DIY Marquee Letters

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I’m not a big “fru fru” type Valentines Day decorator. I like to keep things pretty neutral and pink-frilly free. So I came up with the idea to make my own marquee letters to place above my dinning table and add a little “love” to my decor.

These letters are super easy to make and the supplies are super cheap! This would make a great project for a wedding, party or everyday decor, and you can alter this tutorial to make any word!

Supplies:

• 4 foam core boards (Dollar Store)
• 1 sheet of poster board (if you have a rounded letter like “O” or “D”) (Dollar Store)
• tape
• Ruler
• Scissors and an Exato Knife
• Spray Paint (about $3.60 at Walmart, any color- i used silver)
• 1-2 strings of small white Christmas lights
• 7-10 clear Christmas ornaments per letter (Goodwill, Craft Stores, Online)

Directions:

1. Trace out your letters on the foam board using a ruler. You can print out letters and use them as stencils, but i wanted mine bigger than 8×11 computer paper so I free handed them.
2. Cut out your letters. 
3. This part is sort of tricky: See picture to the left –> Measure each length of your letter and cut out strips to form the sides of your letter out of foam board (or out of poster board for round letters). For example, the length of the long side of my “L” was about 18″, I wanted my letters to be 2″ deep so my long strip was 18″x2″. Start with one letter at a time and start with the one with the straightest lines (like “L”) so you can get the hang of this.
4. Now you are ready to attach your sides. Flip over your letter and use masking tape to attach the sides to your base letter.

5. Once all your letters are put together (they are all 3-D now!) pull out your ruler again and your Christmas bulbs. Using these eye ball how far apart you want your lights to go. Draw dots, and then using your exacto-knife cut out small circles that are just big enough for the christmas lights to poke through (about the size of a pencil eraser).

6. Now take all your letters outside and spray paint them your color of choice. I used silver because I wanted them to look sort of like metal. (when spray painting use short quick motions and multiple thin layers to avoid drips.)

7. Once your paint is dry, flip over your letters and insert the lights. Use masking tape to secure them.8. Now grab your ornaments again. Take off the wire and the cap- you can toss the cap, you won’t need it any more.

9. Take the wire from your ornaments and stick them through the holes, making sure to put it around the wire to the lights so that it doesn’t just pop out the other side. It will look like this from the front…10. Now place your ornament over each light, using the ornament wire to hold it in place!

Now you can hang your pretty letters on the wall or set them on a table. Plug them in and enjoy!

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This Project was featured on If it’s Not Baroque!

This Project was linked up with The Scoop!