Hey, guys!
I’ve decided to start posting a wedding related DIY project I’ve either started working on OR finished on a regular basis to share with you all in an effort to either 1) provide a really super awesome tutorial for you guys or 2) to get some much needed feedback on the things I’m working on. Today’s DIY project comes in the form of wooden letters.
Now, it’s not as if these initials are new to the wedding scene, but the more I plan my wedding the more I realize how I’m falling prey to what’s “trendy,” so I figured throwing these adorable babies into the mix wouldn’t hurt. I figure I can put them on the cake table somewhere to add that extra little something.
Now, I’ve got to be honest here, readers–I actually started working on this project awhile ago–I’m talking like six months. However, in my defense, I recently pulled them out of my increasingly heavy wedding box and decided they needed an extra little something to spiff them up just a bit more. And so, without further ‘ado, let’s get started!
Supplies:
Acrylic paint
Paint brushes
Pre-cut wooden letters in your’s and your significant other’s first initials; also an ampersand if you can find one.
Sheet moss
Hot glue gun
3/8 inch wide ribbon (or the thickness of your letters, however thick they may be)
OKAY! So, the first few steps I don’t really have any pictures of, but they’re also relatively easy to master. Basically, you’re going to paint the letters whatever color you want. I painted the sides and backs of my letters purple, and the front of the ampersand a vintage white. After it dries, you’re going to take the sheet moss and trace your letters on the paper backing of the moss. Then you’ll cut it out and hot glue it to the front of the letters. (I also added a few coats of hairspray to the moss just to make sure it didn’t fall apart. Be advised–working with sheet moss is incredibly messy! Do it outside or be prepared to pull out the vaccum when you’re done.) When you’re finished, you should get something that looks like this: (All upcoming photos by Miss Armadillo.)
After staring at them for a few months, however, I started to feel like they were missing something.
I have in my possession something like twenty rolls of what I call my “wedding ribbon,” which is some ribbon I stumbled upon at Hobby Lobby one day that just so happens to EXACTLY match the shade of our potential bridesmaid dresses. My grand, elaborate plan is to use this ribbon anywhere and everywhere I can in the wedding decor to keep things looking cohesive and pulled together. That being said, whenever I’m in Hobby Lobby I make a point to buy up all of my wedding ribbon they have in stock.
Basically, wedding planning has turned me into a ribbon hoarder.
Now, it just so happens that my coveted wedding ribbon is the exact width of the thickness of the letters, so I decided to wrap the edges of the initials in the wedding ribbon to give them a bit more interest. And so, they went from looking like this:
I know you’re digging that shag carpet.
To THIS:
Overall, I’m really happy with they way they’ve turned out, and I really love the visual interest the ribbon adds to the edges–however, I’m not so sure I’m totally digging the front of the ampersand. To me, it looks like it needs an extra little oomph, like maybe some pearly white paint, or some lace and/or pearl accents. That being said, I don’t want to add so much that it ends up looking like Billy Madison’s snowman:
Screen capture from the movie Billy Madison/ Image via Any Clip
What do you think, readers? Should I leave the ampersand as-is, or does it need a little something extra added to the front?
uniquelymebridetobe 