How to Decoupage Letters

CREATE.

What kid doesn’t love seeing her name up in her room? It’s the one place she can claim as her own, even though we all know it’s not really her room, but a room that Mommy and Daddy are nicely letting her use rent-free!  I made these cute name letters all for a total of only $12! Talk about a cheap way to make a statement!

Supplies:

• wooden letters (regularly $2.99 at Hobby Lobby, got them 1/2 off)
• Mod Podge (had on hand)
• foam applicator brush or paint brush
• scissors
• scrapbooking paper ($.29-$.69 each at Hobby Lobby, got them 1/2 off)

Game Plan:

1. Purchase scrapbooking paper to adhere to the letters.  Choose all the same paper, coordinating papers, or mix-n-match to your preference.

Make sure the paper is big enough to cover your biggest letter.

2. Flip the letter over so the front side is touching the backside of the scrapbooking paper.  Trace the letter onto the back of the paper.

Make sure the paper pattern is going the way you want it.  Trace onto the back of the paper so you won’t get any pencil marks on the good side.  Continue this process for all the letters.

3. Erase any pencil marks on the wooden letters from tracing them.

4.  Cut out the traced letters. Cut a tad bit inside the traced letter so that it will fit perfectly when cut out.

Cut one letter out and see how it fits on top of the matching wooden letter to see if you need to adjust your cutting.

5.  Use a foam brush or paint brush to spread out a thin layer of Mod Podge onto the top of a letter.

Try to make the coat as even as possible.

6. Carefully lay the paper onto the letter and press down.

Before pressing down, make sure the paper is lined up in all appropriate spots.  It is hard to remove the paper after it has been pressed down…speaking from experience!

7.  Remove all air bubbles from under the paper.

I was going to use a paint stick to remove the air bubbles, but I found my fingers worked best.  I went over the letters several times, making sure all the paper was smooth and flat.

8.  Let dry for 20-30 minutes.

9.  Apply a thin coat of Mod Podge on top of the paper to seal it.

Again, try to make it a thin even layer of Mod Podge.  Air bubbles may pop up–don’t fret right now because really, there’s nothing you can do at this point anyway.  I had several come up and was very sad, but after drying they went away!  Yippee!

10.  Allow to dry for 20-30 minutes.

If you want, you can put more layers of Mod Podge on to create a stronger seal.  I only did one because I was afraid of air bubbles popping up and not going away.

11.  Hang up!

What other ideas do you have for displaying kid’s names?