DIY: Striped Letter Wreath

The trophies that I made for work put me back in the crafting spirit.  I've been seeing letter wreaths for a while and finally decided that it was time to stop talking about how I should make one and actually get to work.  As always, I got ahead of myself and didn't take details at every step, but 3/4 isn't too bad, right?

Striped Letter Wreath

What You'll Need

1 Wooden Letter

2 colors acrylic paint (I used Martha Stewart)*

Painters tape

Artificial flowers or felt flowers (or both!)

Burlap

Epoxy or hot glue**

What You'll Do

1.  Using the lighter of your two colors, paint both sides and the edges of your letter.  I did two coats.

(Yes, I used the latest issue of crime times as an impromptu drop cloth.  It really classes up this tutorial, huh?)

2.  When your base color is dry, use painters tape to mark off diagonal lines.  As with most everything I craft, I eyeballed the lines and it turne out fine. 

3.  Using the darker of your two colors, pain over the tape an the exposed part of the letter.  I kept the pain to the front, not wrapping to the edges. 

4.  As soon as you have all the coats you want (again, I did two), remove tape immediately. I think it's easier than waiting until the paint dries.

5.  Cut the burlap to whatever length you want it.  Using epoxy or hot glue, attach the burlap to the back of the letter.  I put one end on each side of the Y.  You don't have to worry too much about how neat it looks.  It is burlap, after all.

6.  Flip your letter back over and use your epoxy or hot glue to attach your flower wherever is most appealing to you.   

7.  Let everything dry/set over night and then hang!

Full disclosure, this is actually the second one I made. The first one I made what the same green, but it had light blue stripes and a yellow flower.  Paul thought it was a little too girly so I took that one to work to brighten up my cubicle and made this slightly manlier version for the front door. 

*The green is Martha Stewart an the blue is...not.  I'm not sure what brand it is.  But I didn't like it.  With the first Y I did I used all Martha Stewart an it was lovely.  This blue paint was pretty thin and kept sneaking its way under the painters tape. I'll be using Martha Stewart paint for crafting from here on out.

**If your letter will hang indoors or outdoors, but out of the sun, feel free to use hot glue.  If you're going to be hanging your letter in direct sunlight, go for epoxy.  That's actually my rule of thumb for all wreaths.  I've had two wreaths that hung by a ribbon secured with hot glue that I found on the ground when I got home from work because they were in direct sunlight all day.  Ever since I started using epoxy it's been smooth sailing!