Recently I have seen a lot of adorable decorated letters, initials, and signs on Pinterest. After a trip to the craft store for some inspiration, I decided that I would give this craft a shot and make one for my boyfriend and I. Below are instructions on how to create decorated letters for yourself.
Materials Needed for One Letter (Medium Size):
- Card Board Letter
- 3-4 Pieces of Scrapbook Paper
- Any Embellishments (stickers, cut outs, design tape, etc.)
- Decoupage (any glue or glue tape will work, I just had this on hand)
- Scissors or an Exacto Knife
- Pencil
- Ruler
Getting started...
- To begin trace out the letter on the back side of the paper you want to use for the face. To do this lay the letter down upside down as well.
- Then create strips of paper to use for the edges and any inside portions of your letter. This can be done by measuring the width of your letter and adding 1 inch to it. This allows you to fold the paper over later. Cut these strips out. (I used to pieces of paper for this)
Working on the edges...
- Now that you have your strips cut out for your edges it is time to attach them. To do this I began by putting my decoupage on the letter on the section I was adding paper to. Then I firmly pressed the paper to the letter until it was attached.
- Next I cut slits into the paper that was overlapping on the letter so that I could fold it over more effectively. After cutting the slits, I folded each one separately to ensure that they would fold. Then I applied decoupage and pressed firmly again.
- After each edge is complete with paper it should look something like this.
Applying the face...
- Begin by cutting out the letter that you traced earlier. If you have a letter with a complete inside (like I did with the D) it may be easier to use a knife to cut out this section. Ensure that it fits on your letter and cut off any excess.
- Then similar to applying the edges, decoupage or glue down the face to the letter.
Decorating your letter...
- This is the fun part! Choose whatever it is you want to decorate your letter with and apply it. If you like the letter plain, then leave it that way. I chose not to decoupage the outside of my letters, but that is also an option at this stage. Have fun with your final product!
Here are some pictures of my finished letters!
I am going to note here that playing with paper is fun! On the S I used a patterned edge and a solid face. The caution tape that I used on the face was tape that I positioned in random strips. Also the Toy Story characters are made from a piece of scrapbook paper. I cut them out and then applied them to the front. The flowers on the D are stickers, though it would be possible to create your own. I had a blast with this project!
