i've been wanting to do a letter wall in B's room since before he was born
(fyi... he's 1 year old now...)
obviously, I'm a slacker. or procrastinator.
(or as my hubby and I like to say.... we're just very patient!)
but finally, when I was planning his 1st birthday party,
I made it my goal to make a giant letter "B"........
and here's how I did it:
I started with poster board and masking tape.
Not my ideal building materials, but all I had on hand.
(I'll explain that later...)
I cut out two large B's
(about the size of the poster board - 24"ish tall, 18"ish wide)
and then I cut some 4" strips of poster board.
Using masking tape, I just taped it all together until I had a 3D "B"
At this point, Bryceroni wanted to check out the progress...
Next, I had to cover the B.
I really wanted a rustic brown look...
so I used strips that I tore from brown paper grocery bags!
To attach the strips, I just used a simple mix of Elmer's glue and water
(can't give you an exact recipe... just mixed some of each together in a bowl and called it good!)
I dipped the strips of paper into the "paper mache",
used my fingers to squeegee off the excess,
and then covered the B piece by piece.
This is a pic of the B before it's final layer of paper bag strips -
the darker areas are still wet.
So, why were the building materials not the best??
The moisture from the paper bag strips caused the poster board to buckle in a bit.
If I had to do it again, I'd probably use a more water-resistant material to make the B
(or possibly cover it in masking tape, or duct tape before covering with the paper mache?)
But for my purposes, it just took a few more layers than I had hoped,
and pure luck that the front of the B didn't cave in much!
(the back is slightly lumpier - but it didn't matter to me, because it will be hung on the wall)
Last thing I did was add some brown acrylic paint randomly with a dry brush to add a rustic touch.
The final "B"?
I think it turned out super cute!
What do you think???
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