Craft-a-Roo

A few weeks ago I made these paper mache letters for my kids' bedroom doors. You may remember the JOY letters I made at Christmas time. They inspired me for this project. On my kids' bedroom doors they used to have these deflated mylar balloons from when they were born. An "It's a boy!" one and an "It's a girl!" one respectively. I never planned on them staying on there for 2 years! Maybe a few weeks. So it was good to get these done. Much cuter, and age appropriate :)

For Dylan...

For Madelyn!

Would you like to make some too? Here's how I did it.(As taught to me by my sister Lindy when we did our JOY's.)

First you paint your letters. They are going to be covered in cute paper of your liking. But paint them a coordinating color because the sides will show. With my JOY ones, we did not paint them. The cardboard look/color is cute too. Just depends on the desired outcome.

Then you are going to trace and cut the paper to fit your letter. Remember to trace on the paper w/ the paper upside down so that it will match up. Since the letters are not perfectly symmetrical, even when doing an "O" or an "M". The paper I chose is double sided. So, this picture shows a pattern on the side being traced. This trace and cut will actually be for the blue polka dot part. I hope this makes sense. I did not know how to explain. Often times you will have to trim a little here and there to get a good fit after you have initially cut it out.

So, after you have your paper cut out and trimmed to fit, you are going to glue it on. MOD PODGE is wonderful for this. Just use a small foam brush and get the glue all over the back.

This part is optional. I like to antique the edges (and even the surface a bit). Either using antiquing gel or a stamp pad. Just use a sponge and dab and streak it on. I used the stamp pad this time. I used the gel in the past. With the gel, just remember to wipe off the excess and it will look great.

Then, MOD PODGE over the ENTIRE letter. Front, back, sides. I like the glossy as opposed to matte. I did not have any on hand. So, I took an extra step after I MOD PODGED all over and coated it with a lovely shiny glossy varnish. That step is NOT necessary if you have glossy MOD PODGE :) Note to self: plan ahead. Note to self: good that you used the glossy varnish you already had on hand. Lol! MOD PODGE goes on white and dries CLEAR. Love that stuff.

This is the fun part. Gather any ribbon, buttons, glitter, jewels, charms, flowers, brads, eyelets, etc.! That you have. Embellish away! I should have taken the picture later. This is the stuff I started with. I had three times as much stuff pulled out by the time I was done!
What a mess maker I am.

Viola! Finished projects. I embellished a little on the light side. I think I like things a bit simpler. You can go crazy with it and it will still look SO cute! I took these pictures weeks ago, Maddie's actually got some more bling added. I put tiny red jewels in the center of the flowers where there is a red dot. And I added three jewels going down the right side of the top of the "M". Fun and easy! I then attached them to their doors using the 3M Command adhesive strips for hanging pictures and crafts. Oh my! I LOVE these things!! You know how Oprah has her "favorite things?" These are among the top of my favorite things list! No holes in your walls! Comes off clean and holds tight. Wonderful! I should work for them or do a commercial. Haha!