I finally did something with the unfinished chipboard letters I got from Hobby Lobby a long time ago. I made them look like letters sawn from old barnwood! Faux barnwood letters!
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The regular price of this size letter is $1.99 and I got them at 40% off. If you wait eventually everything in that store goes on sale. I haven’t tried tracking their sales cycle but I’m sure their sales are on some kind of rotating schedule. So unless it’s something you’ve gotta have now – wait! Why spend more when you don’t need to.
At first I thought I’d just paint them with some aqua spray paint. Very easy and they look quite pretty. So you could stop there.
Then one day I went Hobby Lobby to look at fabric and wandered into the scrapbook aisle and saw these wonderful chippy faux barnwood scrapbook papers. Aren’t they fabulous!
They also have other images like pebbles, straw, bricks, rocks – very cool and different from the usual scrapbook paper patterns. Again, they were 40% off but even if they weren’t, the regular price is only 49 cents each.
How to Decoupage Letters
To cover the chipboard letters with the scrapbook paper – I layed the letters on the paper and traced around each letter and then cut them out. I wasn’t too particular about the cutting since I planned on using some sandpaper at the end to distress the letters.
*** TIP: I would recommend painting the edges of your chipboard first because otherwise you’ll see the unfinished board unless you wrap the paper around the edges (and to me that’s just a hassle). I had already painted mine aqua.****
Then I used some Mod Podge and lightly covered a letter and pressed the scrapbook paper I had cut out on top. You could also use spray adhesive. I smoothed out any bubbles and wrinkles. Then I did each of the other letters the same way.
I then sanded the edges of each chipboard letter. That takes care of any extra paper and gives them a nice clean edge.
Covering chipboard with paper or fabric is a really easy and inexpensive way to decorate them and make them reflect your style.
I think they look pretty cool!
Crafting with alphabet letters is an easy inexpensive project that gives you a lot of bang for you buck!
Debby Messner says
August 4, 2012 at 8:07 pmLove that paper. They relly look like wood. Very cute.
Alex says
August 4, 2012 at 8:12 pmWow these are AWESOME! They look so real – great job!
Terri says
August 4, 2012 at 8:42 pmSeriously love that paper! I kept looking at it to convince myself you were telling the truth and it was paper. Great job on that project. Like it a lot.
Brenda Kula-Pruitt says
August 4, 2012 at 9:25 pmSuper cool, Manuela! You come up with the best ideas!
Brenda
Carol says
August 4, 2012 at 10:03 pmI love using letters in my vignettes. Your H O M E turned out great.
Kelley Highway says
August 4, 2012 at 11:57 pmWhoa! Scrapbook paper? I thought you’d painted, antiqued, waxed, aged, sanded… the works of “mistreatment” from A to Z. This project turned out fabulously. Thank you for your ever-constant inspiration, Manuela!
Meadowsweet Cottage says
August 5, 2012 at 12:06 amKewl! What a great idea–love how they turned out.
Teresa says
August 5, 2012 at 4:33 amFantastic! I am so going to do this!
Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions says
August 5, 2012 at 8:35 amVery pretty, Manuela! I am always drawn in by the different papers in the scrapbook paper aisle {plus the surrounding aisles with the dfferent embellishments}.
Leslie's Garden says
August 5, 2012 at 8:38 amHow creative! I love them on your mantle, they look fabulous!
Lisa~A Cottage To Me says
August 5, 2012 at 10:26 amGreat idea! I will have to check out the scrapbook paper isle next visit to HL. Your letters turned out great!
Theresa H. Roach says
August 5, 2012 at 10:58 amAwesome tip! I am going to make something using your technique! Have a blessed day dear friend, HUGS!
Diana says
August 5, 2012 at 12:06 pmGreat idea! And so true about Hobby Lobby — I feel like such a chump if I pay full price for anything there.
Melanie says
August 5, 2012 at 1:45 pmThat is SO clever and so cute! Love it.
Stephanie @ La Dolce Vita says
August 5, 2012 at 3:02 pmthey came out great! they really look like wood. one of the most clever redo’s of these letters I’ve ever seen.
kathleen grace says
August 5, 2012 at 3:12 pmWow, I can’t believe how real that paper looks! These are awesome:>)
cindy says
August 5, 2012 at 5:59 pmThose letters look wonderful, I’ve never seen paper like that before.
