DIY Marquee Letter

I love vintage marquee letters and I have wanted one for a long time now. I don't have the money to buy an authentic one right now. I will one day though!! So I made my own marquee letter. It was super easy to make. This project is one that I almost gave up on! I bought this spray paint and thought it would work. Soon to realize it was going to blend in with my dark grey walls. I should have just tested the paint first to see but I didn't! I have some green spray paint left over from a previous project and thought I would give green a try. I went back inside to work on some other things and about 15 minutes later I went to check on it. It was floating in the pool. :( Lesson learned!! Do not spray paint anywhere near a pool on a windy day! I ended up not liking the color, it didn't look bad but it didn't match the image in my head :( So I tried the spray paint that I had originally purchased and I loved it. It kinda blends in with my walls but I don't care! I really like the way it turned out!! 

Things you will need:
 *I was so excited to start this projects I forgot to take a picture of everything a the beginning!! Oops!

Paper mache letter (Joann)

Rust-Oleum Satin Metallics spray paint (walmart)

X-acto Knife

Globe String Lights (target)
Packing tape


Step 1: Cut off the top of your paper mache letter. You can always use the top piece for another project. 

Step 2: Spray paint a couple of coats on your letter. I did 2 coats. Let it completely dry.

Step 3: I took the bulbs out of all of my string lights because they were getting tangled and I did not want the glass bulbs to break. You don't have to do that step, but it helped me. Now this step I just eye balled. I took two bulbs and held them in the letter and got them lined up how I wanted. Then I took a pen and put a little dot right under the bulb. If you have an easier way of doing this process, do it!! *Make sure when you take the bulbs out, you take them off at the end you do not plug it in at!!

Step 4: Take your x-acto knife and put an X right though the dot. You may have to adjust the size a little. Then I used a pen and pushed it through the X to open it up.

Step 5: Place the all the light bulbs in the holes and take the string of lights and start attaching the bulbs. I didn't attach the rest of the lights. I have those for back up now!

Step 6: Plug in your lights to make sure all the bulbs are lit up. Now unplug your lights and turn your letter over and try to tape down the wires. Mine just did what they wanted!!

*looks a little better right?!

The tricky part is hanging it on the wall. I hot glued some fishing string to the back and put a long nail in the wall. There is probably an easier step to this!!

DIY Burlap Wreath

I have seen these burlap wreaths all over Pintrest, and I finally decided that it was time to make one. I am the person who has a wreath or something on their front door year round. I needed a fall wreath. Not really but I really wanted to make this wreath!! I love the way it turned out. Getting the chevron to line up was a hard task all on its own! I love chevron but it can very difficult to recreate!

What you will need:

18" Wire wreath  

White paint

blue paint  (I didn't really care for the blue so i changed to red!)

Letter 

x-acto knife

Burlap Roll (Michael's) 

Hot Glue

1. I could not find a wood letter that I liked so I bought a paper mache T and cut the top off. 

You can use the other part for another craft! Paint the whole letter white. I used the color Snow (Titanium) White, and did a total of three coats.

2. This part is very tricky! Getting the chevron template on your letter is harder than it looks. I tried many different methods and they all did not work for me. You probably can see all the eraser marks! I ended up using the square method. I just followed the steps here and was able to make it work! 

3. Paint every other stripe red. I used the color Cardinal Red, and did about three coats on mine. Then I went and touched up with the white paint.

4. Burlap time!! Take your burlap roll and weave it through the wires to told it in place. You want the rest of your burlap to be under your wreath. Now take the burlap and push it through the wires creating a little bubble. Keep doing this through every wire and push them close together so none of the wire shows through. 

* I wanted my loops to be kinda big and I ran out of burlap!! Thankfully I had some extra left over from a previous project. If you don't want the loops as big you might be able to use just one roll. Also if your wreath is smaller you will be fine. If you want your loops big, buy an extra roll! To connect the burlap all you have to do is weave the end piece through the wires like at the beginning.

5. At the end of the wreath I left about a 4 to 6 inch piece of excess and just tucked it in to create another loop.

6. Lastly, attach your letter. I forgot to take a picture of the hot glue at the beginning. oops! If your using a paper mache letter or even cardboard then the hot glue will work. If your using a wood letter or something that has a little weight to it, then the hot glue might not work. If it is too heavy your letter could pull your loops out of your wreath! 

* I attached a small piece of fishing line to mine because the nail on my door is too high!