So I don't have pictures of the step-by-step process (I'll take some when we finish the other numbers if anyone is interested) but this is the final product (excuse my terribly chipped manicure):
Front
Back
We used this technique on the back which you might have seen flying around on pinterest:
And on the front the 9 is burned into the wood using a tool we found at Home Depot. We're thinking of just doing the # the same way as we did the picture because the burning took a LONG time.
I'm so happy with how this project turned out! It's something different that I've never seen before and I think it fits our venue and 'look' really well.