Countdown to Christmas with this Easy DIY Christmas Countdown Sign made with wood, acrylic paint, and Cricut materials!
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The countdown to Christmas has officially begun and it's time to take on the holidays like a boss! In between working on my holiday to-do list, I've been working on some DIY decorations for our house.
Years ago, I made a simple Christmas countdown sign with a piece of scrap wood and paint. I painted a small square with chalkboard paint and added some simple holiday embellishments.
I'm pretty sure I still have that countdown somewhere, but I wanted to make a larger, updated version using my Cricut Maker and vinyl.
So I grabbed a piece of scrap wood from our basement and cut it into a 9"x14" rectangle. Then, I filled in some holes with wood filler, sanded it down, and painted it a bright shade of red.
Then, I designed a Santa belt inspired Christmas countdown design in Design Space. I cut my design out of white shimmer vinyl, forest green vinyl, gold vinyl, and chalkboard vinyl, applied it to the painted piece of wood, and started my countdown!
Easy DIY Christmas Countdown Sign
This is such a cute Christmas countdown that's so easy to make! And unlike those wonderful little chocolate calendars, you'll be able to cherish this countdown sign for many years to come!
Once you've chosen and cut the piece of wood you want to use for your sign, paint a base coat of white on each side. Then, paint the wood red. Depending on the paint you use, you might need multiple coats to get a solid looking color.
Now comes the fun part! Open the design file in Design Space. It's all set and ready to cut! You might need to resize if you're using a different sized piece of wood. If not, start prepping your mats and continue to cut each element from each different color vinyl.
Once all of the design elements have been cut, we can start putting our countdown sign together! Use Transfer Tape to stick each vinyl cutout in place. Some designs might be small enough to peel and stick without tape. That's totally your call!
If necessary, use an X-acto knife to trim any excess vinyl from the edges. Then, test out that chalkboard vinyl with a white piece of chalk and display your new Christmas countdown sign!
SUPPLIES
- Cricut Maker
- 9"x14" piece of wood
- Sandpaper
- White acrylic paint
- Red acrylic paint
- Christmas Countdown Sign Design Space File
- Chalkboard vinyl
- Silver shimmer or white vinyl
- Wine or cranberry red vinyl
- Forest green vinyl
- Gold vinyl
- Transfer Tape
- StandardGrip Mats
- Weeding tools
- White chalk
STEPS
- Paint the front, back, and sides of the wood white. Allow the paint to dry completely.
- Once all sides of the wood have been painted white, begin painting the wood red. You may need to paint multiple coats to achieve a solid red color. Allow the paint to dry between coats.
- Open the Christmas Countdown Sign file in Design Space. If necessary, resize the design elements to fit your piece of wood.
- Then, prepare StandardGrip mats with each color vinyl and continue to cut each element.
- Once everything is cut, weed the vinyl. Then, carefully use Transfer Tape to apply the vinyl to the painted piece of wood.
- Display the sign and start your Christmas countdown!
I have my sign sitting on a shelf in our living room. But you could attach hardware to the back of it for hanging. This would even make a nice handmade gift that someone can enjoy year after year!
Did you make this Easy DIY Christmas Countdown Sign project? Share it on social media using the hashtag #holokahome. Don’t forget to tag me @holokahome!
