I have always thought vintage “Hot Bath” signs were cute and I really wanted one to decorate my new towel rack in my upstairs bathroom. After shopping around for awhile I just wasn’t finding one that I really loved. So, I decided to design my own. This sign was a quick and easy project and I just love the vintage charm it adds to my farmhouse style bathroom.
I actually ended up using a sign from my Moms’ craft business to make this cute hot bath sign. She built and sold crafts at several local craft stores while I was growing up. So I can’t take credit for building it but I can show you how she built it if you would like to make one.
1) To give this sign a really rough and rustic look. She uses Cedar fence slats from Home Depot.
2) The slats at home depot are 5/8″ wide but my Mom used a Planer to make hers closer to a 1/2″. If you don’t have a Planer or simply don’t want to plane them, 5/8″ will work just fine. Your sign will just be a little chunkier.
3)Use a table saw to rip the planks down to the following widths. I have outlined them in the photo below.
- 1 1/4″ for the frame
- 1 3/4″ for the slats on the back
Then use a chop saw to cut them to following lengths.
- (2) 1 1/4″ x 9″ front sides
- (2) 1 1/4″ x 11 1/4″ front top and bottom
- (5) 1 3/4″ x 13 3/4″ back slats
4)When you have all the pieces cut out, attach them all together with a brad nailer. If you hate filling nail holes as much as I do then putting all the nails in the back is definitely the way to go. You can paint your sign however you like. I whitewashed mine and then lightly sanded it so the wood grain showed through.
5)Now you just need to add the Hot Bath decal. Click Here for the free cut file download. I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut my stencil out of vinyl. I love using vinyl for making stencils, I’ve never had any problems with bleeding doing it this way. You can also just use the vinyl as a decal if you don’t want to make a stencil and paint it.
6)Transfer the vinyl to the center of the sign and press it on. Make sure there are no air bubbles and double check the edges of the letters to make sure they are all sealed. Use painters tape to cover the rest of the sign. The best way to avoid bleeding is to use spray paint. It works best to do a couple light coats than to just spray it on really thick. It will bleed if you spray too much on at once.
7)When the final coat is dry remove the vinyl and admire your beautiful sign. Didn’t this turn out so cute? I just love mine. It makes me happy every time I see it.
Here is how I styled it on my bathroom towel rack. I think it is the perfect finishing touch to this farmhouse style bathroom. If you missed the post on how I built this cute towel rack you can check it out here.
I hope you have as much fun with this project as I did. I just love how it stands out leaning against that old Barnwood towel rack. Now I’m one step closer to finishing off this bathroom remodel, hooray! I can’t wait to show it to you, stay tuned for the big reveal coming soon.
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I would love to see what you create using this cut file. Share it on Instagram or Facebook and tag me @cedarlanefarmhouse
All printables and cut files are free for personal use only.
Once you design the stencil how do you get it on to the vinyl cutout? I’m slow hash!
Haha* not hash ?
Hey Audrey! I use a silhouette Cameo, it’s a small vinyl/craft cutter. You can cut things like vinyl, paper, heat transfer material, and even fabric. Let me know if you want me to cut one of these stencils out for you I’d be happy too!
I dont see the cut file in your artilce. I have a cricut and would like to use it as a vinyl decal. can you email me the file.
Hi Becky, Here is the link for the download
I would love to have the cut file but I can’t figure out how to download it. Could you send the link please? Thank you so much! I can’t wait to try it.