February 2, 2010

Decorating wooden letters tutorial


I covered the letter 'J' in this lovely paper for my nieces birthday. Just something simple and sweet to go on her door now she has her own bedroom. She is turning 10! Hard to believe how quickly she has grown up, I remember with great excitement the day she was born. I love being an Auntie! Jess also has the creative bug that I will be nurturing as she grows :-)

What you need to cover a wooden letter:
  • Wooden letter/s (Lincraft or Spotlight, craft stores) [approx $3-4]
  • 1 x A4 sheet of lovely paper - I got mine from Eckersley's [approx $2]
  • Paint
  • Can of adhesive spray (craft glue may do - but spray keeps your surface lump-free)
  • Craft lacquer - optional (I used Craft Smart Glaze Paste)
  • Self-healing mat / craft knife
  1. Paint the back & sides of the letter in a complimentary colour, allow time to dry
  2. Spray front of letter with adhesive
  3. Spray paper with adhesive
  4. Lay paper down on flat surface, adhesive side up
  5. Press your letter onto the paper, adhesive side down & wait till dry
  6. On a self-healing mat or thick cardboard, cut around the shape of the letter with a sharp craft/stencil knife (one for parents to do)
  7. Paint over paper with a clear lacquer to give a nice shiny surface and a 'finished' look
  8. Attach with 3M adhesive wall stickers
A very quick and easy way to let your kids express themselves by doing something creative! Of course you could add ribbon, buttons, sequins or motifs to a lovely plain textured paper also.

11 comments:

Kristi said...

Adorable! Can't wait to make one for my son's room. Thanks for sharing.

gret said...

Fantastic! Yours looks so good. Thanks for the tute.

G xx

Yana said...

simple and pretty! i'm sure she loves it :)

Jordan - Polkadot Prints said...

I love the simple yet so effective, thanks for the inspiration...hmmm now who do I know that needs a letter...

Victoria Sayer said...

Your 'J' looks beautiful.
Another angle on your tute, if I may share, is one I did for Elliana's room. But I'm thinking certain letters might not be suitable...
Instead of buying one letter, buy three. Then glue them together with PVA glue. A clamp is a good idea. After they have well dried, sand any bumps out, so that the sides of your thick single letter are smooth. them proceed as per your tute. I added some wooden laser-cut swirls (also available from Spotlight etc. to the front, after first painting them to match the side colour) I did my 'E' in pale pink and white. It now sits in Ellie's nursery in top of the tallboy.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for that Ros. I'll add that one to my ever-growing craft to-do list! I once had several Hs and Os, ready to glue together to make HO HO HO as Victoria Sayer suggested..... but never got around to it! One day, I guess!

Jenn Ballard said...

Jessi LOVED it .. she said ohhhhhh did she make it ... must show her this blog! She asked for her Jessica wooden letters to be taken down off her door ... *sniff* (they've been there since she was born) ... to be replaced with more style ... i know i know .. at 10 she's growing up but still :(

kirsty said...

Thanks for the tute! I've had some wooden letters sitting here for months because I couldn't figure out the best way to decorate them. Looking forward to crossing that project off the list now!

Joanne said...

LOVE THIS! Linked today @ Ready, Set, Craft!

xo
Joanne
http://www.readysetcraft.blogspot.com

Debbie @ OtRD said...

Love this and can't wait to make one for my home studio. Just dropping by because I found a link to your tutorial at Ready, Set, Craft.

Unknown said...

It looks amazing...