DIY: Love Sign Tutorial

by RiOak Western Design

This is a tutorial for a wood Love sign with hand sewn burlap flower. Hung in your bedroom or on that beautiful gallery wall, it is sure to be a great addition to any area. Customize the paint and burlap colors to match your home decor!

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To BUY beautiful love sign, click here

Materials you will need to complete this project as I have done.

Pine wood- 8" x 24" inches (you can go to any local home store such as lowes have them cut you a piece of pine wood for the size you are needing).

2 Colors of Acrylic paint- Board color and lettering color.

Burlap- I like the rolls you can get at Wal Mart or your local craft store. They are easy to work with.

Ribbon of Choice.

Large Button

You can either choose to use a sawtooth hanger or make a burlap hanger which will be shown in this tutorial.

Stencil of the letters, L. V. E. around 6" Tall.

Supplies you will need:

Tin Foil (or anything to put your paint on-I like Tin foil as you can fold it and reuse all sides and it is easy clean up).

Paint Brush

Make - Up Sponge or Stencil Brush

Thread and Needle

Staple Gun

So here we go! Let's Paint, always make sure to paint with the grain so you can have a nice smooth finish on your sign. Cover your sign with as much or little paint as you would like. I choose to leave some of my edges with the raw wood showing through as I like more of a rustic sign.

While your board is drying let's make the burlap flower. Cut a piece of this 4" burlap into a 26" strip .

Then you will cut this in half, length ways.

Fold over the end as shown in the picture about 3" inches.

Take from the middle and fold back to meet the end of your end.

The goal is to make your piece of burlap look like a plus sign as shown in the next picture, this is the bottom piece of your flower.

You will repeat this process with the next strip of burlap as well, that will be your top piece.

TIP: Make sure to put your scissors or something on top of your bottom piece so it stays put, trust me from experience it will unfold very quickly!

With your top piece you will take the end of the flower and fold it over one more time right in the middle.

Place this piece on top of your bottom piece. This will give you a full looking flower.

Now it's time to find that perfect button.

Sew your button and two pieces of burlap together with your needle and thread. Your flower is done and now it's time to paint again!

Stencil I am using is a 5mil mylar stencil that I cut with my cutting machine.

The LVE are about 6" tall. You can easily use a cricket to make your own stencils or check out some of those stencil makers OR live on the wild side and paint by hand!!

When stenciling you can use a make up sponge or stencil brush what ever you prefer. I am using a make up sponge for this tutorial. Here is that tin foil again!

Make sure you dab your sponge to get access paint off of your sponge...THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT to get those crisp lines!

Easy does it! I have done three light coats of white acrylic paint to achieve this look. You can go as light or dark with your colors as you prefer.

Now we are ready to attach our flower! I like to use an electric staple gun but if you don't have one handy get that hot glue gun out and attach your flower where the "O" should go.

I like my Stanley electric staple gun to attach items with.

Lift up the front pieces of your flower and staple the bottom down. This will hide your staple perfectly. Staple your flower top and bottom for a secure hold.

This next step you have two choices.

You can choose to use a sawtooth hanger or wire on the back of your sign or you can make a burlap hanger. I have chosen to make a burlap hanger.

To make the burlap hanger:

Cut a strip of your burlap around 28".

Fold Burlap in half length ways.

Measure about 1" in fold the ends under and staple 2 times for a secure hold.

You will do this on both sides of the sign.

Once your hanger is attached you will tie your ribbon onto the middle of your burlap hanger. You can have fun with different styles of ribbon to match your sign!

To BUY beautiful love sign, click here

AND Your finished! Your love sign is ready to hang in your home!

If you would like to use this as an outdoor sign I would recommend hanging on a covered porch or screened in door with a sealer of your choice applied to the sign. If you decide to add the sealer I prefer Valspar gloss spray and make sure to do this step before you apply the flower to the sign.

All materials can be found at Wal Mart or your local craft store.

I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial and please don't hesitate to ask any questions you may have!