Oversized JOY Letters featuring Styrofoam and Rockler

This year, I wanted to keep my mantel decor simple…but pretty.

I knew I wanted some over-sized, giant letters but have yet to come across them in craft stores.

Letter and typography tutorials certainly aren’t in short supply in blog land, but here’s how to make your own using Styrofoam sheets.

(The nice thing about using the sheets is you can cut out any “font” you wish and they are sturdier than a piece of cardboard.)

I decided to make the word “JOY”, playing off the existing oval frame as the “O.”

You will need:

1 x 12 x 36″ Styrofoam sheet(s) – Can be purchased at Michael’s, JoAnn, A.C. Moore, & Walmart

marker

scissors or knife

embellishments (In my case, yarn and muslin ruffles. You can also use glitter, beads, twine, burlap, etc.)

hot glue gun (if you like to move quickly), regular glue if you don’t.

*Hot glue can melt your Styrofoam a tad. However, if you’re covering the entire letter with yarn or fabric, it allows you to work quickly and you can’t see any slightly melted areas, especially if you are glue on the back side. Personally, I didn’t want to sit there and hold a piece of yarn or ruffle for 5 minutes, several times, while regular glue set.

I use the Pro 100 from Rockler.

Step 1:

Lay your Styrofoam sheet flat.

Step 2:

Using a marker, draw your letter on the sheet. I went with a simple block letter and used a ruler to keep my edges straight. If you want a fancier font, you can print your letter out on a sheet (or multiple sheets) of paper, cut out, and use it as a template.

Step 3:

Carefully cut out your letter. I used a pair of scissors but a knife is useful for more curvy edges. I used my Rockler sanding sponge to fine tune that hook at the bottom of the J.

If you rub your knife blade with candle wax, you won’t hear that awful screeching sound of knife on Styrofoam!

Step 4:

Embellish away!

I simply wrapped yarn around the “J” and every 3 inches or so, dabbed a little hot glue on the back side to secure. I decide to leave the yarn skein attached because I think it looks cute, handmade, and cozy!

I purchased the thick, charcoal gray “Lion Brand Wool Ease” yarn at JoAnn.

For the “Y”, I added ruched ruffles using this tutorial.

I ruffled one, long 3-inch wide strip of muslin and then cut it into tiny strips, attaching each strip to the back with hot glue, starting from the BOTTOM to the top. Just overlap your ruffles to hide the elastic seam. When I got to the top, I just folded the last ruffle over and hot glued her down.

Happy decorating!

Jami

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