Saturday, July 7, 2012

Home Decor: Mod Podge Letters

Tralala tralala, I have a new home aka a DIYers dream come true!  A really simple home decoration to make, which is also perfect for any type of shelving unit, are these decorative letters.  I chose "Erskine" because that's our family name, however you could mix it up and do a cute, "Live Laugh Love" or "#winning," really whatever you'd like.  These would also look cute hanging on a wall with the magic of Command Strips.

Materials:
Three dimensional, cardboard letters $2.99-$3.99 (Hobby Lobby)
Exacto-knife/box cutter
Scrapbook paper  (I chose the large squares of paper not the 8x11)
Mod Podge $7.99
Bristle brush
Cutting board (I just used the one from my kitchen, we conveniently have two)
Paper towels

The most expensive aspects of the project will be purchasing the Mod Podge and the letters themselves.  The good thing is that Mod Podge will last you for so many DIY projects and the letters are your actual home decor, so it's worth it.  When selecting paper, I love neutral colors/earthy tones.  I chose scrapbook papers that looked distressed or were more like photographs to give them that extra dimension.  Examples included distressed wood, burlap, dirt, hay, etc.


1. Organize your letters and scrapbook papers so that they coordinate and then lay them out.
2. Lay out paper towels to serve as your drying space.
3. Take your first letter and coordinating scrapbook paper and make sure the paper's surface that you want is actually facing away from you and on the cutting board.
4. Take your brush and paint Mod Podge onto the letter (make sure you're placing the glue on the side you actually want to place the paper on and only that side).
5. Glue the letter down onto the paper and press firmly.  I placed my letters close to edges to save time in cutting paper and to save paper.
6. Take your box cutter and while the letter is on the cutting board, cut along the edge of the letter.  You should now have the front surface completely covered on your letter.
7. I roughly measured, "guesstimating" with strips of the scrapbook paper, and applied glue to the other surfaces of the letter and covered those with paper.  The only surface I didn't cover was the back and personally, I think it helps give additional dimension to the letter.
8. Take your brush and the Mod Podge and paint over the entirety of the letter.  I have the "gloss" Mod Podge, so it gave my letters a nice finish.
9. Set them aside to dry.
10. Place them where ever you please :)

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