I'm the queen of procrastination. No wait, I prefer alliteration, so I'm the princess of procrastination. I found out I was pregnant in Feb 2009. I decided then and there I wanted my baby to have his/her name spelled out in wooden wall letters that matched the decor of the nursery. I hemmed and hawed and even considered spending almost $100 just so somebody could do it for me. On Dec 1, 2010 (a full month after Addison was born...) Zac and I went to Hobby Lobby and bought all seven letters, stencils and acrylic paint so I could begin my masterpiece!
A few months later, I decided I had no intention of painting, so what else could I do? Oooh, how about gluing scrapbook paper onto the letters!? I was brilliant! Surely, nobody else in the world has ever had my idea, right?! Then, I learned there's a technique for my lightbulb moment and it's called decoupage or modge podge. Oooh... ::cue deflated ego here::
My poor daughter has had to look at a naked wall above her crib for almost two months now (she co-slept for her first seven months). I also had a looming deadline of summer coming to an end in two weeks, which is another post entirely. Sigh. It was time I did something.
Materials needed: Alphabet wall letters (mine were wooden), foam brush, modge podge, pencil, scissors/exact-o knife, newspaper, glue gun, staple gun, ribbon
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Choose scrapbook paper in coordinating colors. Addie's nursery is green and pink, but since the walls are green I chose pink for the letters. |
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Turn the scrapbook paper upside down and trace the wooden letters. Don't do what I did and trace them backwards. I guess I should add a giant pink eraser in my list of materials... |
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Have your letters ready to go! |
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My materials ready to go. See that blue and yellow thing? I thought that was a straight edge only to find out it's just a fancy pencil. Oops. |
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Once again, pay attention and don't modge podge the BACK of the wall letter. Jill and Ramona were really getting into it on TV and I got slightly distracted. |
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After modge podging your letter, put a layer of MP on the back of your scrapbook paper. Line them up and put another layer of MP on top of the scrapbook paper. |
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Let dry. Notice a letter that's missing? Yep, D. It's lost. I have no idea what happened to it but I had to run to Hobby Lobby the next day and get a replacement D. I guess that's what happens when you sit on a project for nearly a year. |
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I measured "five planks" for the ribbons that will be attached to the back of the letters. |
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There are various ways to attach the ribbons to hang the letters. I chose to already make the bows and then attach the ends of the bows onto the letters using a glue gun and then adding a staple from the staple gun for added measure. |
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I wanted the letters spaced out over the crib so what better place to lay them out than IN the crib? |
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I pulled the crib out from the wall, and nailed the "I" in the center. I stepped back to make sure I liked the placement and then added letters on either side of the "I" until I was finished. |