Decoupaged Letters, Guest Post

I'm not the only crafter in my family. My sister, Amy made some really cute letters for a friend's baby shower gift, and I asked her if she'd be so kind as to post the how-to and some pictures. She obliged because she's family, and family does that sort of thing. =) So, thanks, Amy, for this cool project. (Oh, and because we're also a family who gives credit where credit is due, Amy got the idea from one of her good friends, Leslie.) Take it away, Ame...

Super Easy Personalized Wall-Hanging Letters (because for the life of me I could not put this project into words any more succinctly than this…)

Step 1: Shopping. Go to your local craft store and find the cardboard or wooden letters. Choose your desired size and style. Then spend some time browsing the scrapbook paper aisle. Find coordinating papers in patterns and solids (I count color-on-color paper as solids, even if they have a design to them) and buy enough to cover all of the letters. You can also buy other scrapbook embellishments, but this was my first try to I was keeping it simple! Lastly, pick out your ribbon to use for hanging. (Well, that’s not last unless you already have Mod Podge, a sponge brush, a glue gun, glue sticks, and a craft knife).

Step 2: Set up. You will need to put down a cutting mat/board if your letters have interior sections to cut out. You will need a pencil, scissors, a craft knife, Mod Podge, a sponge brush, a glue gun, glue sticks, along with your newly acquired supplies. You may want to put paper down so that you don’t get Mod Podge on your table.
Step 3: Trace the outline of your letters onto the scrapbook paper you have chosen for each letter.Step 4: Cut out the letters just inside of your line – you’ll want them slightly smaller than the actual cardboard/wooden letter. Use your craft knife to carefully cut any interior sections.
Step 5: Cover the back of the scrapbook paper with Mod Podge and glue it to the letter.
Step 6: Once the letters have dried, brush a thin layer of Mod Podge over the whole letter. I set them on disposable plastic cups to dry, so that they had a smooth finish on all visible edges. [This step is optional, but I really thought it made the project look finished.]
Step 7: Once the letters are completely dry, glue loops of ribbon to the back – I used 12 inches of ribbon for each letter, so the total length of the loop was about 6 inches, which seemed right for the size of letter I used.Step 8: Hang and enjoy, or gift your letters!