How to Make Colorful Wall Letters

How to Make Colorful Wall Letters – After falling hard for some cute letters at Land of Nod that were out of my price range, I discovered how easy (and budget friendly!) it is to make your own!

I loooooove Pinterest for so many of the fun ideas available, especially when it comes to decorating my house. I can quickly get a feel for what I think of navy cabinets in the bathroom, for instance, or find a tutorial for making a cute garland for the kitchen. As I was working on our playroom, I really wanted to find some cute, colorful wall letters to help fill out one of the walls.

The trouble was, all the ones I fell in love with were EXPENSIVE. The space I needed to fill was pretty big, so I was looking at about 12 letters. Most of the letters I liked were at LEAST $8-15 each (if not more), so I was looking at spending anywhere from $90-180 if I went with any of those.

Which was significantly more than I wanted to spend.

After staring at these for the 100th time, I decided that I could probably come up with a passable DIY that I could be happy with. I set off to Hobby Lobby and came home with $18 in letters ($1.50 each at 50% off of their regular $3 price) and $10 in paint. 2 hours later, and the project was DONE! I LOVE so much how these turned out, and they really couldn’t be easier. Here’s how I did it…

You Will Need:

• Cardboard/Paper Mache Letters (I used these 8″ letters)
• Acrylic Paint, in desired colors (I like this brand and this brand)
• Painter’s Tape
• Paint brush (I used foam brushes)
• White Paint Marker (or you could use ultra fine tip permanent marker)

1. Tape Off Your Letters

The Land of Nod ones I loved so much used different angles and widths for the colored sections, so I followed suit, trying to mix and match (really, the more random, the better). Press your painter’s tape firmly down so you can make a nice, crisp line with your paint.

2. Paint 2 Thin Coats

I used my foam brushes to paint a thin layer of paint on all the letters, then immediately painted a second thin layer. (By the time I was done with the first coat on all the letters, the first ones were dry. If you work at lightning speed, you may need to give them a few minutes to finish drying between coats). As soon as the second coat of paint was on, I removed the tape (it comes off easier/cleaner if you do it while the paint is still wet).

3. Decorate

Using your paint marker, create a different design on the “blank” part of your letters. Again, mixing and matching and staying random works really well here. Try not to think about it too hard, and it’ll turn out! Let the marker dry.

4. Hang on the Wall

I used command velcro to stick the letters to the wall. It’s easy as can be and perfect whether you’re renting or simply want to make things easier on yourself. And you’re done!

For $38 and 2 hours of work, I couldn’t be happier with this project! This technique would work beautifully for bedrooms, laundry rooms, or even for holiday decorations (how cute would some Christmas or Valentine’s letters be!?)

p.s. Here’s the full playroom tour (including a source list). Don’t miss more room reveals and house projects here.