Today I will explain how to prepare a wooden letter or wooden number for your collage project in four easy steps! I hope to have a video version of this tutorial linked here soon!
Step 1: Purchase Your Wooden Letter, Number or Shape.
You can purchase your wooden letter or number from www.matchpointgifts.com or in my shop on Etsy, www.matchpointgifts.etsy.com. One reason I would suggest this is that we offer a variety of sizes, from 12 inches to 60 inches! I personally have made 3 foot collage projects, and I've sold numbers larger than that to those who wanted to make the giant collage themselves!
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| 12 Inch Wooden Number, Block Font (Great for Sports Collages!) |
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| 24 Inch Numbers, Block Font |
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| 15 Inch Wooden Letters, Standard Bold Font |
We also make the block fonts pictured above and can custom make any shape you would like, so just shoot me an email if you don't see what you have pictured in your mind's eye ... we will custom design any shape for you!
Step 2: Choose a Paint Color.
I personally prefer to use black for all of my collage projects. Black provides a clean edge and cohesiveness that I like. Clients request customization when it comes to color, though, so every once in a while, I will choose a finishing color that is not black.
I have used a lot of craft paints, and my favorite by far is the regular acrylic version made by Folk Art. Sometimes it goes on sale, but you can almost always get it for 40% off by using a craft store coupon. (TIP: most craft stores accept competitor's coupons! YES!)
Here's a quick glance at the Folk Art paint:
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| Folk Art Acrylic Paint, My FAVORITE! |
Step 3: Select the Right Brush.
Some people say that foam brushes work well for painting, but foam brushes are not my top choice when it comes to painting wooden letters. I love them for decoupaging collages, but for painting, I prefer gold-bristled brushes like this:
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| Gold Bristled Paint Brush - My choice for painting wooden letters, numbers, and shapes! |
Step 4: Paint Your Letter, sides, then back.
When I first started making collages on wooden letters and numbers, I made a big mistake in assuming that I did not need to paint the back of the letter or number. I chose not to paint the back to "save time" ... and while skipping the back may have saved time, the letter looked terribly unfinished when people flipped over my beautiful collage, only to see an uneven splattering of paint covering the back of my letter or number.
You want your final piece admired from front to back and side to side, so make sure to paint the back of your number and letter completely BEFORE you collage the front!
Thanks for reading! Next week I will share a detailed tutorial for prepping your photos for your collage, and give you a couple of different options for putting your collage letter or number together! Now's the time to get your letter or number at www.matchpointgifts.com!
Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think - and is there anything you would add?
Happy Collaging,
Crystal
