DIY textured cardboard letters

Last Thursday , when I was checking some beautiful ideas on Hometalk I came across a Pistachio Shell flower wreath by Kelli from Craftshack. She used a textured letter "S" in the middle on the wreath. I liked it very much that I clicked her blog link to check how she made it. She has explained that she used a textured copper backsplash and covered the cardboard letter. I was like I need those letters and suddenly remembered a post that I saw two years back on Instructables where corrugated cardboard is used  to make beautiful picture frames. So, I combined those two ideas and came up with this DIY textured cardboard letters to decorate the small space between the pegboard and the ceiling in my craft space. Let's see how. 

Materials Required :

Cardboard

Scissors

Sandpaper

Craft knife

Paint & Paintbrush

Printer(Optional)

Spray bottle with water 

Step 1: Take a piece of cardboard. You can cut a piece from the shipping boxes you already have at home. You want to remove the top part of the one side of the cardboard to get the textured/ Corrugated part of the cardboard.

 To do this, you can just peel the top layer or just use a spray bottle filled with water and spray over the cardboard and then try to peel the top layer. 

I find the spraying with water was easier and gives best results. If you still have few cardboard pieces here and there, you can spray some water and peel them off. 

Step 2: Use a sandpaper and sand the extra bits of cardboard and have a clean surface to work with. 

Step 3: Now print the word you want in the reverse, you can do this any photo program of your choice. I couldn't accommodate the full word "Create" in one page , so I printed "reate" on one page and  "C" separately in another. You can also free hand the design on the back on the cardboard but you have to do it the reverse to get it straight in the front. 

Step 4: Attach the printed piece on the plain/back side of the corrugated cardboard and score the letters using a craft knife. 

Step 5: Use scissors to cut the letters and use the knife to trim the pieces here and there. I found using small scissors works best in this case. I also cut some craft tools to add on the sides. 

Step 6: Paint the cardboard pieces and allow it to dry. I cut a part of C and joined the rest of the piece using glue to make it as a continues word. 

 Use a picture hanging strip or  cut a small piece painter's tape and roll them . Stick it to the back of the cardboard pieces to hang them on the wall. The painter's tape idea might not sound good to you but I found they are easier compared to the picture hanging strips. But I am not sure whether the hold will be stronger but it is holding fine till now. I will update if it ever falls down ;) If you are using it as an accent piece on anything(like a canvas) you can use glue. For additional strength, you can try adding a coat or two of mod podge or glue to the back of the cardboard piece. That's it. Here is how it looks in my craft room above the pegboard that I made two months ago. 

I really like how this turned out. Hope you will like this too. You can make these letters for various purposes, like making one single large letter to add in the middle of a wreath or as a decor by gluing it on the canvas. Let me know how you will use these letters in the comments below. Share what you think of this idea . As always I will be happy to hear from you. 

Other crafts you might like :

Cereal box into Storage box

DIY Pretty Gift boxes

How to install pegoard & Pegboard Accessories Ideas

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