva.com

Step 2: Prime and Paint Your DIY Fall Welcome Sign Board

Next up is to paint the board. You can prime if needed, especially if you using white or light colored paint. I chose to paint a dark brown color, Dixie Belle Coffee Bean. This is one of my favorite paint colors for fall. It goes on to look like a nice dark stain. I applied two coats of paint. After the paint I applied a white wax, applying kind of roughly to look like dry brushing. I didn’t want a smooth finish but a more rustic look. If you are new to chalk painting you may want to review the basics of painting with chalk mineral paints.

MDF board cut to size desired for fall sign and then painted in brown paint

White Wax being applied to the brown sign before and after — I used a white wax on my base coat to give it a distressed variable look

Step 3: Apply a Clear Coat

It’s best to apply one coat of ClearCoat Sealer before you stencil. I am using Dixie Belle ClearCoat Flat. Therefore if you make mistakes you can more easily go back over and correct the mistakes. The Clear Coat makes corrections easier.

Step 4: Trace Your Letters and Elements onto the Board

Trace the letters and elements onto the Board. There are several ways to do this. The easiest is to use pencil and press down to outline the letters. this creates an outline on the board. Another way is to cut out the letters and elements and trace them that way. You can also create stencils to use if you have a Silhouette or Cricut. I don’t have one so I had to find another way to do it. Probably the most simple option would be to find and purchase stencils that spell out what you want and fit your project’s size needs.

Here is a great post that covers methods of transferring graphics to your furniture or sign board can be found at artsychicksrule.com.

Step 5: After tracing use Paint Pens or Artist Brushes and paint to trace the letters and elements.

Then fill in as you wish with the appropriate paint colors. I traced my “Welcome” letters with the paint pens and then used artist brushes and chalk paint to fill them in. For the phrase “It’s Fall Y’all” I used the paint pens alone to write out the phrase. The elements were a bit trickier but I just took my time and outlined first with paint pen and then filled in the with the paint colors using artist brushes. It takes some time but the outcome was worth it!

DIY Fall Welcome Sign says "Welcome" and "it's Fall Ya'll" showing the painted pumpkins and the leaf

How Easy It is To Make Your Own DIY Fall Welcome Sign!

It really is so easy to make your own DIY Fall Welcome Sign. So consider making one before you fork over big bucks for one at a store! And they don’t have to say Welcome. Your sign could say whatever you wish!

A few pointers about this project:

MDF borad is super cheap! That is why I chose it. It is a harder board though than an actual whitewood or pine board, so tracing with a pencil doesn’t show up as easily especially if you use a darker paint color on the wood.

It’s tricky to get the letter sizes right. Just test it out by measuring your space for your letters and print it out and see if it fits. If the letter fits then copy that element/page, changing the input text to spell the word or phrase you desire.

If you don’t like these methods of tracing, you can either free-hand your letters or you can find stencils in the right size. Same goes for the artistic elements like the pumpkins or leaves. You could also consider decoupaging pictures of artistic elements onto your sign board. Or another option is creating your letters with Cricut or Silhouette to make adhesive stencils.

If you plan to put your sign outdoors on your porch consider that it will get wet. I recommend that you seal it with a topcoat that is waterproof. I used Dixie Belle Gator Hide which is a good waterproof coating.

Those store bought signs are really nice, but it’s so rewarding and fun to make your own! So grab a board, some paint and print out some letters! Don’t by afraid to give it a try! If you need ideas, check out Pinterest for “porch welcome sign ideas”