2 in 1 DIY stained wood sign with vinyl designs and target game for kids to play on the other side

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Make this beautiful 2 in 1 Stained wood sign for kids' bedroom using the step-by-step instructions below. This is my first time trying to make a stained wood sign, I have shared my experience of what worked and what did not work. You can see the full-making process in the video format attached at the end of the post. Check it out and now let's get to the making. 

Materials Used:

• 18" Round wood plank
• Wood stain - I used Minwax Wood Finish in Dark walnut 
• Sealer - Minwax Polycrylic
• Sandpaper
• Gloves for protection
• Old cloth for wiping the sand dust and staining
• Silhouette Electronic cutting machine
• Oracal 651 vinyl
• Transfer tape
• Craft knife 
• Parchment tape for template
• Felt in four different colors
• White paint for writing numbers
• Velcro dots with hook side
• Ping pong balls
• Cup hooks - 1 1/4"
• Chain - Decorative chain
• Wall hook for hanging the wood sign
• Drill 
• Popsicle sticks for stirring the stain and the sealer
• Foam brush for stain 
• Paintbrush with soft bristles for sealer

Design and Font details :

Shruti - Tragic Marker font 

Vijayakumar - Hefalo script 

Flower and leaf designs are from Persia Lou's free SVG flower cut file

The basic steps of staining and sealing the wood 

Step 1: Sanding the wood 

Sand the wood panel along the grain using sandpaper (220 grit is recommended and I used what I had on hand) and remove the dust by wiping the panel with an old cloth. 

Step 2: Staining the wood panel 

Open the stain can and give it a stir. Use a popsicle stick to stir the stain and make sure to wear gloves and have nice ventilation while doing this process. Use a foam brush and dip it in the stain and brush it onto the surface. Allow it to rest for five minutes.  

Use an old cloth and wipe the excess away. Allow it to dry. Wait for 2 hours and do the second coating if necessary. I wanted it dark, so I went with three coatings with intervals of 2 hours of drying time. Once the final coating is done, I let it dry for 24 hours before moving on to the next step. It is very important to allow the stain to dry for a day in order for the stain to cure properly before proceeding to the next step. Also, this step is super important if you are using a polyacrylic(Water-based) sealer on top of the oil stain. 

Ran out of foam brushes? Buy this -->

Step 3: Sealing the wood panel 

To seal the stain, I am used a polycrylic water-based sealer. This was a very difficult choice because everywhere I read, people suggested using Polyurethane if the stain is oil-based.  One thing that made me avoid using polyurethane was many people who have done it before said that the vinyl used on the top of the polyurethane coating starts to yellow over time. I don’t want this to happen as my wood sign’s main name is a white font and it is the highlight of the sign. Also, If I wanted to paint on the top I had to use oil paints which I don’t have any in my stash but I have a lot of acrylic and chalk paints which are water-based paints. So, I went with polycrylic as the topcoat or finish to secure the stain. 

To do this, use a bristle brush and follow the wood grain with light coats until the whole sign is covered. Allow it to dry for 2 hours. I did three coats and allowed it to dry overnight after the last coating before proceeding to the next step. 

What to use on the top of stained wood - paint or vinyl?

After reading many blogs, researching all over the internet, and reading people's experiences - The thought of vinyl yellowing overtime when placed over Polyurethane and top coated and some people said vinyl starts to peel off - all these comments stuck to mind, So,  I decided to try the paint for the designs first and if it is doesn’t work I thought I will have vinyl as a backup.

Painting on top of the stained and sealed wood sign:

To do this, you need to make stencils for the designs or use store-bought stencils. I decided I wanted to customize it to my niece's liking. So, I made all the designs Silhouette design software and cut them on Silhouette electronic cutting machine. 

I used Low tack stencil for cutting designs for a wood sign. I weed the design and pasted it onto the wood sign. Then used an old debit card to make sure the stencil is glued well to the wood sign. 

Then I used a stencil brush and multi-surface paints in dabbing motion to color the designs. I used 2 to 3 coatings of paint for all the designs. For more stenciling tips you can check my DIY Stenciled Canvas art.

In some places, the design came out perfectly but in other places, the paint started to peel off. 

I am assuming that the places where the paint peeled off are the places where the paint dried completely. But I couldn't say that for sure. And I didn't have time to figure out the reason. So, I switched the plan to plan B - using vinyl on top for the designs. Keep reading on what I did to cover the DIY fail. 

Use Vinyl to add beautiful designs on the stained wood sign: 

The design remains the same. It is just the material that is needed to change. So, this time instead of the stencil I using Oracal 651 vinyl to cut all the designs in my Silhouette machine. 

Once the designs are cut, Weed the extras using a craft knife or weeding tool, then use a transfer tape to transfer the design onto the wood. Use an old debit card to smooth the edges and go over each vinyl letter/design to make sure the vinyl is stick well onto the wood before removing the transfer tape to reveal the design. 

The wood sign is almost done. If you don't want the game side, skip to the screw attaching part. 

Don't have a Cutting machine? No worries. You can look for people who cut designs for you on Etsy or look for precut vinyl stickers or check this DIY birth stats canvas post for more ideas

How to create a Target shooting/throwing game on the back of the wood sign:

1. Trace the outline of the wood sign onto parchment paper to make a template. Then use the template and cut a piece of felt. I used pink felt and used this as an outer circle for the game. 

2.If you don't have a bigger size of felt join two 8.5" X 11" sheets using stitch or fabric glue. Then trace the template to cut the outer circle. Make sure to place the template after the stitch or glued part to get a perfect circle. 

3.Then fold the template into halves until you get a cone shape. Then mark 2" or 1" from the outer edge based on the size of your wood panel for your next circle. Cut the template and trace on to a different color felt(Green). Repeat this process until all of the circle for the game is done. 

4.Stitch the smallest circle(yellow) onto the next biggest circle(blue) using stitch or fabric glue. Then stitch this piece onto the next biggest circle(Green) and then green circle onto the outer big circle felt (Pink).

5.Glue the pink felt onto the wood sign using E6000 and hot glue. Allow the glue to dry. 

6. Then, use fabric or acrylic white paint and a size 0 brush to write the scores for the game board. 

Have plans for a lot of felt projects? Check the bundle below. 

Make the balls for throwing onto the target game board:

I used Ping pong balls from Dollar tree and used hook part of the velcro dots to make the balls. 

Simply stick the dots covering all sides of the ball to make this. 

I made 4 balls totally to play this game. 

How to make 2 in 1 Wood sign? What screws to use? 

To make sign 2 in 1, we need to use the thickness of the wood panel. So, I decided to use two cup hooks and a chain connecting the hooks to make a 2 in 1 wood sign. 

Drill small holes a few inches away from the center point on either side then use a cup hook and screw it into the hole. 

Make sure the cup part is facing away from each other. 

Cut the chain to the desired length and string it to the cup hooks and hang it onto the wall. 

We used an Ikea hook - Brogrund on the wall to hang the wood sign. 

Tada! The 2 in 1 Wood sign is now ready to decorate the wall as well as entertain the kids(& adults) with the Target shooting game side. Share your thoughts in the comments below. Do you like the idea of 2 in 1 wood sign? Have you done something like this before? Let me know. 

Check the video below for more information:

Other DIYs you might like: 

DIY Birth Stats Canvas from baby's first art

DIY Fluttering Butterflies

DIY multipurpose wall art