Wednesday, January 26, 2011

W.A.D.E.

Wood letter craft. This is the step by step guide to how I spruced up some rough wood letters.

After my lovely little one was 3 months old, I was finally able to start making his nursery personal. I had purchased the rough wood letters at a local craft store but had not decided how I wanted to use them in Wade's room. Note: We knew we were having a boy and had settled positively on his name before spending money on the letters.


Step 1:
Gather supplies. This part was easy for me because my room looked like and explosion of crafting and art supplies because I was in the middle of organizing them.


Step 2:
These were solid wood letters but were roughly cut so they needed some sanding. I grabbed a sand paper block (medium grain) and sanded away rough edges and wood splinters.


Step 3:

Painting. I knew I was concerned about the edges of the letters more than the fronts and backs. I had another plan for the front of the letters. My husband offered to spray paint the letters for me in the garage. I accepted his offer thinking that I just saved myself a chunk of time. But it turns out "spraying" the sides of the letters didn't quite cover to my satisfaction. So I used an artists paint brush and some white acrylic paint I had to paint the edges in a nice thick coat. Only one coat was needed. Don't forget to have a helper.


Step 4:
Next I selected the paper I wanted to cover the front of the letters. Wade's nursery theme was woodland creatures which inspired our baby shower invitations among other things. I found a large book of scrap book papers that were a perfect match for the woodland theme. Even better the book was on sale at the same local craft store the wood letters were bought at. (Bought at a separate time though).


Step 5:
I flipped the paper over and the letter over and traced the letter onto the back of the paper as shown. Using my X-acto knife I cut out by hand (I have a really steady hand) the letter. Repeat for as many letters as you have.


Step 6:
Using glue and a paint brush I applied glue evenly on the back of each paper letter and placed the paper on top of the wood. I used heavy books and objects to press the paper down on the letters for almost 24 hours. I repeated the process for all the letters.


Now hang on your wall and enjoy!

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