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Faux Barnwood Letters

By Manuela Williams

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!

Easy to make faux barnwood letters

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links to Amazon and/or Etsy, which means that I may earn a small commission from some of the links in this post. Please see our Disclosure Page for more information.

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.

unfinished chipboard alphabet letters

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.

chippy paint scrapbook paper

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.****

letters cut from scrapbook paper

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.

mod podge

I then sanded the edges of each chipboard letter. That takes care of any extra paper and gives them a nice clean edge.

decopauged chipboard

 

Covering chipboard with paper or fabric is a really easy and inexpensive way to decorate them and make them reflect your style.

DIY Faux Barnwood Letters - A Cultivated Nest

I think they look pretty cool!

home chipboard letters

Crafting with alphabet letters is an easy inexpensive project that gives you a lot of bang for you buck!

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Filed Under: DIY Projects, DIY Projects, Easy Crafts, Fluffing my nest, Tutorials Tagged With: Crafts, decopauge, DIY projects, Easy Crafts, mod podge

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Comments

  1. Debby Messner says

    August 4, 2012 at 8:07 pm

    Love that paper. They relly look like wood. Very cute.

  2. Alex says

    August 4, 2012 at 8:12 pm

    Wow these are AWESOME! They look so real – great job!

  3. Terri says

    August 4, 2012 at 8:42 pm

    Seriously 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.

  4. Brenda Kula-Pruitt says

    August 4, 2012 at 9:25 pm

    Super cool, Manuela! You come up with the best ideas!
    Brenda

  5. Carol says

    August 4, 2012 at 10:03 pm

    I love using letters in my vignettes. Your H O M E turned out great.

  6. Kelley Highway says

    August 4, 2012 at 11:57 pm

    Whoa! 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!

  7. Meadowsweet Cottage says

    August 5, 2012 at 12:06 am

    Kewl! What a great idea–love how they turned out.

  8. Teresa says

    August 5, 2012 at 4:33 am

    Fantastic! I am so going to do this!

  9. Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions says

    August 5, 2012 at 8:35 am

    Very pretty, Manuela! I am always drawn in by the different papers in the scrapbook paper aisle {plus the surrounding aisles with the dfferent embellishments}.

  10. Leslie's Garden says

    August 5, 2012 at 8:38 am

    How creative! I love them on your mantle, they look fabulous!

  11. Lisa~A Cottage To Me says

    August 5, 2012 at 10:26 am

    Great idea! I will have to check out the scrapbook paper isle next visit to HL. Your letters turned out great!

  12. Theresa H. Roach says

    August 5, 2012 at 10:58 am

    Awesome tip! I am going to make something using your technique! Have a blessed day dear friend, HUGS!

  13. Diana says

    August 5, 2012 at 12:06 pm

    Great idea! And so true about Hobby Lobby — I feel like such a chump if I pay full price for anything there.

  14. Melanie says

    August 5, 2012 at 1:45 pm

    That is SO clever and so cute! Love it.

  15. Stephanie @ La Dolce Vita says

    August 5, 2012 at 3:02 pm

    they came out great! they really look like wood. one of the most clever redo’s of these letters I’ve ever seen.

  16. kathleen grace says

    August 5, 2012 at 3:12 pm

    Wow, I can’t believe how real that paper looks! These are awesome:>)

  17. cindy says

    August 5, 2012 at 5:59 pm

    Those letters look wonderful, I’ve never seen paper like that before.
    Hugs, Cindy

  18. Penny @ The Comforts of Home & Flea Market Makeovers says

    August 5, 2012 at 6:55 pm

    They 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.!

  19. Heathahlee says

    August 5, 2012 at 7:48 pm

    Hey 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! 🙂

  20. Nancy says

    August 5, 2012 at 9:55 pm

    Wow, those look great! Thanks so much for sharing this idea. I am going to try it!

    Nancy

  21. Deanna says

    August 6, 2012 at 3:51 am

    Those are fantastic! I love it!

    Thanks for sharing another fabulous and easy project!

  22. Tammy says

    August 6, 2012 at 3:52 am

    Genius! They really do look like wood. And 40% off .49 cents might as well be free. Amazing! Have a great week. Tammy

  23. deana says

    August 6, 2012 at 4:49 am

    This 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

  24. Barbara Neubeck says

    August 6, 2012 at 6:49 am

    Hi Manuella,
    Your letters look fantastic. Good work. Thanks for showing how it’s done.
    Have a good day
    Barb from Australia

  25. Linda A. Young says

    August 6, 2012 at 8:44 am

    Wow, 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!

  26. Cynthia says

    August 6, 2012 at 9:29 am

    I love the letter they are nice and rustic. They will look fabulous. I also like the colors you chose.

    Cynthia

  27. Audrey says

    August 6, 2012 at 9:38 am

    Fooled me! Your letters really looked like aged barn wood….very realistic!

  28. Debbie says

    August 6, 2012 at 11:45 am

    I 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.

  29. Debbie says

    August 6, 2012 at 12:44 pm

    Oh 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

  30. Dayna Clark says

    August 7, 2012 at 4:30 am

    This Looks Amazing, I would love for you to share it at our link party
    http://live-love-laugh-interiordesign.blogspot.com.au/

  31. Jaye @ Just Trying to Make Cents of it All says

    August 7, 2012 at 2:56 pm

    Wow – that’s paper? That looks so cool! Pinning this one!

  32. Marcia says

    August 7, 2012 at 11:18 pm

    I 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

  33. Becca says

    August 8, 2012 at 4:51 am

    I love the idea! Now you gave me an idea what to put in my kids room.

    Thanks for the share.

  34. Jennifer says

    August 8, 2012 at 8:03 am

    I 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!

  35. Pat says

    August 8, 2012 at 12:17 pm

    These are great!
    at first glance …I thought you made these with real barn wood!

    Pat

  36. Linda @ Itsy Bits And Pieces says

    August 9, 2012 at 8:34 pm

    Manuela, this is seriously one of the most fun projects I have seen in ages! I have to try it…thanks so much for sharing!

  37. Jeannine @ The Concrete Cottage says

    August 9, 2012 at 10:08 pm

    These 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!

  38. Brenda says

    August 16, 2012 at 9:24 pm

    These 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

  39. Kim-HomeIsWhereTheHeartIs says

    September 8, 2012 at 9:35 am

    These are great, Manuela, so realistic!

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A Cultivated Nest makes no claims of “expert status” and the owner will not be liable for any losses, injuries, or damages from the use of the information found on this website. Posts may contain affiliate links. A Cultivated Nest is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. A Cultivated Nest is also a participant in the Etsy affiliate program via Awin. This means that I may earn a small commission from some of the links in my posts. Please see our Disclosure Page for more information.

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