xoxo

Wow! I've gotten nearly twice as many hits on my last post as I've gotten on even my most popular posts so far. Guess everyone gets excited about babies! Well don't you worry. The blog world, and the whole world really, will definitely know it when I am, in fact, pregnant :) Which, hopefully, isn't too far in the future. 

But for today, a tutorial! With Valentine's Day coming up, I wanted to have a few more Vday decorations to my name, so a couple weeks ago, I got together with my sister-in-law, Amy, and we made some Vday letters!

Here's what you need:

• Cardboard letters (I got mine from JoAnn, Michael's has some, too. But no matter where you get them, definitely print as many 40 or 50% off coupons as you can find online to buy your supplies because all craft stores match competitor coupons.)
• Different valentine-y or love-related decorative paper. I used eight different kinds and I used about 12x4 inches of each. I had 4 pink/red designs and 4 black/white/grey/neutral-y designs. 
• Mod Podge (I used less than 1/4 of the bottle)
• A 1- or 2-inch sponge brush

Step one: Rip your paper

I ripped the edges of each page using a handy dandy tool from Stampin' Up, but you could easily rip without a tool. Then rip each page into smaller pieces, all varying sizes and shapes.

Step 2: Start gluing.

Mod podge dries super fast, so pretty much just do enough for one piece of paper at a time. Then overlap and mix up which pattern you're putting next to which.

I really thought I took more pictures throughout the process, but I guess no luck on that. Basically, just cover the faces of all the letters, making sure to have your paper pieces extending past the letter. Next, do all the edges of the letters. As you do your edges, bring down the extending paper over the edges of the letters to give the appearance of continuing the paper from the face all the way around to the back, smoothly. 

Here's a pic of the back of a letter to kind of give you an idea of what I mean. You just do this same thing when transitioning from the face to an edge.

I didn't do the backside of my letters because they'll be chilling on a bookshelf where nobody can see the backs! However, if you plan to display them on a sofa table or something else that gives you a view of both sides, you'll definitely want to do the back, too. Luckily, the faces don't take too long; it's the edges and all the folding down that are the time stealers.

When you're all done, be sure to put a coat or two of mod podge over the entire letter in order to give the letter a consistent sheen and added durability.

And in the end, you'll end up with awesome looking letters!

Let me know what you think! And definitely let me know if you make your own letters and send me a link to check them out!

Happy crafting! Check back soon to see the rest of my Valentine's Day decor :)

**ashleynicole