DIY Pumpkin Patch Sign

I love fall! I start prepping in July (planting pumpkins, saving recipes), wishing the days away in August, and decorating on September 1. Yes, it is still scorching in Nashville, but a girl can hope, right?

As I get older, I get more nostalgic. I want the same memories for my kids as I had growing up. So I go ALL in for fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas! And that means decor.

Which brings me to this lovely little sign. I hate spending money on things I know I can make. I wander through stores creating personal challenges for myself. I know, I have a problem. I openly admit that. Well, I was walking through Hobby Lobby grabbing items for a different DIY, undoubtedly, and came across some gorgeous pumpkin patch signs. They were EVERYWHERE. And they were actually affordable, but remember how I said I like to go big? I decided I wanted a custom sign.

I googled, dug through Pinterest and scoured Etsy and gathered ideas.

HERE'S HOW TO MAKE IT

Materials:

• Sign, any size, but bigger is better

• Wooden letters, 3 types (your preference, but I used: Typewriter Wood Letters, Simple Sans Wood Letters and Custom wood words by KobasicCreations on Etsy) Make sure you buy enough letters! I had to buy two packages of the Hobby Lobby letters.

• Gorilla wood glue

• Masking tape

• Paint (white, orange, green)

• Small brush

• Pumpkin stencil

Find or make a sign

I actually made my wood sign several years ago when we renovated our house. It was the perfect wood because it was from an old shed. It just had this rustic, worn-in look. Anyway, you can also buy pre-made signs.

Find your inspiration

Mine was a mix of signs, but this tiny one from Hobby Lobby seemed like a doable option!

Lay out your wooden letters, then glue

This is an important step. Lay out ALL of your letters on your sign before you start gluing. Make sure everything is even and measured; glue away once you have your design.

Paint the letters

My wood sign is a darker brown so to give it some *pop*, I painted the tops of my letters white. Paint slowly so you don't catch the sides of the letters.

Paint the pumpkin stencil above the pumpkin patch letters

I did some online searching for a pumpkin image, printed it out and cut it out like a stencil. From there, I drew it on the sign and hand painted it. There are several ways to do this (looking at you Cricut users!).

Paint the details

I added an arrow, like the one on my tiny sign. I used masking tape to create a long thin line and painted a long white line. I hand painted the arrow head. You can also add other details to the sign, like EST. 2015, etc.

Hang your gorgeous sign, decorate around it and you're done!

Happy fall y'all!

-Drew