Faux Metal Letters

I’ve made an internal vow to myself to go through each room of my house and make it just the way I like it….and not stop until it is done.  Don’t make excuses…don’t change my mind…don’t stop!  So, I started with the smallest, yet saddest and highest traffic space in the casa…the laundry room.  I hate my laundry room!  It’s cramped and it is full of junk because it’s become the main dumping ground for things that I don’t know what to do with, like the never ending pile of mail and school papers.   
Anywho, I have an awkward space above my washer and dryer.  It’s too high to put any functional shelving, so I‘ve always resorted to putting up a piece of artwork.  Nothing has ever worked.  I’ve basically despised everything I’ve put up because a field of wildflowers just doesn’t seem to fit with folding laundry.  So, I thought why not put up a catchy phrase having to do with laundry…and do it with metal letters…you know, keep it industrial…like a sweat shop  ;)
I found this lovely tutorial using my favorite cardboard letters from Joann’s and knew I’d hit the jackpot…. I added a few steps for 'ya and also included a fabulous product to hang them…it’s how I’ve hung all the letters around my house…and I’ve got a a lot!

First, get your letters that you want to spell.  I also included a period.  I used a good brush for the black paint and then bought the  cheap chip brush that the tutorial suggested.  I think that is crucial because the bristles are rough and actually leave brush marks…something that traditionally would not be ideal.  But, for this technique, you want brush marks! 

Here is a close up of the paints I used

I found it easiest to just pour the paint right on to the letter and brush it on.  Do all sides of the letter except the back.  They dry fast.

Once all the letters are dry, you can begin the faux metalling :)

Dip your brush in the metallic paint and wipe some off on a paper towel. 

Working quickly, make large heavy brush strokes on the letter.  You can make it as light or as heavy as you want.  I ended up covering my letter a couple different times using this method for a more heavy metal look.

Keep all  your brush strokes going the same way.  See on the bottom that the brush strokes are going north to south, just like the top of the letter.  Also, make sure you get all the edges.  It helps the look if all the hard edges are the metal color and not black.

These things rock my world.  They don’t require you to make holes in walls.  No worrying about leveling, or having to get letters lined up perfect while hanging… it can all be adjusted later.

Press two strips together and peel the backing off of one side.

Press that onto the back of the letter.  When you are ready to hang, just peel off the sticker from the back and press to the wall.  If you need to adjust the height level or make the letter straight, just pull the letter off the wall.  The wall strip will stay attached to the wall and the letter strip will stay attached to the letter.  The material on the inside of the strips will grab each other and it makes it super easy to move around until it is just right.

Here it is hanging in the laundry room…. I have 2 more words that will be going underneath…wanna guess what they will be?

Here are some more letters that I’ve made over the years…
                                                                     
Don’t miss the opportunity to win a 5 pattern pack from Lily Giggle this week…enter HERE

Also, have you seen the Colorful Chronological Clocks that I made for the LR too?  Click HERE to take you there  :)

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