DIY Thanksgiving “merry feast” sign

I really do love Thanksgiving. Kind of the perfect holiday to me and I have so many great memories associated with the big dinner (and the prep for it).

I wanted to come up with a project that reflected that and when my friend Geralyn found the perfect Shakespeare quote it all came together.

“Small Cheer and Great Welcome Make a Merry Feast.” Isn’t that just spot on? It’s from The Comedy of Errors and, to me that perfectly sums up my favorite holiday.

So I got to work and designed the background and text and then applied it to some scrap lumber.

For this project I used:

• Scrap ½” plywood cut to 10.5” long by 3” high panels
• Two scrap pieces of wood for connecting the panels – cut to 11.5” long
• 8 screws
• Matte Mod Podge
• Wood Stain
• A print out of the text – you can download here and here

I used some tools as well that are very helpful but also optional:

• Drill (and appropriate drill bits)
• Sand paper
• Two new (to me) applicators from the makers of Mod Podge
• A Brush Applicator
• A Rolling Applicator

To get started, I stained the edges of the wood panels and just a little bit of the front side. After the stain had dried I sanded them lightly.

Next up I applied the Mod Podge using the Rolling Applicator. This was a new tool for me and I must say it worked really well. It made application smooth and easy to control (and cleaning it up was easy too).

Next I laid (lay?) down the graphics smoothing out the air bubbles as I went.

After giving it a bit of time to dry I gave the edges of the paper a light sanding just to give it a bit of character (ie totally optional).

Next I flipped all the panels over, lined them up and screwed on the scrap wood connectors.

(Tip: make sure the panels are in the right order or you’ll have to take the whole thing apart and try again. Don’t ask me how I know this . . . )

I wanted to seal the front and for that I used the Brush Applicator which worked like a dream for laying the Mod Podge over a large surface smoothly and cleanly. I think it may be a new favorite of mine.

And I was done.

Now all I need is some turkey! . . . and someone to cook it.

Your DIY Thanksgiving sign is complete. Happy holidays!

Some Notes:

• If you want to do your own thing, the backgrounds alone without the text are here and here.
• If you don’t want to use a drill and screws a hot glue gun will work just fine.

Disclaimer: The folks at Plaid provided me with the Applicators to try out but my opinions are my own.