DIY Buffalo Checked Cabin Sign with Live Edge

February 06, 2019

The other day I was wandering around our local Menard's Home Improvement Center, and I spotted these 23" Basswood Country Planks with live edge (or bark on the sides).

Tables with live edge have become very popular. I think I will make a sign.

(When you click on the bold Amazon, Old Sign Stencils or Dixie Belle Paint Company affiliate links you will be taken to the products I use for this project. If you order it does not change the price or service at all. As an Amazon Affiliate, Old Sign Stencils Affiliate or Dixie Belle Paint Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)

First I taped the live edge off with FrogTape Painter's Multi-Surface Tape. I didn't want to get any paint on the live edges.

After it was taped, I brushed on two coats of Fusion Mineral Paint in Coal Black.

I then positioned my *Old Sign Stencils Buffalo Check stencil on the diagonal on my board and taped it down with blue painter's tape.

I stenciled the checks using DecoArt Chalky Finish Paint in Rouge.

I stenciled two coats over the black.

I then pulled out my Cabin Resort stencil from the Old Sign Stencils Getaway Collection.

*Old Sign Stencils provided me with complimentary samples.

All opinions about these fabulous stencils are my own.

This stencil collection is so perfect for Minnesota, the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

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I centered the stencil on my board and taped it in place.

I used Ceramcoat Acrylic Paint in Light Ivory to stencil the lettering.

I very lightly sanded the lettering with 220 grit sandpaper, and I sealed the paint and stencils with a light coat of Dixie Belle Best Dang Wax in Clear. I applied it with a wax brush in a circular motion.

I usually apply the wax with a paper/fiber rag but the wood was too rough sawn to use a rag.