When we started redecorating our hallway and landing recently I knew I wanted to change some of our accessories too. And when I say change, I mean buy more and move the existing ones around. I get bored quite quickly so I’m always switching things up around our home. Anyway, we’ve got a bit of a “blah” bookcase at the top of our landing. It’s oak and I’m not sure whether it should be painted .. BUT at the same time I think it’s making the corner a bit dull and drab. It needed something colourful and these MDF letters are perfect for a colourful decoupage make-over. Amazon do loads in different sizes here.
here’s what you need
Before we start, did you know I do weekly craft sessions Live on Facebook? You can check out this project right here.
Now, onto this project! These letters are great fun as you can chose what words you make for a sign, as a shelf sitter, or even stick to just an initial to display on a gallery wall. In any colour combination you want to suit your home!
I knew that I wanted to mix up the colours on the letters to add a bit of variety. If you’ve been following me, you know I love the colour turquoise. Fortunately the design-pad that I bought had loads of different colours that combined turqouise with pink and orange (told you I was going to mix things up!)
how to decoupage your letters
I decided to alternate a busier pattern with a more simple one and placed the letters on the paper. Next I traced all the letters and cut out the letters from the scrapbook paper to match them perfectly.
I actually started off with painting the letters with a light blue chalk paint. It goes with our decor as well as the decoupage paper, plus it makes them look lovely and bright against our “blah” bookcase (can you tell it’s not my favourite? 🙂 ). You only have to worry about painting the outside edges of the letters. The front and the back of the letters will be hidden (I mean seriously, who’s going to look at the back?), or covered with paper. Set them aside to dry. This usually does not take very long at all.
By the way, you don’t have to use chalk paint. Acrylic paint or emulsion will do just fine. Just anything you’ve got on hand.
Let’s Mod Podge those babies!
Once they are dried, brush on a layer of Mod Podge where you want the paper to go. Note to self – I got this the wrong way around first of all. You’d think that these are all pretty symmetrical, right? Errmm, no, not so much. There’s not a lot in it, but there is definitely a slight difference so make sure you get the paper glued to the right side.
Once you’ve added the layer of Mod Podge, take your decoupage paper letter cut out and carefully apply it on the top. Press down slightly to attach, gently pressing out the bubbles. You can take a small brush to help you with this process. When you are happy with how it’s looking leave it to one side to dry. Once it’s fully dried, spread another layer of Mod Podge on top of the paper this time. Really glue down those edges too. Repeat the whole process for all your letters, leave to dry fully and you’re all ready to hang them up.
My decoupage letters in the flesh
I attached them straight onto our bookcase with some hot glue, but you can add them to a piece of wood to create your own unique sign. Alternatively you can display them on a shelf as they happily stand up without having to support them (even the “O” was happy standing up, although it was a bit more temperamental and may be knocked over quite quickly .. but nothing a bit of blue tack won’t fix!)
And this is how our bookcase looks now – at least it’s a bit brighter and I’m learning to love it! What do you think? By the way, did you see our hallway coastal inspired bookcase makeover? You can check it out here. I promise you’ll be pleased you had a peek!
Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission if you decide to use my links to purchase something (at absolutely no extra cost to you!). This will allow me to continue to share great ideas and projects with you, so I am very grateful for your support!
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