Saturday, July 28, 2012

Nursery Rhyme Letter Tutorial ~

Hello, lovely friends!

 It feels like forever since I've posted anything. Just over a month, but whose counting?!

I wanted to share a little craft project that I made for my sister as part of my gift for her baby shower. My niece, Zooey, is about to be born in less than two months. It's a very exciting time for our family as I have two sisters, both due with baby girls within a month of each other.


I wanted to make something one-of-a-kind and personal for my niece's nursery. I didn't want to take over the decor,  just add a little something to it.

I found the inspiration on Pinterest but the photo only lead to a website called Madeit.com. The item had sold and there's no way of finding out who made the item, so I can't really give anyone credit here.

This is what I came up with ~


I bought the letter Z at Micheal's for 50% off for about $2.50. The spray paint is Robin's Egg Blue by Design Master and it was another 50% off Michael's purchase for about $3.00 dollars. The nursery rhyme pages are from the Little Golden Books; 'Eloise Wilkin's Mother Goose' and it was just 25 cents at a thrift store.


I tore pages from the book, with the rhymes and pictures that I liked best and also a few random pieces for the background. Most of what I did was cutting out the pages to that would fit the shape of the letter Z. I wanted as many colorful and cute pictures as possible to fill the letter. The hardest part was coming up with my design and cutting the pieces to fit on the letter perfectly. 
Once my pieces were cut I used a Q-tip to spread tea dye ink from a distressing stamp kit on the sides of all the pieces of paper. I wanted an aged, vintage look to the letter like the book.


I spray painted the whole letter twice. Making sure that the edges were completely painted over.


I sponge brushed the wood side and then placed my paper piece over it and pressed down once the paper was in the correct spot.


I layered the pieces until the entire Z was covered. The pieces were mostly cut to size but I had to take care of the pieces that over hung the edges with an exacto knife once everything was Modge-Podged in place. This was a little hard as far as Modge-Podge projects go.  I've done projects where you cover the entire piece, but never where I wanted a paint color to show. Basically I couldn't be as sloppy which always makes things easier.


To finish, I went over the whole letter with two layers of the Modge-Podge. Also, I only use Matte Modge-Podge.


My sister was actually Little Miss Muffet one year for Halloween. When I saw that page in the book, I had to have it for Zooey's gift.


One more look at the finished project with Pat-a-Cake, Pat-a-cake, Little Miss Muffet, and The Old Woman and the Shoe as the background.

I'm currently working on another letter for my other sister Pam. Her daughter, Felicity, is due in a month. I'm doing the same spray paint color but the book pages are in all black and white from a Golden Book story of Children's prayers. I'm thinking of using some fine clear glitter over the pages to glam it up a bit.

If anyone tries this project I would love to see what you come up with. Happy Crafting!

I hope you're all enjoying a wonderful Summer!

Love,


Linking With ~ 

A Diamond in the Stuff ~ Time to Shine
Savvy Southern Style ~ Wow us Wednesdays
Ivy & Elephants ~ What's it Wednesday
The Charm of Home ~ Home Sweet Home
At the Picket Fence ~ Inspiration Friday
My Romantic Home ~ Show & Tell Friday
The Shabby Nest ~ Frugal Friday
My Repurposed Life ~ Catch as Catch Can
Funky Junk Interiors ~ Saturday Nite Special