Make a Creative Garden Sign

Make a Creative Garden Sign

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Make a Rustic Sign

This DIY garden sign was made entirely from items found around the house. I’ve listed complete instructions below. I had nick-named our garden The Cardinal Cafe after watching masses of birds appear each time I put out fresh food, so I thought it was time to put a sign up and make it official!

Cardinal Cafe DIY garden sign project

The secret ingredient for the lettering is a roll of pre-twisted rush (used for making rush seats). I cut it to form the letters and attached it with upholstery tacks.

Supplies for DIY Garden sign project

Materials

• Wood board (I used an old piece of pine barn board)
• Pre-twisted rush
• (50) Upholstery tacs (black upholstery tacks on Amazon) – you may need more or less depending on which words you choose
• Cardinal decoration
• Twigs for the bird nest
• (8) Cup hooks (see them on Amazon)
• Garden decor – little watering can, doll-size garden bench, bird house, snowflakes, suet feeder. You may want eye hooks for hanging them on the cup hooks.
• (2) 1/2 inch wood screws (attached to back of sign for hanging) and picture wire
• (3) 1 inch wood screws (for hanging on fence)
• (4) nails (for holding the bird nest twigs in place)

Tools

• Scissors (for cutting rush)
• Hammer
• Screwdriver
• Pencil, measuring tape
• Level

Make a garden sign - free tutorial

Steps

After gathering your materials, the hardest part is deciding what you want the sign to say!

1. Pencil your saying on the wood. I used uppercase letters so there were minimal curves. Leave room for any decorations you want to attach (like the cardinal). If you make a mistake, just erase the pencil and start over.

Related: DIY garden art hose guards

2. Cut out the rush using your pencilled letters as a measuring template.

3. Attach the rush using upholstery tacs.

4. Attach the decorations. I used an upholstery tack to attach the cardinal. And tacks and nails to form a little twig nest.

5. There’s lots of ways to hang the sign. I used picture wire and two screws on the back.

TIP: I used 3 screws (each 6″ apart) on the fence to keep the sign from shifting around. Use a level to mark where you want them.

6. Attach cup hooks to the bottom of the sign. I put a bunch so I can hang a variety of garden trinkets throughout the seasons.

Make a decorative garden sign - free tutorial

7. Add garden trinkets. Right now I have a little watering can, a doll-size twig bench, a bird house, snowflakes, and a fresh batch of “unsuet suet”.

Healthy bird treat - free recipe

I make this bird treat from peanut butter, shelled peanuts, and birdseed (see how to make it here – it’s fast and easy and the birds LOVE it). Truthfully, it’s the peanut butter that attracts the birds from miles around. It’s amazing how that scent travels!

Free tutorial - make a garden art sign - Cardinal Cafe

I’ll be changing my sign decorations as the seasons go. I’m thinking about adding another little sign from the cup hooks saying “All you can tweet”. We’ll see.

~Melissa the Empress of Dirt ♛

Original article and pictures take empressofdirt.net site