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Christmas Tree Truck Sign Tutorial (plus tips to prevent bleeding)

Hi crafting friends!

And yay Christmas!!!

I’ve been getting requests to make this Christmas Tree Truck for quite some time and here it is! I LOVE how it turned out. So cute!!

This design is available as part of my Ultimate Christmas SVG Design Bundle, which can be found here: https://betterlifeblog.com/christmas or on Etsy: http://etsy.me/2yawaTk
It contains SO MANY CUTE DESIGNS. I am in love with this bundle and I hope you will love it too! Please go check it out and enjoy!! I promise, you won’t regret it! (Trust me, you could easily spend more at a trip to McDonald’s and this doesn’t make you feel icky afterward! Ha!)

Note: In the Christmas SVG Design bundle there are two versions of the Christmas Tree Truck – I used the Simple Version for this tutorial.

I get a lot of questions about this sign so here are some instructions and tips to help you make your own awesome sign! If you follow these steps, you will end up with a sign that has minimal or no bleeding!

Materials Used:

Instructions:

1. Prepare the Wood

So before I started painting, my awesome hubby Joe cut the piece of wood to the size I wanted (12″ x 16″) and sanded it REALLY well for a nice, smooth surface. Michaels also carries pre-cut wood. I would still sand it just to make sure it’s nice and smooth. He also used a tack cloth (just wipe the wood as if you were using a towel) to clean up any pieces of saw dust from the sanding and cutting so that the surface was nice and clean before I started painting it.

2. Paint the Base Coat

I did just one very thin coat of chalk paint. Once it is dry (which shouldn’t take very long at all), use a very fine grit sand paper like 400 and very gently sand the surface so that it feels very soft. You can use the tack cloth again to pick up any powder left behind.

3. Cut, Weed and Apply Oramask 813 Stencil Vinyl

I’m assuming if you’re on this page you already are familiar with the process of cutting and weeding. I used Oramask 813 Stencil Vinyl and used the same cut settings that I use to cut 651 Vinyl (Auto blade, speed 5, thickness 10). I reverse-weeded it so that I am actually removing the pieces that I want painted, thus creating a stencil.

I used some transfer tape to transfer the stencil onto the board. I like this kind of transfer tape because it has a grid which helps me align it properly to the board.

4. Apply a thin coat of Mod Podge

This step creates a barrier between your stencil and the board and prevents bleeding. I just used the standard Matte version of Mod Podge. Again, keep it THIN. You do not want globs of anything when you are making signs — it just takes longer to dry and it will pull up some of the paint later on so be careful. You do not need to wait long for this to dry. Once I finished applying the Mod Podge I was ready to begin applying the paint back at the top.

5. Apply Chalk Paint

I used a makeup sponge to dab the small amounts of paint on gently. Again, try to avoid using more paint than is necessary.

6. Remove Vinyl Carefully

I remove the Stencil vinyl shortly after painting. I pull it off carefully before it’s too dry so that it doesn’t pull up the paint along with the Stencil.

The sign could easily be considered finished at this point BUT if you want to add lights you should keep reading!

7. Adding the Lights

You want to measure the size of your light heads and find a drill bit that is not too big and not too small. But instead find one that is “Goldilocks” style — a.k.a. JUUUST RIGHT 🙂

I used a pencil to mark where I wanted my husband to drill the holes. I chose not to use all 20 of the lights, I actually ended up with one dead light so it was a good thing I didn’t use them all so that I was able to switch out the dud with a working light.

Joe and I worked together on the back side – we just used a glue gun to secure the lights to the back of the board. The battery pack also had a hole so we drilled it onto the back. I also kept the battery pack on the bottom half of the sign so that it weighs down the sign (rather than putting it in the center or on top). I may frame this sign, and if I do I would probably add some extra space in the back to compensate for the bulk and to allow for easy hanging.

Well, that’s it! I hope you found this tutorial useful. Don’t forget to check out the Christmas SVG Design Bundle on Etsy and sign up for my newsletter where you’ll get access to FREE files (yes really free!) and tips from me!

Have a wonderful and blessed Holiday season and Happy Crafting!!


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