Wednesday, May 12, 2010

letter S and A to go with M

The response to my cardboard letter M tutorial was amazing! Several readers asked about making curved letters...ooh, a challenge! I love me a challenge :O)

I decided on a lower case a and letter S.



LETTER S:

First thing, I printed out my letters in publisher, just the outlines (why waste ink?), in a basic, bold, no frills font. I made the letters 6 by 6 inches, traced them onto cardboard and cut them out, ending up with 2 letters.



For the sides of the letters, I cut the longest possible 1½ inch strips of cardboard, making sure the corrugation went SIDE TO SIDE, not lengthwise. Then I bent and rolled the strips until the surface tension was broken and they were nice and bendy.



Following the same basic steps I used when I made my letter M, I hot-glued the sides onto the bottom letter. **I used HOT MELT glue for these letters instead of the low temp glue I used on the M. It takes longer to cool and gave me more time to manipulate the cardboard into place. The bendy cardboard was actually really easy to work with. Of course, I burned the crap outta myself a few times, but that's the price you pay for making something AWESOME! :O)



If a strip of cardboard was too short for the whole side, I just added another small piece to get to the end. When an edge was finished, I cut the strip off and used a separate piece for the end. Folding the strip around a corner was too bulky and I wasn't happy with the way the corners looked.



I continued around the letter until I had all the sides put on.



**I switched to craft glue at this point. Using hot glue to glue on the front/lid of the letter was a huge pain. By the time I got the glue all the way around, the glue where I started was cool again! So...I switched to some plain white craft glue. This gave me longer to move the front/lid into place, then I set a couple of books on top to hold things in place while the glue dried.



As with the letter M, the front and back will not line up perfectly. Just use a craft knife to trim the mismatched edges, and trim off any excess hot glue. I had LOTS of excess hot glue this time :O)



To cover the curved letter, I just glued paper on the front, and clipped all the edges like so:



I used a glue stick to stick it down.



I used black cardstock on the back and sides.





And of course, CHARCOAL CHALK INK all around the edges. This ink is my *drug* of choice. If I don't have 2 or 3 extra backup pads in my stash, I get antsy :O)



LETTER A:

Same basic steps...I started in the middle, worked my way out...yada yada yada. I haven't finished the outside yet...but you get the picture :O)



Nest I really want to try some really BIG letters!

This week my Mom's blog was featured on DOLLAR STORE CRAFTS, so exciting! She has a crackle paint technique using ELMER'S GLUE that I am itching to try! Maybe on some cardboard letters...hmmmmm :O)

Please go check it out!



Linking up with:

Trash to Treasure Tuesday at Reinvented




Transform Tuesday Blog Party at The Pumpkin Patch




Whatever Goes Wednesdays Blog Party at Someday Crafts




Look What I Made! Blog Party at Creations by Kara

Look What I Made!


Show & Tell Wednesday Blog Party at Blue Cricket Design




Be Inspired Blog Party at Room to Inspire



Strut Your Stuff Thursday at Somewhat Simple

Somewhat Simple Thursday Blog Party

I Made It Blog Party on Everything Etsy

I Made It Thursday Blog Party

Hooking Up With House of Hepworths

House of Hepworths Thursday Blog Party

Show Off Your Stuff Party at Fireflies and Jellybeans

Fireflies & Jellybeans Friday Blog Party

22 comments:

Ann @ makethebestofthings said...

You are so clever and your projects are awesome! I love your instructions too, very easy to follow. So, how big are the BIG letters going to be? The harlequin paper, btw, is very cool. Lovin' it!

Mel said...

excellent tutorial and they look awesome. I have to make myself two D's for my kids.

Sarah @ The Pumpkin Patch said...

Christy I love it!! I have been thinking about your M since you linked it up and wondering how to do curved letters. Any ideas for top heavy letters...like P?

Thanks for linking up to Transform Tuesday. I can't wait to see what you link up next week!

Jen @ lil Mop Top said...

what a great idea! I will have to try some for the new nursery. and now I can tell my husband there is a use for all the cardboard we have been saving in the garage! :)

Melissa said...

Wow!! I am so mega impressed!!

Deanna said...

Wow! I am totally bookmarking this for summer crafting w/ the kiddos.

Coupla thoughts:
1. Windering if instead of hot clue some sort of tape would work (to make it more kid friendly)
2. To cover the tape I wonder if spackle could be applied (make it kinda look like frosting?)
3. What can be put inside for stability? taped shut baggies of marbles or the contents of hubby's of nuts n bolts jar (shh! don't tell him!)??
4. Pondering if this can be made into a bank - that would be a cool homemade xmas gift from kiddo to kiddo!

christy mack said...

re: top heavy letters, using something inside to weigh down the bottom may help. I know with the paper mache letters they sometimes put plaster of paris inside the bottoms. you might just have to make them hanging letters though, an "F" or "P" is just gonna tip :O)

Debilou ~ Mississippi Mama said...

very creative,, definitely not anything i've seen around any of the blogs yet.. will have to try this. Thanks for sharing how to do this.

Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures said...

Simply amazing. You are too smart, talented and creative. The S paper looks great too.

A Few Crafty Things... said...

I have to tell you these are absolutely amazing. They look just as good (and with some...even better) than the letters you can find a Michael's or JoAnn's, etc. U R SMART! By the way, I noticed you and your mother are in Oregon, where? (I know, I know, that is probably classified) Believe me, I am not a stalker, I was just thinking if you were close that maybe we could meet or talk on phone as I just started a blog and could use some guidance. Anyway, sorry for babbling. GREAT
JOB. Missy

Unknown said...

I featured this, this week. What a great tutorial!

http://thespeckleddog.blogspot.com/2010/05/weekly-faves_16.html

michelle@somedaycrafts said...

Love them!! Thanks for linking up!!!

Life in Rehab said...

You soooooooo rock! Thank you for the S!

Room to Inspire said...

I have to agree with the other comments - these totally rock! I love that you just whip them up using a box! Thanks for linking up last week to Be Inspired.

Chelsea

Life in Rehab said...

Hi, since you're a blog I never miss, I wanted to stop by and tell you that I have a surprise for you tomorrow morning on my blog, so please do pop by!

Suzanne@Meridian Road said...

This is awesome! Your letters look amazing, and you MADE them!

Well done!

AUDRA said...

I did NOT know these were that simple to make!! DUH ME!!
Thanks for sharing. I'm visiting from your mom's blog.
(She linked up your gift to her to socialize with me Monday til Sunday at: Simpsonizedcraftsandthensome.blogspot.com) Maybe we'll see you around :)

AUDRA said...

I mentioned your post/blog today.

http://simpsonizedcraftsandthensome.blogspot.com/2010/08/make-your-own-box-letters.html

Elizabeth said...

ooh. you are GOOD. thanks for sharing the tutorial!

B said...

This is so awesoooommeee!!! You are one clever girl! I think I'm going to give this a try only bigger! I'm your newest follower!

amynkansas said...

i have been wanting to do somethng with LETTERS but couldn't afford them. I have seen lots of How To's but yours is the only one that didn't look homemade! Great job! Guess it's time I get my craft on!

Torrie said...

You rock!