DIY Sign: Be Present. Be Intentional.

Do you have a word of the year? Are you one of those people? I am, even though I don’t like to admit it. My word of the year is ‘intentional.’ I get so caught up in the daily grind, that I often forget to be present and to live intentionally. My children are only little for such a short time and I don’t want to miss a thing. As a mother, I am acutely aware of how fast time passes, yet I still find that I need a constant reminder to be present. To put the phone down, get off the computer, unplug, let the housework be, and give them my full attention. The work can wait, but children don’t keep. It takes effort and intention to watch and listen, to reflect and cherish. I made this DIY wood sign to serve as a daily reminder to be present and to live intentionally.

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This was a super simple project that is great if you have some scrap wood lying around. First, I cut a 1×4 board down to about 48 inches long then sanded it with 150- then 220-grit sandpaper. This is the cordless orbital sander I own.

Then I used my Silhouette Cameo (electronic cutting machine) to design and cut out the “Be Present. Be Intentional.” text on adhesive vinyl. To transfer the vinyl text to the wood, I used transfer paper. Next, I gave it a couple light coats of spray paint (I happened to have this sparkly metallic black spray paint on-hand, so that’s what I used) and let it dry overnight. After the paint was dry, I peeled back the vinyl to reveal the raw wood underneath. Finally, I drilled a couple holes for hanging and gave the sign a coat of spray poly which brought out the natural grain in the wood.

I super-glued these gold grommets onto the wood and hung the sign with 2″ picture nails. You can see the sparkly metallic black paint better in the photo below.

This is what our family command center looks like now. I really love this space – I look at it every day and it keeps us all organized and on the same page.

In case you missed it, here are the tutorials for the DIY Chalkboard Calendar, West Elm-Inspired Wall Cubby Shelf (with free building plans!), and Time Zone Clocks.

Thanks for reading, friends! I’d love for you to PIN IT so you don’t forget it!