Personalized Father’s Day Gift with CraftCuts

Finding the perfect Father’s Day gift for the men in your life can be a tricky job! It’s especially hard in our family, because the boys don’t call my husband, “dad.” Our 16 year old was born in China, so when he joined our family, we all started using the Chinese word, “baba,” instead. Of course, here in the US, it’s impossible to find gifts that say “Baba,” so I thought it would be fun to find a way to create something that would have my husband’s special name on it. I visited the CraftCuts website to see what I could put together, and came up with something I think he will love. Here’s what I created…and I also made a “dad” version to give to my own father.

Image contains two wooden signs; one reading “best baba ever,” and one reading, “best dad ever."

How To Make A Father’s Day Craft Cuts Gift

Supplies:

Square Craft Shape (10” or 16”)
Thin Square Frame Craft Shape (10” or 16”)
Baltic Birch Wood Letters (2” or 3” Melody Sans font)
Script Wood Letters (2” or 3” Hickory Jack Light font)
FolkArt Painted Finishes – Barnwood, or Wood Stain of your choice
White Wood Stain or Paint
Paint Brushes
Glue

Image contains wood cutouts; a square, a frame, and the words “best dad ever."

Instructions

Step 1: Paint or stain the wood square white.

Image contains Amy’s hand holding a paintbrush and applying white wood stain to a wooden square.

Step 2: Paint frame and words/letters.

To get the same look as my project, use a dark brown wood stain. Or, you can choose to use any paint you like for a different, colorful effect.

Image contains Amy’s hand holding a paintbrush and applying wood stain to cutout words and letters.

The next part is totally optional, but if you want to give your wood a barn wood effect, paint a light coat of white wax on top of the stain.

Image contains wooden cutouts stained dark brown, a paintbrush, and a stained wooden frame with white wax painted on two edges.

Then, before the wax dries, use a plastic card or other hard, thin object to scrape most of it back off. This will cause the wax that’s left to settle into the wood grain, giving it a weathered, aged look. I chose to do this on my frame and on some of the words, but left other words dark brown for some contrast.

Image contains Amy’s hand holding a plastic card and scraping excess white wax off of a stained wooden frame.

Step 3: Assemble your project.

First, glue the frame on top of the wood square, matching up the edges.

Image contains a square wooden sign with a white background and light brown barnwood frame. It sits on brown kraft paper with painted brown letters to the side.

Then, glue your words and letters in place. You can measure to find the center line and place the center letter of each word there. Or, you can eyeball it and place the words wherever you think they look best.

Image contains a wooden sign with the words “best baba ever.'

Once the glue is dry, your project is complete! You can add hardware to the back to allow the sign to hang on the wall if you like. The 10” sign is perfect for a desk, while the 16” version looks great on the wall.

Image contains a wooden sign with a white background, brown frame, and brown words reading, “best dad ever."

My favorite thing about this gift idea is how easy it is to customize. First of all, I love that you can use whatever name you personally use for your dad, grandfather, or other father figure. Then, using different kinds of paint and/or wood stain allows you to make your sign coordinate with his desk, office, workshop, “man cave,” favorite sports team, or favorite color.

Image contains two wooden signs; one with the words “best baba ever,” and one with the words, “best dad ever.” A faux plant sits in between.

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I loved personalizing these for my dad and my hubby, and the boys are so excited to have a gift that actually says, “Baba” on it. CraftCuts made it easy to create exactly what I had in mind, and they also have tons of other options for signs, gifts, and home decor. I already have another project in mind for our front door this summer, so stay tuned to see how that turns out! Be sure to check out the website CraftCuts.com and save 10% on any purchase now through 6/18/23 with the code AMY10. Happy creating!