diy decorated letter

One of my favorite books growing up was Richard Scarry's Cars and Trucks and Things that Go.  I loved, loved looking for Goldbug on each page, and it was well worn by the time I was out of childhood.  And when I passed it along to Fletcher, it couldn't take the extreme love he had for it, too.  Not that he was too brutal with it, but it just got well used.  This past Christmas we gave him a new one and retired my old book.  I've kept it around thinking I'd come up with something, and well, I did! 

A decorated letter "F" to hang in Fletcher's room.  This is a super easy, quick project to do.  If you have about a half an hour of free time, you can whip one of these out, too! 

All you'll need is:
1. Mod Podge
2. a craft knife (I'm using this one)
3. a brush or foam brush
4. letter of your choice (mine is pressboard)
5. a well worn book

First rip strips out of your book.  I chose the images that I knew Fletcher loved best. 

Now start brushing your Mod Podge on in a thin coat on the back side of your strips.

Working with one strip at a time, start covering your letter, overlapping the strips.

Cover the entire letter, pressing down firmly where the strips meet the letter.  Make sure to smooth out any bubbles.

Flip your letter over onto a safe cutting surface.

Using your craft knife, cut away at the negative space around the letter, cutting as close to the edge as possible.  This is why a swiveling blade comes in handy!

When you're finished cutting, flip her back over and brush on a coat or two of Mod Podge.

 Let it dry completely, and that's all there is!  Except now you have to figure out where to hang it.  This little project gave me a good kick start to put up all of Fletcher's pictures.

I think it fits right in, and more importantly- Fletcher loves it!  He pointed out all his favorite pictures and named what they were.

{clockwise from letter F: Arian Armstrong print, picture of my dad as a child- Fletcher's namesake, a frog poem plaque Brian's grandma made when he was a child, Winnie the Pooh painting by my uncle, Fletcher name plaque picked up at a fair, Lionel tin plaque thrifted}