DIY Hello Sunshine Sign For Spring & Summer

Did you know that a sunny day is proven to lead to more happiness? It’s a fact, the brain produces more of the mood-lifting chemical serotonin on sunny days than on darker days.

As we sit right in the middle of Spring and stare down Summer as she fast approaches, hopefully, you’re getting some beautiful rays of sunshine.

Even if there is still snow where you are, this DIY hello sunshine sign will help you dream of the warm weather up ahead.

Since I work from home, it’s really important that when the sun is out, I get out of the house even just for a few minutes a day.

A breath of fresh air, a walk around the block, or even a trip to the grocery store does wonders for my mind. I definitely have to get out and say “hello sunshine”.

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I’ve been sitting on this amazing reclaimed wood for a while now and to be honest, I don’t even know where my hubby picked it up. But I knew it would make a perfect large sign for the front of our house.

You’ll have to excuse the horrendous exterior that you see in these pictures. There is definitely a reason that I haven’t shared many pictures of the exterior of our house. It is in desperate need of a painting job.

The good news is that we have that DIY project slated for later this Summer and can’t wait to share the whole process with you. It’s going to make a WORLD of difference. (UPDATE: See how our new exterior paint turned out here!)

Until then, just turn your little head and look the other way… ok maybe don’t look the other way. Just focus your attention on the beautiful DIY hello sunshine sign instead.

Watch our hello sunshine sign video tutorial below!

This Hello Sunshine sign tutorial contains affiliate links, but nothing that I wouldn’t wholeheartedly recommend anyway! Read my full disclosure here.

How to Make a DIY Hello Sunshine Sign from Reclaimed Wood

Step 1. Sand wood board.

If your wood board is as dingy as mine was you definitely want to give it a good sanding with a hand sander and a 100 grit sandpaper.

I’m all for keeping wood rustic normally, but you’ll have a much easier time applying the stencil and painting on a sanded surface.

Once sanded, wipe clean or blow off all of the sanding dust.

Step 2. Paint sign with 1st color.

This undercoat of paint will be the color of the letters. I chose to go with this fun shade of yellow.

When I was painting the sign, I left a small border around the outside of the wood board. I think it makes it look a little more rustic. Once painted, let dry (approximately 1 hour).

Step 3. Cut letters with Cameo

The design of the hello sunshine sign is to have a small sun in the top left corner of the sign with “hello” written in it and then have the letters “sunshine” coming down vertical in large block letters. I used shelf liner to make my stencil with my Silhouette Cameo.

Cameo Settings for “hello” letters

• Font: Playlist Script
• Font Size: 200
• Material Setting on Cameo: Vinyl

Cameo Settings for “sunshine” letters

• Font: Century Schoolbook
• Font Size: 350
• Material Setting on Cameo: Vinyl

You definitely want to adjust the size of the letters according to the size of the wood board you are using.

Step 4. Mark the middle of your sign.

I measured the width of the sign and made a few marks with chalk down the middle of the sign. This helped serve as my guide when I was applying the letters.

Or you could just wing it, but winging in and paint never tends to work out for me. Hehe.

Step 5. Apply “sunshine” letters on wood sign.

Leaving about 7 inches at the top for the sun shape, you can apply your “sunshine” letters going vertically down the board spaced out evening. Yes, you may need to get the measuring tape out and do some math here. It won’t kill you, I promise.

Be sure to push the letters on to the sign hard. You’re going to be painting over them, so this helps prevent the paint from bleeding.

(UPDATE: Since I made this hello sunshine sign, I’ve figured out a full proof way to prevent stencil bleeding, read all about it here).

Step 6. Paint over letters with your 2nd shade.

You will paint the entire sign with the 2nd shade of acrylic craft paint. I used this shade of orange.

When you’re painting over the stenciled letters, I try to paint away from the sticker using a foam brush and start with a light coat of paint.

This (along with pushing the letters on hard when you apply) tends to help with the bleeding through the letter. But, it may bleed a little. Once painted, let dry.

Continue painting the rest of the wood sign with the 2nd paint shade. I left a small border around the outside so that you can see the lighter shade poking through.

To paint the rest of the reclaimed wood sign, I used an old bristle paint brush rather than the foam brush.

Step 7. Paint sun shape in top left corner.

I used chalk to make my guide lines for the sun in the top left corner of the sign. For the circle, I traced a dinner plate and then I drew the rays of the sun by hand.

Before you start painting the sun, be sure to put down your letters for “hello” in the middle of the sun. Again, press the letters down hard because you’re going to be painting over them.

Use the 1st shade of paint (in my case, yellow) to paint the sun. You may need to do 2 coats. Once painted, let dry.

Step 8. Peel off letters.

This is the fun part because the whole hello sunshine sign starts coming together. After everything is dry, you can peel off the letters.

There are some tools that are made for the Cameo that can help with this. Or you can just use your nails or a tweezers if you’re having trouble getting the letters to come up.

Step 9. Lightly sand.

Because I was going for a rustic look, I gave the sign a very light sanding. This also helps if you had any bleeding on the letters, which is usually pretty light if you follow these steps.

Step 10. Spray with clear coating.

Take your pretty ‘lil sign outside and give it a good coating of UV Resistant Clear Coating. I sprayed it about 5-6 times.

This DIY Hello Sunshine sign has me SO ready to welcome the wonderful Summer months.

I love that this reclaimed wood sign is so simple to make and it adds so much cheer to the front of our home.

Can’t wait to get the exterior painted later this year. This sign will really POP on the new paint color we have planned.

So whether you are basking in the sun today and saying hello to the sunshine or you are sitting inside staring at the rain fall, I hope this easy DIY hello sunshine sign for Spring and Summer brightens your day!

And remember, when the sun is out – be sure to take a few minutes and go outside and say hello to that sunshine! It’s good for your brain!

How to Make a Hello Sunshine Sign

Yield: 1 Sign

Active Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 2 hours

Difficulty: Intermediate

Estimated Cost: $10

Brighten up your Spring or Summer Hello Sunshine sign made with reclaimed wood! This easy DIY wood sign is quick to make and affordable, colorful decor.

Print

Materials

• Reclaimed wood board
• Adhesive shelf liner 
• 2 different colors of acrylic craft paint
• Chalk
• UV Resistant Clear Coating

Tools

• Hand Sander
• Silhouette Cameo
• Foam paint brush
• 100 & 220 grit sandpaper

Instructions

1. Sand wood board.
2. Paint sign with 1st color.
3. Cut letters with Cameo.
4. Mark the middle of your sign.
5. Apply ''SUNSHINE'' letters on wood sign.
6. Paint over letters with your 2nd shade.
7. Paint sun shape in top left corner.
8. Peel off letters.
9. Lightly sand.
10. Seal sign.

Did you make this project?

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