Monday, February 14, 2011

Embellished Baby Name

A couple weeks ago, I made some letters for my friend's nursery. She absolutely loved them and couldn't stop raving about them. I posted a sneak peak photo for one of my Project 365 photos on February 3rd. I didn't think to take step-by-step photos to show you any type of tutorial.. sorry =/ But I'm still going to post about them!
Terrible picture.. I finished them at 1am so give me a break! Haha
Supplies Needed:
-Wooden or MDF Letters
-White Paint (or another color coordinating with the paper)
-Decorative Paper (Large enough pieces to cover entire letters)
-Adhesive (Rubber Cement or Gluesticks work best)
-Misc. Embellishments (Stickers, Glitter, etc)
-Hot Glue Gun and Glue Refills
-Ribbon for Hanging

Instructions:
I started with some simple unfinished letters. You can use wood if you like, I used MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard) It's much cheaper. It's kind of like a mix between cardboard and wood. You can buy them at any craft store, or you can buy them here.

I painted mine white, so the edges would look nice. I just used basic acrylic paint, nothing fancy. You'll want to paint the entire front of the letters, including the edges, just in case your paper ends up being semi-transparent.

Once your paint has dried, it's time to glue on the paper. You can lay the letters down and trace them onto the paper if you like. I think it's easier to do it my way though: Apply your adhesive to the front of your letter (I used rubber cement), flip the letter over and press it onto your paper. Once the glue has dried, trace the edges of your letter with an X-acto Knife. You may need to do some extra trimming once you flip your letters back over.

At this point, you can embellish however you like! I applied some stickers that I found in the scrapbooking department of the craft store. I also traced some of the paper's designs with glitter glue.


To hang the letters, you can use several different options. Many letters will come with attachments on the back for hanging. I used a hot glue gun and attached some ribbon to hang these ones.


I also have a set of simple black wooden letters that my husband bought me. I glued some pink ribbon and tied some bows to dress them up a bit.



If you need some inspiration, there are thousands of photos online of different letters that other people have made. I just googled "baby nursery wall letters" to find these examples.


Addison Letters found at Beauty and the Bump
Emma Letters found at Kids Decorating Ideas
Valerie Letters found at Kate's Art House
Joseph Letters found at ZeeBree Art.
Lila Letters found at Meet Me in the Baby's Room.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Great job at those letters Amanda!! I love 'em!!

Thanks for entering the giveaway too!! :)