21 DIY fall signs made from scrap wood. Porch leaners, wall signs, mantel decor, and wood pumpkins you’ll use year after year.
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Every fall, the stores roll out the same wooden signs. And every year they want thirty or forty bucks for what amounts to a couple of boards and some paint.
Here’s the thing. You can make just about any one of them from your scrap pile. A leftover fence picket, an offcut from your last build, an old board you pulled off the burn pile.
I rounded up 21 of my favorites, everything from tall porch signs down to smaller ones for the mantel, plus a few wood pumpkins for good measure. A handful used a Cricut to do the lettering, but you can just as easily hand-paint or stencil yours.
Porch and Front Door Signs
Want guests to feel like there's a mug of warm cider waiting for them? These signs are the first hint that it's fall before they even knock. Lean one on the porch or hang it by the door.
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thehouseonsilverado.com
Reversible Fall Porch Sign from Leftover Decking
Niky turned a cedar scrap left over from building her deck into a tall porch sign. One side weathered to a barn-wood gray while the other still had its warm golden color, so she made it reversible.
Amy made a wooden FALL sign, but instead of a plain letter A, she cut a maple leaf. It's a small twist that sets her sign. Head over to see how she finished off the cutout.
Jennifer found a piece of beadboard at a salvage yard. She gave it a couple of coats of orange paint and added letters to spell out fall. She used a shortcut for the letters, but you can hand-paint them or cut them on a Cricut if you have one.
Kristi took an old door headed for the giveaway pile and made it into a pumpkin sign for the porch. She added a store-bought felt pumpkin to the front. You could swap in a leftover board if you don't have a door, and cut a pumpkin from scrap instead of buying one.
Got a bare spot that needs a little something? These signs bring a bit of fall to the wall.
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woodshopdiaries.com
Framed Fall Leaf Cut from Scrap Plywood
Shara skipped the usual word sign and made a piece of framed fall art instead. The whole thing came together from plywood scraps, which makes it a great way to use up those odd-sized cutoffs that always seem to pile up in the shop.
Sarah made her “Autumn Skies, Pumpkin Pies” sign from a couple of boards, the kind of leftovers most of us have stacked in a corner, then strung it up on a rope for a rustic touch.
When a neighbor ripped out their old fence and set the boards on the curb, Cindy grabbed them before the garbage truck. They were already weathered to that perfect gray, so all it took was a bit of lettering to turn them into a “hello fall” sign.
Shara made a “hello pumpkin” sign from scrap wood and kept it simple enough to knock out in an afternoon. A good use for the offcuts piling up by the saw.
Nancy's sign reads like a fall bucket list, with apple cider, hayrides, and pumpkins all packed onto one board. She started with a store-bought blank, but you could use scrap wood instead. And she even shares a free printable so you can handle the lettering.
Jennifer started with a plaque and wooden letters from the craft store, but you could easily cut your own from scraps. Then follow her technique to give the letters an aged copper finish.
Melissa pulled out a piece of scrap wood left over from another project and turned it into a Halloween Hayride sign. It’s more cozy autumn than creepy, so it could work for the first crisp day right through October.
Cassie grabbed a store-bought slatted-plank sign and gave it a weathered pumpkin-patch look. You'd swear it came from a roadside fall festival stand. Making your own scrap wood plank would work just as well.
Have a spot that needs a little something? These smaller signs tuck onto a shelf, mantel, or side table to round out your fall decor.
14
creativeramblingsblog.com
Mason Jar-Shaped Fall Sign
Sarah turned a plain wood plaque into a “Fall Is My Favorite Color” sign. She started with a store-bought plaque, but a scrap board would work just as well.
Cristina made a set of fall signs, one each for Fresh Apples, Pumpkin Seeds, and Autumn, with a vintage market feel. The graphics come from a free printable she shares, and the wood scraps are from an old drawer.
Shelly made this one to pull double duty, with “Crisp, Cozy, Autumn Days” on the front for fall and a hot cocoa sign on the back that carries you into winter. She framed it in scrap cedar and used pre-cut wood letters, but you could cut or paint your own.
Shara cut a pumpkin, stem, and leaf from scrap red oak and stained each piece its own fall color before gluing the whole thing onto a plywood back. There's no lettering, just the shape doing the work, and the whole project runs about an hour.
Donna cut a few chunky wood pumpkins and topped each with a real branch for the stem. She grouped them with a little “Pumpkin Patch” sign. All you need is scrap wood and a quick walk around the yard to get started.
Real pumpkins are great until they start rotting. These wood versions skip the squish and are reusable every year.
20
thehandymansdaughter.com
Trio of Pumpkins from Roadside Pallets
Vineta hauled some pallets off the side of the road and turned them into a trio of pumpkins. Each one is a different size, and they're slim enough to line up on a porch or mantel.
Hi there – I’m Scott, a woodworking enthusiast and creator of Saws on Skates, a site I started in 2015 to share easy-to-follow tutorials, space-saving shop tips, and project inspiration for DIYers at any skill level. Learn more about my woodworking journey here.
