Have you ever looked at your scrap pile of wood and thought, “I should just make something with that”? That’s exactly how this little project started. I had a rough, rectangular piece of junk wood—nothing fancy at all—and decided to turn it into a simple, inspirational prayer sign. The quote I used was:
“Don’t worry about anything, pray about everything.”
This project was quick, budget-friendly, and surprisingly fun to make. Let me show you how it came together!
Step 1: Starting with Junk Wood
The wood I used was pretty rough and had some chips on one corner. Instead of tossing it, I grabbed a little bit of wood filler and patched the corner. I didn’t even bother sanding the whole piece—the rustic, rough look felt perfect for this project.
Step 2: Painting the Base
The natural wood color just wasn’t working, so I painted the entire sign a simple tan color. It gave me a nice, warm base to work with and softened the rough look of the wood.
Step 3: Adding a Stenciled Design
I wanted a background design to give the sign more character. Instead of painting directly through the stencil (which always seems to bleed underneath for me!), I placed the stencil down and traced the design lightly with pencil. Then I went back over the lines with white paint and a steady brush.
At first, the crisp white on tan felt a little too bold. To fix that, I made a watered-down whitewash and brushed it over the entire design. This muted it just enough so it sat beautifully in the background without competing with the words.
Step 4: Creating the Quote
For the wording, I typed the quote into Google Docs, printed it off, and carefully cut out the letters with a craft scalpel. Then I mod podged the letters onto the sign.
The black letters looked good, but I wanted them to have more depth and warmth. So, I grabbed a metallic gold marker and traced over every letter. The gold gave it just the right amount of shine and texture.
Step 5: Finishing Touches
To tie it all together, I added a thin gold border around the entire edge of the sign. It gave the piece a polished, finished look. Finally, I attached hanging hardware to the back so it would be ready to display.
👉 I use this hanging hardware kit on Amazon and highly recommend it—it’s affordable and comes with everything you need.
The Finished Look
This little junk wood sign turned out far better than I imagined when I first picked up that rough scrap. I love the mix of rustic texture with the gold shine, and of course, the message is one I need as a daily reminder.
It just goes to show—you don’t need perfect supplies to create something beautiful and meaningful. Sometimes the scraps and imperfections make it even better.
Would you try making a junk wood sign like this? Let me know in the comments—I’d love to hear your ideas for inspirational quotes!
—Your Crafter
Dandychandee 