You guys I’m pumped to be writing my first DIY post of 2017!?today I thought I bring you a post that’s long over due and has been highly requested, which is of course my farmhouse quilt block tutorial! These quilt block farmhouse signs originally appeared in my darling little lady Portlynn’s nursery which can be seen HERE, before we even knew she was a girl. I dressed that room up top to bottom and we waited till delivery to find out girl or boy?!

You guys I was CONVINCED she was a boy. This wasn’t my first rodeo she was baby number 4, and each time before twins (boys) and Scarlett (girl) I had this little “inkling” before hand and my mom-omemter was right each time about their genders! Granted we found out at the first three’s 20 week anatomy scans but I just new! and Portlynn was no different! Literally a few moments after peeing on the stick I just felt “BOY”. We had several sonograms throughout her pregnancy and each time the tech made sure to tell me how “obvious” the gender was and was like just let me know if you change your mind and want to know. A. you don’t ever tell a pregnant woman who is sitting on a table feeling like a beached whale covered in jelly that you could divulge the secret she is trying SO HARD to not find out! YOU DON’T DO IT. Fortunately and unfortunately for us we had quite a few sonograms (placenta previa sucks) and there were lots of little unwanted hints dropped that always lead me to believe that this baby was going to be a boy.

The real clincher was at my final appointment just a few day’s before I delivered. My doctor looks at my chart and then very casually asks: “so what are your plans for circumcision?” …Slow blink, um we don’t have any plans for anything at this point we don’t know what we are having!!! She played it off well just saying we should “be prepared either way” but I left the office and immediately called my husband and was like OK, that’s it this baby has a wiener there is no way this baby is a girl!

You see my husband was holding out for just ONE more girl to even up the ranks and even though I refused to admit it I was too. The real problem however was that 3 days before delivery and we had no idea what we were going to name this baby if it was a boy. I came home from that appointment and literally went through hundreds of boy names and finally the night before I went in we settled on a name! It was important to me that we had a name because if everything went according to plan I really wanted my husband to announce the gender by telling me that it was a ____ insert name of choice here.?We also had the conversation one last time that there was no way this baby would be a girl. Which we were still totally OK with, but peeved that the dang universe wouldn’t quit dropping HINTS ruining what we just wanted to be the ultimate surprise regardless if it was a girl or boy!

Delivery: As soon as the baby was delivered ?the nurse said “OK dad, look over and announce to the room what this baby is!” He looked over the curtain for what seemed like an hour and then stepped back, he shook his head and looked back over again. At this point I’m thinking the baby isn’t in the right position and he can’t get a good look. He finally looked at me and said completely astonished “its a Portlynn” my jaw hung to the floor and I immediately began to sob and couldn’t believe it. ?He went out with HER and they continued to work on me and I bawled my eyes out. My doctor eventually asked me if I was OK? and if I had been hoping for a boy? I told her no I thought this whole time it was a boy and I couldn’t believe it was a girl because deep down that’s what I was hoping for. She said OK, as long as those are happy tears you just carry on!

It was seriously such a sweet moment and I don’t think I have ever been that surprised in my whole life minus the time I found out I was having twins at 1 am but that’s a story for another day! It took ?a while for it to sink in, she came a month early, so she spent several days in the NICU. Every time I walked into that room and saw the little iscolet with the words “baby girl: Portlynn” on it I totally had to pinch myself!

Since decorating her room it’s been transformed into a guest room which you can see HERE?. Portlynn now shares a room with her big sister Scarlett. Who begged and pleaded to share with her!! They will be getting an updated room makeover sometime in the near future! ?Which will be fun because decorating a little girls shared room is sure to be magical right?!

