Christmas Marquee Sign :: Monthly DIY Challenge

Date
Dec, 10, 2014

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

brepurposed

67 Comments

  1. Reply

    thatphotoboothrocks.com.au

    June 24, 2016

    Yes! Finally something about photo booth.

  2. Reply

    Kyla @HouseOfHipsters

    December 20, 2014

    Clever, clever, clever! This turned out great. The entire vignette is beautiful. Thanks for linking up at Found & Foraged!

    • Reply

      brepurposed

      December 21, 2014

      Thank you Kyla! Love partying with you guys 🙂 Have a fabulous Christmas!

  3. Reply

    Jamie | anderson + grant

    December 17, 2014

    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

      brepurposed

      December 17, 2014

      Aw yay, thank you so much Jamie! Hope you have a great night 🙂

  4. Reply

    Michelle from Weekend Craft

    December 17, 2014

    Bre you are so brilliant using the clear ornaments as lights! Just had to feature this on Creative Spark Link Party this week. Hope you stop by today to link up and enter our giveaway! http://bit.ly/1GNpmUs

    • Reply

      brepurposed

      December 17, 2014

      Aw thanks so much Michelle!!

  5. Reply

    Krista @ the happy housie

    December 15, 2014

    Okay, this is unbelievably cool. Love it! Featuring you at WIW this week- thanks for sharing it Bre!!

    • Reply

      brepurposed

      December 15, 2014

      Yay! Thank you so much Krista 🙂

  6. Reply

    Gilly @Colour Saturated Life

    December 12, 2014

    I love this! It is a beautiful vignette you have created and I adore that little red table!

    • Reply

      brepurposed

      December 14, 2014

      Thank you so much Gilly!

  7. Reply

    The Salvage Bureau

    December 12, 2014

    Adorable! I am planning a lumberjack party for January, and this would be perfect. Thanks for the great idea.
    Lacey

    • Reply

      brepurposed

      December 14, 2014

      That sounds like so much fun! Thanks for stopping by 🙂

  8. Reply

    Heather Grow

    December 12, 2014

    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

      brepurposed

      December 14, 2014

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

  9. Reply

    debbie

    December 12, 2014

    Grateful for your creativity. Adorable and seems “doable” – great tutorial. I will thank you again after I try my twist on this!

  10. Reply

    Amy | Canary Street Crafts

    December 11, 2014

    This is so pretty, Bre!!

    • Reply

      brepurposed

      December 11, 2014

      Thank you, Amy!! xo

  11. Reply

    Fotini Roman

    December 11, 2014

    This is seriously adorable!! I love the way you assembled it <3 Found you linked up at Craftberry Bush!

    • Reply

      brepurposed

      December 11, 2014

      Thank you so so much! I’m so glad you stopped by 🙂

  12. Reply

    Angela @simplybeautifulbyangela

    December 11, 2014

    This is by far one of the most awesome things I’ve seen in awhile! I love it and may have to make one myself next year 🙂

    • Reply

      brepurposed

      December 12, 2014

      Aw thank you so much, Angela! You definitely should make one!

  13. Reply

    Kendra @ www.joyinourhome.com

    December 11, 2014

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

    • Reply

      brepurposed

      December 12, 2014

      Thanks Kendra! You totally should 🙂

  14. Reply

    Kristi

    December 10, 2014

    LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it Bre!

    • Reply

      brepurposed

      December 11, 2014

      Thanks Kristi!! xo

  15. Reply

    Bre @ Average But Inspired

    December 10, 2014

    Oh my gosh, I LOVE it! I am going to replicate this project at some point for sure. I like that the back looks like a bomb or something. That’s cool. 😉 GREAT job, Bre!

    • Reply

      brepurposed

      December 11, 2014

      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!

  16. Reply

    Michelle Lepak-Dandelion Patina

    December 10, 2014

    Very cute holiday sign. The little clear ornaments are so dainty and work well in your project. Nice job.

    • Reply

      brepurposed

      December 11, 2014

      Thank you Michelle!

  17. Reply

    Tara @ Anything & Everything

    December 10, 2014

    This turned out amazeballs!!! I love it! I am working on a project right now and after seeing all these amazing marquee signs I might just take it in that direction. Thanks for the inspiration!

    • Reply

      brepurposed

      December 11, 2014

      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 🙂

  18. Reply

    Amanda @ Dwelling in Happiness

    December 10, 2014

    Suuuper cute, Bre! I gotta make me one of these, I have a bare wall it’d go perfect on! Love that they’re just cheap glass ornaments instead of light bulbs!

    • Reply

      brepurposed

      December 11, 2014

      Thank you Amanda! And they’re plastic which is even better! 🙂

  19. Reply

    Erica

    December 10, 2014

    Holy. Crap. This looks so professional and amazing and Ijustwanttostealitandputitinmyhouse. AMAZING job!

    • Reply

      brepurposed

      December 11, 2014

      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

  20. Reply

    Jen @ Girl in the Garage

    December 10, 2014

    Such a great idea – I love your interpretation Bre! What a fun monthly challenge to force yourself to think outside the box. 🙂

    • Reply

      brepurposed

      December 11, 2014

      It was definitely a challenge to come up with something different! Thanks so much, Jen! 🙂

  21. Reply

    Michele

    December 10, 2014

    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

      brepurposed

      December 11, 2014

      Thank you so much Michele! And it WAS easy! 🙂

  22. Reply

    Katie @ Little House of Four

    December 10, 2014

    This is genius, love it Bre!

    • Reply

      brepurposed

      December 11, 2014

      Thanks Katie!! xo

  23. Reply

    Marie@The Interior Frugalista

    December 10, 2014

    LOVE LOVE LOVE this idea Bre – such a creative use for clear Christmas ornaments!

    • Reply

      brepurposed

      December 11, 2014

      Thank you Marie!! I really had to think hard to come up with a different use for them! 🙂

  24. Reply

    Kiescha Williams

    December 10, 2014

    I love it! You are so creative!

    • Reply

      brepurposed

      December 11, 2014

      Aw thank you so much Kiescha! 🙂

  25. Reply

    Christina @ Operation Home

    December 10, 2014

    This came out adorable, Bre!! 🙂

    • Reply

      brepurposed

      December 11, 2014

      Thank you Christina!! xo

  26. Reply

    Lindsay Eidahl

    December 10, 2014

    So cute! I love it! I love that you showed the back too. I did that in a post too! It shows the reality of a project! 😉

    • Reply

      brepurposed

      December 11, 2014

      Thanks Lindsay! Just trying to keep it real around here! 😉

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