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Y’all know how I love me some personalized decor. You also might remember that we moved into a new house last year, and I’m still trying to make it ours. Being pregnant and having a newborn plus a feisty three-year-old really puts a damper on your interior decorating time.

Now that I’m no longer suffering from all-day morning sickness and our newest little man is out of the super needy newborn phase, I finally have some time and energy to get my craft on again!

Here’s my latest creation: a family birthday sign that has a rustic farmhouse vibe! It includes the birth dates of my husband, myself, as well as our two little boys. It’s definitely one-of-a-kind, just like our family.

Rustic Farmhouse-Inspired Family Birthday Sign

Supplies

Sanded wood board
Dark wood stain, disposable gloves, & paper towels
Silhouette Cameo & 12″ x 24″ cutting mat
Birth date stencil (cut out of Oramask 813 stencil film)
White spray paint
Steel wool & sand paper
Light brown furniture wax & rag
Twine

My Sign Mockup

Since I’m in love with my Silhouette Cameo and use it ALL. THE. TIME. in my crafting pursuits, I created my design in Silhouette Studio so it could be cut out in some stencil film. No free-handing here!

I wanted the font to be very basic and justified so all the elements (especially the periods) would be aligned, and Bodoni 72 worked out perfectly.

The tan lines in my mockup represent the twine that I would wrap around the finished sign, similar to the ‘Love & Shenanigans’ farmhouse sign I made last year. I just love the texture and color it adds.

To avoid recreating the wheel, I’ll spare you all the details on how to use Oramask 813 stencil film with a Silhouette, but be sure and check this post out if you want to learn all the juicy bits. It’s pretty amazing stuff for making signs.

Prepping the Wood Board

Now that my design and stencil were ready, it was onto the board! I first gave it a good sanding until it was as smooth as my little boys’ bottoms, and also rounded the corners some….this is a rustic farmhouse sign, after all, so old and worn is the name of the game.

Next, a couple coats of dark stain were applied. I went with my favorite go-to color: Jacobean!

Applying the Stencil

Once the stain was fully dried, I applied the stencil so I could get on with the painting. As you can see, it’s really a reverse stencil since I’d be painting the whole thing white, then removing the film to reveal the stained dates.

Some clear transfer tape made the stencil application a breeze….and I did a little happy dance after I saw that it was centered and even on the board! Woot!

Painting the Sign

Next up came the painting! A couple light coats of some white spray paint did the trick.

Removing the Stencil & Distressing the Board

Before the paint dried completely, I grabbed my handy dandy craft tweezers and started removing the stencil pieces. Those crisp, clean lines sure know how to make a crafty gal smile, I tell you what.

After everything was completely dried, I got to distressing the board with some sandpaper and steel wool, then added some light brown furniture wax. This was to tone down the bright white paint and also to add a nice finishing touch to the sign.

(And I apparently forgot to snap a pic of all this…whoops!)

Then the last step was adding the three strips of twine between all the birthdates. And with that, our family birthday sign was complete!

Our Completed Farmhouse-Inspired Family Birthday Sign

My love of personalized decor continues to grow (despite my husband’s persistent grumbling….he just doesn’t get it), and this sign is a great addition to our home.

Instead of having our names or wedding anniversary like most of the other pieces I’ve created (and you can check them out in my Project Gallery), having all four of our birthdates proudly displayed on our wall is another unique way we’re making our house OUR home. And I just love it.

This sign is now hung up on a mini gallery wall between our kitchen and hallway, and as soon as I finish styling the table underneath it (I’m so terrible at styling), I’ll share pics and all the details!