Now for the Tutrial on how to make these quilt block signs!! for you convenience this post contains affiliate links

SUPPLY LIST:

• Wood (this is my favorite)
• Furring Sticks
• Silhouette design software (free to download)
• Silhouette Cutting Machine (note you can have an Etsy shop that sells vinyl cut you a design if a machine is not in your home or budget!)
• 631 Oracle Vinyl
• Transfer Tape ( I swear by this brand)
• Vinyl Scraper or old Credit Card (the actual one really is much more efficient)
• Matte Modge Podge
• Foam Paint Brush
• Foam Roller
• Matte White Paint
• Matte Gray Paint
• Xacto Knife or sharp tool to remove vinyl
• Foam Sanding Block
• Orbital Sander (optional)
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Hammer
• Nails
• Minwax stain ( I used Dark Walnut)?
• staining cloths ( I like to use an old t-shirt)

Video Tutorial

This is for those that like to see things happen in real time!! be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more DIY and Decor Videos!

STEPS TO MAKE YOUR QUILT BLOCK SIGN

Once you have gathered all your supplies you are ready to get started! The first thing I did was open up my silhouette design software and create the quilt block designs I wanted to turn into signs. I did this by using squares cut diagonally and made into triangles then using the grid feature to create the designs you see below. The sky is the limit when it comes to designing your sign

Now that you have your designs make sure that you have measured the size of your wood and know what size you want your sign to be. For the sake of making life easier I made my signs 11.5 inches so they could easily fit on the Silhouettes 12″ cutting system. I made a square boarder around the designs that I also cut so that it would line up with the edge of my wood and fit perfectly in the center without having to eyeball it or use a measuring tool. Then I cut it out on my Silhouette Cameo 3 onto Oracle 631 vinyl and let the machine do all the work!

Once the designs had been cut, I then weeded away the design portion creating a stencil to make my sign. I used an Xacto knife to do this to make it easier.

Once the designs were ready I used my favorite transfer tape and applied it to the front of all my templates.

Next I prepared my wood by sanding any of the rough edges and used a foam roller to paint the background with a white matte paint.

Next I used my vinyl scraping tool to really press the vinyl down. You can also use a credit card for this.

Then I took the cardstock backing off of my vinyl so that the actual vinyl itself lifted off with the transfer tape.

Here is what it should look like once the backing is off. Be sure to keep the sticky side up so it doesnt pull off onto the surface you are working on.

Next I flipped my template over and placed it sticky side down onto the painted wood sign. Using the edge of my design as a guide so that it was centered.

Once I had my design centered, I used my vinyl scraping tool agian to really press the vinyl onto the wood board.

Once the vinyl had been pressed down really well, I remved the transfer tape slowly pulling it back

PRO TIP: pull the transfer tape back as close to the wood as you can and it will come off much easier without pulling the vinyl with it.

Next, I used my foam paint brush to apply a light layer of matte modge podge to the inside of the stencil, focusing on the edges. This step will seal the stencil so that when you go in with your actual paint color it doesn’t not leak underneath the design ensuring you have nice crisp edges! ?(you don’t want to skip this step)

SECRET TIP: if you don’t have modge pods simply do another layer of your background color instead!

Let your layer of modge podge dry completely and then go in with the color you want your quilt block to be! I used a warm medium gray color. Apply one to two coats making sure to keep your strokes nice and smooth

PRO TIP: if you want a really smooth even finish use your foam roller for the last two steps!

Let the paint dry completely and then remove the vinyl! Use an Xacto knife to get up the smaller peices easier!

Farming! I start by staining my furring strip pieces a few days in advance so the stain has time to cure. I used Minwax in the color dark walnut. Using your sign as your template use your pencil to mark the size of your top and bottom pieces. Nail them on and then measure the remaining two sides, cut and nail on. Use your Foam sanding block to distress the edges of your sign if you choose and smooth out the frameing pieices as well!

Here is what it looks like when you are all done!!! Pretty simple right?!

I made an entire collage of quilt blocks for Portlynns nursery and still get questions every week about them almost 2 year later! This is such a fun way to decorate a space and really give it that soft cozy farmhouse feel. Shiplap walls also help too!

I really hope you enjoyed this tutrual and found it helpful! I cannot wait to see what you create with this process! be sure to tag me on Instagram if you do! I’d love to see your finish products!!!

XO Haley