Do you have a fire pit in your backyard? Here's a fun idea for fence art for your fire pit. This handmade scrap wood fire pit subway sign is so easy to make. I've included a free printable so you can make one too.

The subway sign is made with newer scrap wood but made to look like weathered time-worn wood. I'll show you how easy it is to get the look with stuff from your kitchen.

Rustic DIY Fire Pit Subway Sign

The fire pit subway sign cost me absolutely nothing to make using leftover boards from another project. If you are lucky enough to have access to old weathered scrap wood, by all means, use that instead!

But if you are like me and don't, no worries it's very easy to get the look a couple of different ways and I'll be showing you how further down in the tutorial.

We love spending summer evenings and cool fall evenings snuggled in blankets around our fire pit. A few years ago we replaced the dilapidated cinder block fire pit, left by the previous owner, with roman pavers.

We also added stone pavers encircling the fire pit for seating and you can see that in my Backyard Fire Pit Refresh post.

These are the supplies I used for making the rustic weathered subway fence sign. The supply list contains affiliate links so you can see what products I used or recommend for this project. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

Supply List

2 cedar fence boards (salvaged)
1/2-inch wood screws
Apple cider or white vinegar
#00000 steel wool
Black Tea Bags
Rubber gloves
Chip Brush
Glass Jar or Plastic Container With Lid
Graphite paper
White, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green acrylic craft paint OR Oil Based Paint Pens
2 D-Ring Picture Hangers
Laser or Inkjet Printer
Pen or Pencil
220-Grit Sandpaper

Here's How I Made It

We'll begin with how to build the scrap wood sign. It's assembled in a simple board and batten style (like a wooden shutter) and so easy to build.

How To Build The Scrap Wood Subway Sign

• Cut a cedar fence board into four 19-inch long pieces.
• Cut two pieces 2" x 29" for the upright battens (pictured below).
• Line the boards up evenly on a flat surface.
• Lay the uprights on each side about 3-4 inches from the edge.
• Secure the uprights to the boards with wood screws.

How To Weather Subway Sign Boards Two Ways

No Cost Option 1

It is so easy to make new wood look aged by using stuff found in your kitchen. You can find the wood aging solution recipe and detailed tutorial in my How To Age New Wood post.

This is how the boards look after three coats of the aging solution. Doesn't it look like the boards have been weathering in the elements for years?

Option 2

This option will cost you a few bucks but there is no prep involved with this readymade weathered wood accelerator.

Once the now weathered boards are dry, it's time for the fun part...

Creating Subway Art Graphic For Fire Pit Sign

In PicMonkey I created a graphic for the subway art. Click on the image below for a free downloadable printable.

You will have to resize the graphic to fit your wood sign and you can do that one of two ways. Either upload it into Blockposter.com and resize the image as necessary. It will print on multiple sheets of letter-size bond paper that you piece together with tape. Or you could save it onto a USB stick and have it printed somewhere like Staples.

To add the graphic to the wood subway sign use this Image Transfer Technique.

Painting Fire Pit Subway Sign

With acrylic craft paint and artist's brushes OR oil-based paint pens, paint over the traced graphic. Create shadow lines with black paint or paint pen.

To continue the time-worn appearance of the sign, once the paint is completely dry lightly sand over the graphic with 220-grit sandpaper to give it a distressed look.

Last but not least, attach two D-ring picture hangers at the top of each batten on the back of the sign.

Pro-Tip

Place the D-hooks so the bottom rests against the upright. This prevents the hook from flopping down when you're trying to hang the sign.

Now you're ready to hang the sign. If you've hung artwork with double picture hooks before then you know how frustrating it can be to get both nails lined up perfectly level on the wall (or in this case, fence).

I have an amazing tip for hanging double hook wall art the easy way, no measuring tape required! This No Measure Tip For Hanging Wall Art gets it perfectly level every.single.time!

I think this calls for a bonfire with family and friends. Bring out the Weiner roasting sticks, fixings for s'mores, and favorite beverages.

Even if you don't have a fire pit, you could follow these same instructions to make a different themed subway sign for your backyard. For more handmade sign ideas visit my DIY Signs page.

Thanks for stopping by the Interior Frugalista today! I hope you were inspired by this fire pit sign idea.

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