Spell out a sign

From Designer DIY and DIY hacks - ideas and inspiration

Make your own unique wall art and spell out a fun message!

Word art is ideal for walls, especially when it can be personalised to spell out a message that is unique to your home. Follow Sarah’s steps below to make some fun, easy and super colourful letters using craft cork sheets, and a few Resene testpots.

What will yours say?

You will need

• A packet of A4 craft cork sheets (Sarah’s was purchased from Kmart).
• Letter stencils (Sarah printed these out herself on paper).
• Small artist paint brushes, painter’s masking tape, pencil, ruler and scissors or craft knife.
• Resene testpots in your choice of colours; Sarah chose Resene White, Resene Nero, Resene Smitten, Resene Niagara and Resene Sweet Corn.

Instructions

Top tip:  Cork sheets are very delicate so be careful when cutting them. You could make these letters out of a sturdy card, or different material if you preferred. If you leftover accent Resene paint from painting your room, this could also be used for your letters to help them fit in with your room colour palette.

Step 1:  Choose your paint colours, decide on your word art and prepare your letter stencils.

Sarah decided to spell out ‘BE COOL’ using bright colours and a retro font. She cut out her printed letters and traced around them onto the cork sheet. Sarah positioned the letters in the top right of the cork sheet, so she could create a colourful shadow coming off them to the bottom left.

Step 2:  Cut out each cork letter with the shadow shape intact. Sarah used scissors but you could use a craft knife if you have one.

Step 3:  Paint coloured stripes along the shadow area of the cork to create a 3-D lettering effect. Sarah used masking tape to get clean lines and applied one paint colour at a time. Once dry, pin or fix to a wall, or hang them from string and display them as bunting flags!