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Monthly DIY Challenge

Christmas Marquee Sign :: Monthly DIY Challenge

It’s time for another Monthly DIY Challenge! Our item this month was clear ornaments which  have been ALL over blogland, so it was hard to come up with something that hasn’t already been done. Right away though, I knew I wanted to make something other than an ornament, and ultimately decided on a Christmas Marquee Sign!

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CHRISTMAS MARQUEE SIGN

Christmas Marquee Sign

One thing missing from my holiday decor was an oversized Christmas print. I LOVE the ones seen at Lindsay Letters and House of Belonging so I figured I would try my hand at making one myself!

I bet you’ll never guess what my sign is made of 😉

Here are the supplies you need:

:: Foam Core
:: Kraft Paper
:: Balsa Wood Strips (found at Michaels)
:: Clear Ornaments
:: White Paint
:: Battery Powered Christmas Lights

That’s right, my sign is made from foam core. It’s SO lightweight plus it was super cheap to make!

Step 1

Glue your kraft paper to your foam core.

Gluing Kraft Paper
This glue seriously amazed me. It works like a charm, but be careful because it’s STRONG.  As soon as my paper hit the foam core, it was pretty much stuck on there.

Glue

Step 2

Stain your Balsawood Strips. These things weigh next to nothing which is awesome!

Balsa Wood

Step 3

Glue your strips to the foam core. I just used some super glue for this.

Wood Frame

Step 4

Lettering! I designed my words in Illustrator using the font Cheddar Jack and then printed it out on 3 separate sheets. I used a transfer method trick from my friend Nicole over at Meet the Bs that worked amazingly!  

First you want to cut around your letters and shade the back of the paper with a pencil. Yes I used our cheese platter that was still out from our xmas party the night before as my flat surface 😉

Tracing Words

Next place your letters on the sign where you want them and outline each one with your pencil. Make sure to press hard!

Tracing Words

You should be left with this:

Traced Words

I really wish I had awesome hand writing and could just free hand this, but that is just one thing I was not given. So this works perfectly for me!

Step 5

Paint! Fill in your outline with paint using a very fine tip paint brush.

Step 6

Make your holes for your ornaments. I used a pencil initially and then used some scissors to make them bigger.

Poke Holes for Lights

Step 7

Pop in your ornaments and attach the lights! I got mine from Hobby Lobby and they were half off. Boo ya!

Lights Placed

Clear Ornaments

And of course I had one more ornament on my sign than there were lights so I had to use two sets. That would happen to me. And that’s why the back looks like this:

Christmas Lights on Back

Oh well, no one sees it anyway 😉

To hang the sign, I simply glued a block of wood onto the top and then nailed in a little frame hanger. You could just as easily keep this free standing and not worry about that step!

I’ve been dying to make my own marquee sign and am in love with how this one turned out! Clear ornaments are the perfect alternative to light bulbs, plus they’re plastic 🙂

Marquee Sign

After Marquee Sign

Marquee Sign

Christmas Bell

Marquee DIY

DIY Christmas Marquee Sign

Don’t forget to check out my post on my little red humidor table and be on the look out for a tutorial for that flannel tassel garland seen in my photos!

Be sure to check out all the other amazing projects from my bloggy friends below 🙂

Have a fabulous day everyone!


Christmas Marquee Sign

Comments

  3. Super fabulous, as always! Love your idea of the sign and I totally ADORE the red table and your tree. The entire display is perfect. I’m including this post in the features on my blog tomorrow at our party. Thanks for always linking up with us! Merry Christmas!

    Reply

  8. Another great project. I love all the little “cheats” and tricks that you shared. I’m always super jealous at bloggers who have amazing handwriting. Thanks for sharing your secret.

    Reply

    • Thank you heather! Good hand writing is definitely not something I have, so I’m always looking for tricks! thanks for stopping by 🙂

      Reply

  13. Wow Bre! You hit it out of the park with this one! Love it, friend! I want to try a marquee sign now!

    Reply

    • Thanks Bre! And I was totally thinking the same thing about it looking like a bomb haha. It was so easy to make, I can’t wait to see what you do!

      Reply

    • 10 points for using “balls” in your comment 😉 haha thanks Tara! Marquee signs are so fun! I can’t wait to see what you’re working on 🙂

      Reply

    • Aw that means SO much! I’m self conscious about my hand writing (even if I’m tracing something) and am so glad you think it looks professional! Thanks friend! XO

      Reply

  21. It turned out great! Love how appropriately done it is. I’ve been wanting to do something similar for awhile. Thank you for the pictures to show how. You make it look easy! 😉

    Reply

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