How do I Create Free Custom Signs?

Creating a custom sign is a great way to advertise your services.

Creating a customized sign can be a cost effective marketing tool. There is minimal cost for the supplies, and you can customize the sign for your specific need. Custom signs can be created for personal, business or educational purposes. By creating your own custom sign you have a one-of-a-kind basic marketing tool for your sign needs.

Things You'll Need

• Adhesive vinyl paper
• Paper cutter, scissors or Xacto knife
• Color printer
• Color ink
• Sign board
• Card stock
• Acrylic paint
• Banner paper or large board paper
• Stencils
• Ruler
• Pencil
• Spray paint
• Fat-tipped marker
• Chalkboard paint or dry erase board paint
• Wood, metal or glass (Chalkboard sign)
• Sandpaper (Chalkboard sign)

Instructions

Vinyl on Sign Board

1. Design your sign on paper. Measure your sign board to determine what size lettering or numbers you need as well as the size of any pictures or shapes you will use.

2. Prepare your sign board by creating guidelines for your pictures and any letters or numbers using a ruler and pencil. Draw a line from one end of your sign board to the other end to create your guideline for your pictures, letters or numbers. Draw as many guidelines as you need. You can draw boxes or rectangles as a guide to lay out any pictures you have.

3. Find or create your sign pictures or shapes to use as stencils (i.e. rectangles, hexagons or triangles). Find or create letters and numbers for your signs to use as stencils.

4. Print your sign pictures or shapes using your colored ink and printer onto your vinyl paper. Print your letters or numbers.

5. Create your stencils by cutting out your sign pictures or shapes using a paper cutter, scissors, or Xacto knife. Cut out your pictures, letters or numbers by cutting out the inner lines and then cutting the outer lines of your image. This will create an opening in your paper the shape of your image. These will be your stencils for the project.

6. Peel your sign pictures or shapes and stick them to your sign board using your guidelines. Peel your sign letters and numbers and stick them to your sign board using your drawn guidelines.

Acrylic Paint on Paper

1. Create guidelines on your banner or large board by using a ruler and pencil. Measure a border around your paper.

2. Find or create custom letters or numbers for a stencil. Find or create sign pictures or shapes.

3. Print your letters or numbers on your card stock. Use card stock instead of regular paper so that there is minimal bleeding of the paint.

4. Lay your sign picture stencil or shapes stencil on your banner/large board paper and paint the inside of your stencil opening carefully onto your paper. Use a small amount of paint to start and add more so there is minimal bleeding of the paint past your stencil.

5. Let your sign dry.

Spray Paint on Sign Board

1. Create guidelines on your board using a ruler and pencil. Measure a border around your sign.

2. Prepare a flat surface to spray paint. Lay down newspaper, plastic garbage bags cut at the side seams to open the bag, a tarp or mover's blankets.

3. Find or create sign pictures or shapes for stencils. Find or create letters or numbers for stencils.

4. Print your stencils onto card stock.

5. Lay your stencils on your sign one at a time. Tape your stencils down using painter's blue tape so that your stencil doesn't move. Using painter's blue tape will enable you to remove the tape and stencil without peeling off your sign board.

6. Lay your sign board with your taped stencil down onto your prepared flat surface.

7. Spray your spray paint onto your sign board. Follow the instructions on the spray can for best results.

Chalkboard Sign

1. Sand your wood, metal or glass surface. Sanding down the wood will make it smoother, while sanding metal and glass will make the surface rougher. Sanding down the metal or glass will enable the paint to adhere to the material instead of sliding off it. Brush off the dust created by your sanding.

2. Paint the chalkboard primer onto your sanded surface. Let your primer dry.

3. Paint your chalkboard paint onto your primed surface. Follow the drying time as stated on your paint can.

4. Write in your letters or numbers using chalk. Draw pictures for your signs using different colored chalk.

Fat Tipped Marker Sign

1. Draw guidelines on your sign board, banner paper or large board paper using a ruler and pencil. Draw a border for your sign.

2. Find or create sign pictures or shapes for stencils. Print your sign pictures or shapes onto card stock. Find or create letters or numbers for stencils. Print your letters or numbers on card stock.

3. Cut out your sign pictures, letters and numbers using a paper cutter, scissors or an Xacto knife.

4. Lay your stencil down on your sign board and color in your stencil with your fat tipped permanent marker. You can use different colored fat tipped permanent markers.

Tips & Warnings

• Large board paper is over-sized paper that is sometimes called bulletin board paper.

• You can use the chalkboard paint as the base paint after you paint your primer for both magnetic and dry erase board paint.

• For thicker chalk lines, use the side of your chalk. You may need to break your chalk to fit your stencil.

• You can purchase many of the supplies at office supply stores or online.

• Using colors that can be easily read such as black, blue or red may be a choice for outdoor signs that will need to stand up to the weather. A lighter color may fade faster making it harder to read the sign.

References

• My Safety Sign: Custom Safety Signs
• Thrifty Fun: Craft Project: Thrifty Custom Painted Signs
• Spray Paint Stencils: Free Stencils to Download
• Benjamin Moore: Chalkboard Paint