This handmade, wooden name sign featuring a longhorn is one of my favorite things I’ve ever made! I find choosing a thoughtful baby shower gift can be hard but when I saw this on my sweet friend’s baby registry list, I thought, “I can make that!”.

While I’d love to take credit for this idea, I can’t. And honestly, if I had had the money, I would have purchased this sign but I didn’t so I made it. You can buy this sort of design from Second Nature Designs. If you’re brave like me, you can try to make one!
This isn’t a tutorial in the sense I can give you specifics so don’t comment asking me for measurements, y’all, ’cause I was just winging it! lol The first thing I focused on was picking wood. I didn’t want it to be overly heavy so I chose 1/4″ plywood for the back and 1/8″ birch wood for everything else.
I started with his name, Stetson. Going with the Texas font, I chose about a 6″ height x 4″width, making the entire name about 28″ wide. I simply printed my letters on regular paper and used crafting tacking glue to put them on the wood. I don’t have the nicest tools or the steadiest of hands but me and my scroll saw went to work! After cutting all the letters out, I peeled loose paper off and then washed the rest off with a wet rag. Because there was some glue residue left, I lightly sanded them with my sander. After wiping them off with a damp cloth, I painted them in white and moved on to the longhorn. I laid the letters and longhorn onto plywood to trace out the outline for the backboard. I cut things and finished the bull horns. I used a stain, vaseline, and chalk paint in cream.
To create this distressed look, you’ll:
1) Stain (we used Miniwax Dark Walnut) or paint your piece. Allow to dry.
2) In the spots you want to have the stain or paint show through, lightly coat with vaseline. I used my finger to just randomly do this.
3) Paint with the chalk paint and allow to dry for only about 15 minutes or so. You don’t want to let it completely dry or it will be hard to sand.
4) Lightly sand and you’ll see those spots coming through.














Once my pieces were glued on and allowed to set, I used a spray over all of it to seal it. We hung it at her baby shower and then she took it home for the baby’s room. And that’s how the Western Wooden Name Sign, Stetson Tyke, came to be!
If you’re wondering what tools I used, I used a scroll saw for letters and longhorn, a jig saw for the backboard, and a sander to sand. One of these days I’ll invest in a CNC router or laser cutter but for now, it’s all handmade.

This is the most thoughtful gift and the cutest shower decor I have ever seen!! You knock my socks off girl!!!