Monday Made It

This is my first attempt at doing a Monday Made It project.  I actually started it (and finished it!) last Wednesday night, the same day I went out and bought most of my materials.  Tara at 4th Grade Frolics made a set of these letters and I thought I'd give it a try!  


I made magnetic letters to hang on my rolling leveled library...not the greatest pic but it's all I had available to me now...it's ugly.  I should have brought it home and done an extreme makeover cart edition on it, but alas, it's still in my classroom...maybe I can sneak in and bring it home?  Need to figure out how to paint a metal cart...spray paint?

I digress...as usual :)

The wooden letters spell the word READ.  I'm going to have them on the side of my "bookcart" and have a cutsie clipboard hanging there so they can check out their books.  I'm really awful at keeping up with my books...to the point where I just say please only have 2 of mine at a time...riiiiiiiiight.  I think the record last year's class:  27 books in a desk.  We should have made a graph each time we cleaned out desks.

What you'll need:  

wooden or chipboard letters

paint

scrapbook paper (try to find paper, cardstock is a little too heavy)

foam brushes

Modge Podge

a good pair of scissors or Exacto knife

varnish or a gloss

strong magnets

I bought my letters and paper at AC Moore (hooray for a 15% teacher discount!! Michael's does that too!)  They actually had the pack of paper for $5 but it was on sale (cha-ching!) for $3 something then 15%...double cha-ching!  I was a little disappointed with the selection of paper in the packet...not at all what was on the front.  I guess they meant "assorted" from 6 designs...oh well, it was cheap!  See all those pretty pinks and turquoise colors?? (pout)

Pick your paper and turn it on the back.  Lay your letters down upside down (the right side laying against the paper) and trace each letter.  Cut them out and lay aside.  An exacto knife works really good on those inside pieces.

Begin to paint your letters.  I did put a layer of paint on the fronts of each letter just incase the paper didn't cover the wood.  It will all be covered later :)  Once dry, paint all sides.

Once you've painted and allowed time to dry (riiiiight, if you're as impatient as I!) put a thin layer of Modge Podge on the front of the letter and place the paper cutout on top, carefully, smooth out any wrinkles!

Almost done!  Here's each letter...

This is optional, depending on your likes...but I took my paint and with a foam brush, dabbed a little around each edge to make an antiqued look.  This would cover any areas that the paper may have missed, and I think it helps make it look a little nicer.

Apply a coat or two of varnish or gloss, and you're done!  I still have to get some magnets, but I'm not in a hurry yet :)

I think this will be really cute!  I can't wait to see how it looks!  I am a little disappointed with the colors...I was hoping for some brighter, but it's not so "girly" and maybe my boys will appreciate that :)  Let me know if you make these!!

Be sure to check out other Monday Made It ideas at Tara's linky!

Also, check out Kaitlyn's giveaway at Smiles and Sunshine!