Hugs, Cindy
Penny @ The Comforts of Home & Flea Market Makeovers says
August 5, 2012 at 6:55 pmThey look amazing! I first thought you had painted old barn board and let it weather in the rain! I can’t believe how real it looks.!
Heathahlee says
August 5, 2012 at 7:48 pmHey Manuela! I LOVE those! You can’t tell they’re not chippy barn wood pieces! Now I want to go back to Hob Lob (was just there last night!) and get some of those letters! 🙂
Nancy says
August 5, 2012 at 9:55 pmWow, those look great! Thanks so much for sharing this idea. I am going to try it!
Nancy
Deanna says
August 6, 2012 at 3:51 amThose are fantastic! I love it!
Thanks for sharing another fabulous and easy project!
Tammy says
August 6, 2012 at 3:52 amGenius! They really do look like wood. And 40% off .49 cents might as well be free. Amazing! Have a great week. Tammy
deana says
August 6, 2012 at 4:49 amThis tutorial came right at the perfect time. A neighbor of mine is expecting her first baby and it will be a boy. I was actually thinking of doing some letters for the babies room for her to hang on the wall
Barbara Neubeck says
August 6, 2012 at 6:49 amHi Manuella,
Your letters look fantastic. Good work. Thanks for showing how it’s done.
Have a good day
Barb from Australia
Linda A. Young says
August 6, 2012 at 8:44 amWow, these barn-board letters look great! You have the best ideas! Your mantle will look wonderful! Thank you so much for this inspiration. I love that store too!
Cynthia says
August 6, 2012 at 9:29 amI love the letter they are nice and rustic. They will look fabulous. I also like the colors you chose.
Cynthia
Audrey says
August 6, 2012 at 9:38 amFooled me! Your letters really looked like aged barn wood….very realistic!
Debbie says
August 6, 2012 at 11:45 amI am pinning like a gold medal wrestler! I love this idea, and I agree about waiting for stuff to go on sale at HL. It always does, especially stuff like letters and paper.
Debbie says
August 6, 2012 at 12:44 pmOh Manuela, those turned out so good. Wow…you have me thinking. Would’nt this be a good idea for fall, or farmhouse themed sign. I want a welcome sign outside and this would be a great idea to do something like that. Love it. You make it look so easy! It really looks aged!
Have a great week my friend. You are having a creative outburst I’d say! hahaha…
Blessings,
Debbie
Dayna Clark says
August 7, 2012 at 4:30 amThis Looks Amazing, I would love for you to share it at our link party
http://live-love-laugh-interiordesign.blogspot.com.au/
Jaye @ Just Trying to Make Cents of it All says
August 7, 2012 at 2:56 pmWow – that’s paper? That looks so cool! Pinning this one!
Marcia says
August 7, 2012 at 11:18 pmI agree with what everyone else is saying, these turned out wonderfully! I could not tell it was paper. It looked so real!! Great project Manuela!
Blessings,
Marcia
Becca says
August 8, 2012 at 4:51 amI love the idea! Now you gave me an idea what to put in my kids room.
Thanks for the share.
Jennifer says
August 8, 2012 at 8:03 amI love the look of your letters! And I love the location you have placed them. I used Christmas papers a couple of years ago to do a couple of letters for the holidays and they just didn’t turn out right. Never thought of painting the letters first and then sanding the edges. That would have made a ton of difference!
Pat says
August 8, 2012 at 12:17 pmThese are great!
at first glance …I thought you made these with real barn wood!
Pat
Linda @ Itsy Bits And Pieces says
August 9, 2012 at 8:34 pmManuela, this is seriously one of the most fun projects I have seen in ages! I have to try it…thanks so much for sharing!
Jeannine @ The Concrete Cottage says
August 9, 2012 at 10:08 pmThese are great! I’ve done the same thing with scrapbook paper and chipboard letters before, but I still couldn’t tell that’s what you’d done till you said it. They look real!
Brenda says
August 16, 2012 at 9:24 pmThese are fantastic!!!! I had to keep looking at them because I had to convince myself they weren’t really old painted wood. I have to do this project!
(Found you at Jennifer Rizzo, btw.)
Thanks for sharing!
Brenda
Kim-HomeIsWhereTheHeartIs says
September 8, 2012 at 9:35 amThese are great, Manuela, so realistic!