Weddingbee Blog

Let me set something straight. I am not a DIY’er. I really am quite terrible at these types of things. Granted, I love arts and crafts, but I came to terms a long time ago with the fact that I am just not very good at them. Countless lanyard, cross-stitch, ceramic, crochet, and art projects I have tried to complete throughout the past 24 years of my life have just never quite come to successful fruition. Like the ceramic “bowl” I made my dad in fourth grade to keep his change in. It’s not great—in fact, it looks downright awful. He still uses it, though, and proudly displays it on his dresser.

I have done this to myself countless times over the years. I invest money and massive amounts of time into a project, and about halfway through I realize it is not working out. I continue on, though, to finish and, when I am done and look down at what I have created, I am usually disappointed because it more than likely has not turned out the way I had hoped.

With that said, if I successfully do complete a project then you can bet a kindergartner would also be able to do so. Probably even better. So today I bring to you a DIY that was easy, affordable, and fun. I’m serious, guys, it actually turned out well.

I am keeping the decorations for the ceremony clean and simple. There is so much natural beauty at Monte Verde that I want to enhance it, not cover it up. There are two huge trees perfectly positioned on either side of the aisle. I thought it would look beautiful to hang each of our initials on each tree. A moss-covered letter would stand out but still blend with the look of the ceremony.

I went on a search to find moss-covered letters, but everything I found was in the price range of $50–$100 per letter. I did not need them that bad. My brain started getting a little artsy, and I had a thought that maybe I could do this myself. I made a list of all the products I would need and headed out to Michaels and a hardware-supply store. I was able to find the spray paint, glue, drop cloth, moss, and ribbon. Yet I could not find any wooden letters. There was no way I was going to try and cut them myself. I’m a little crazy, but not that crazy. I did some research and came across a website called Craft Cuts. They have tons of different wooden letters in all shapes, fonts, and sizes—all at great prices. I decided on 16-inch unpainted Baltic birch letters with a one-quarter-inch thickness. The price was $11.75 per letter. They said it could take up to two weeks to arrive. However, three days later I came home to a package waiting on my doorstep. I honestly forgot what I had ordered, because there was no way the letters could have already arrived. I opened the package, and to my surprise it was in fact the letters. They came so quickly and were packaged incredibly well. Which made me a happy customer and excited to get started.

To start things off, I headed into the backyard to do the spray painting. Which is really fun, by the way. I had no idea. I decided to paint them black so that if there were any see-through spots on the moss then they would show black and not the brightness of the pale wood. I bought some cheap drop cloths to use, and they came in very handy. I was able to spray paint right on them and not have to worry about making a mess.

I spray painted the first side and then waited 20 minutes for them to dry in the sun. Then I sprayed the second side and did the same thing. After they were done drying I lifted them off of the drop cloth. It made a pretty cool looking banner. I figured at the very least if these letters did not turn out, the banner still looked awesome. We could always hang that up, right? OK, maybe not. Maybe I’ll just hang it in the garage for a few days. Cheap thrill.

Now listen to me very carefully in this next section. Do not buy any sort of tacky glue or super glue for this project. It will not work and will be a waste of money. I learned that the hard way. You should probably consider investing in a stock option for hot-glue sticks. Seriously. I went through three packs of mini hot-glue sticks on this project alone. That’s a lot of hot-glue sticks, but it worked like magic.

Once you have the economy size of hot-glue sticks at your disposal, then you can get started. I simply just started gluing moss onto the letters. I tried to cover as much of the black as I possibly could. Here is what it looks like after this first stage of moss gluing. It did not look terrible; it just seemed a little bare.

At this point I was starting to feel defeated. I wasn’t surprised, though; most of the projects I attempt turn out mediocre at best. I decided that maybe all it needed was a second layer of moss. This might make it thicker and cover the rest of the black. I had a ton of moss left, so I figured, why not? I am so glad that I did because this really made the difference. As you will see here, the black is completely covered now.

Now it was time to give these letters a haircut. The moss gets a little out of hand, and there will be stragglers and long pieces all over the place. All you need to do is just run some scissors over it to tidy it up a bit. The key is to have patience and just keep filling in the bald spots with moss.

After the moss was in check it was time to add the ribbon. I hot glued the ribbon on the back and then for extra sturdiness I used a staple gun to keep it in place. Right now I have them tied on top, but I might decide to change that up and tie it in a pretty little bow. As I finished this project and hung it on my fence, I was in shock to find that this project was actually a success. What do you think?

The total cost of all the materials, including the wooden letters, was approximately $40. Not half bad considering I had seen them pre-made at very expensive prices. 

Who else is slightly intimidated with DIY projects? Have you successfully completed any that surprised you?

{All photos are personal.}