Craft Project - Wooden Letters

I received these wooden letters for Amelia's room when she was born, and they are fabulous, but there is so much white in the room and the walls are pale it all looked a bit plain, so I thought I would bring a bit of colour and pattern into the space to match the pretty colours of the bright and cheery Indian block printed cot blanket I bought from Rikshaw Designs.

What better way than using scrapbook paper. So easy. I have done this several times before, for the other kids' bedrooms and it always looks great. Plus it's fun and quick, and as you know anything that can be done in a baby's nap time is especially appealing to me.

BEFORE

STEP ONE

Start with the fabric, artwork or rug that is your jumping off point and the inspiration for your colour scheme.

Mine is the Rikshaw Designs cot blanket which has a pink, subtle grey and pumpkin coloured flower design on a white background. The plain pink is the fabric I have just used to recover the armchair in Amelia's nursery. I have since learned you can get similar block printed cot blankets here at Down That Little Lane, a lovely Australian curated online store.

The walls are painted Dulux White Duck, half strength.

STEP TWO

Find a selection of complementary plain and patterned scrapbook papers. I like to mix stripes, florals, checks, geometrics and plain colours. 

I have boxes of scrapbooking papers from all the years of crafting and styling I did for magazines so I didn't have to buy any. But you can get them from any scrapbooking or craft store and lots available online. You could use any kind of pretty decorative paper though, such as stationery paper, wrapping paper etc.

Narrow down your selection to on piece per letter, or you may like to repeat a pattern or plain if the name is long.

I had about nine, although only needed six. So I took them into her room and laid them out against the wall to see which worked best in the space before narrowing it down to the six finalists.

STEP THREE

You'll need a cutting board, metal ruler and craft knife and scissors, plus either craft glue or Mod Podge.

Experiment with the order of the papers by swapping them around to see which looks best where. I usually put a plain between two patterns and try to balance out the more dominant colours so that they aren't all in one place.

Although for Amelia's name, the patterns were subtle and so pretty I couldn't not use one, so I opted for all pattern and no plain this time. 

STEP FOUR

Place the paper face down, and the letter also face down (ie on the back of the paper) and trace around the edge with pencil. 

TIP - This is important so that the paper letter is the right way when you cut it out and paste it down. Some letters like "T" "O" and "M" are mirror images either way, so it won't matter as much, but letters like "P" "E" and "G" for example, need to be reversed or they'll be back to front.

Cut out the letter using a craft knife.

STEP FIVE

Once all your letters are cut out, you can glue them onto the wooden shapes using quick drying craft glue or Mod Podge.

STEP SIX

Once the papers have been glued down and dried you can trim the excess. There will probably be some paper overhang as it's hard to get it exact, so you can trim with scissors or the craft knife to get a nice, neat edge.

You can use a sealer over the top if you want to protect them, or if they are likely to be near water. Make sure the glue under the paper is completely dry before you do this or it can tend to bubble.

AFTER

I think it's perfect for her room now, and matches the vibrant colours in the blanket without being too strong. Just right for a new bub.

Images by Melinda Hartwright for Georgica Pond

Thanks to all of you who mentioned to me you've had a crack at some of the craft and DIY projects I have posted about. So nice to hear that you are inspired to have a go. I'd love to see photos of your finished projects when you're done.

Any questions you have or details you'd like to know about the room or project, feel free to email me at mel@georgicapond.com.au.

I'll be doing a full post on Amelia's nursery soon.