I recently went to a Do-It-Herself workshop at the Home Depot where we “learned” how to make these marquee signs. I say “learned” because I didn’t get to do anything besides listen to an unenthusiastic employee apologize while she informed us that This is more of a demonstration than a workshop. What the!? Whatever, I’m not letting that stop me from making my own sign!
To save serious amounts of time and avoid having to purchase a dremel and scroll saw, I just ran over to Hobby Lobby and purchased these pre-cut letters.
ALL of the other items came from Home Depot, here is what you’ll need:
- Buy or cut out your own letters
- Particle board to use as the backing
- Trim to frame the outside edges
- Battery operated strand of lights
- Spray paint
- Gold glitter spray paint
- Textured metallic spray paint for the backing board
- Darker color for the frame color
- Wood glue
- Hanging kit
My only tip here is to make sure you have your letter sizes first. That way when you go to buy your board you’ll be able to use them as a reference.
Using 220 grit sandpaper, sand any rough patches and wipe down with a damp cloth to remove any dust.
Measure the letters and mark where you want your lights. Depending on what your style is, you can either free hand this part or you can have your husband jump in and make sure they are lined up perfectly by marking and measuring for you. I really am glad he helped me. Using a 1/2 inch drill bit, carefully drill the holes. Notice how we even circled the correct ones to make sure. You definitely don’t want to mess this part up. Keep that sandpaper handy because you’ll want to sand over the drilled holes to make sure they are smooth and ready for paint. Now you’re ready to paint! You can use whichever colors you want, but because this was a Christmas-y sign I chose metallic silver for the background and gold glitter for the letters. Once the paint dries you are almost ready to glue them into place. FIRST, make sure your lights will fit through the holes by removing all of the bulbs and trying a few of them out.
Now you may glue the letters down. I used liquid nails, but any wood glue will do. After waiting the full dry time recommended on glue bottle, (mine was four hours) drill the holes again to go through the backing board. Paint, cut and glue the frame on the front, tutorial here.
Put each light into its hole and once all lights are in place turn the whole board light side down. This will push the backs of the lights out so the front looks flush. Using a glue gun, glue the backs with a generous amount of glue to secure into place.
Once that has dried it should look like this! Install the hanging kit to hang on the wall or display it on a table and lean it against the wall.
Did you go to the “workshop” and make a sign? Share a link so I can see yours! Happy Crafting,
Xo, Chelsey
Does Home Depot sell the large wooden letters?
I actually found these letters at Hobby Lobby.