DIY Sheet Music Letters

     Hi everyone! Welcome to my first blog post. I am so excited to be starting up this blog, and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing it. 

     Okay, so music is kind of my thing. I love it. I mega love it. Eeep! So naturally, I like to decorate with sheet music. A lot. And yesterday, I decided to try and make letters covered in sheet music and song lyrics for my bedroom. I think it turned out pretty well! Now, I shall pass my vast wisdom and knowledge of the subject on to you. You're welcome.   

What you're gonna need:

• Wooden letters. I bought mine at Walmart for less than $2.00 apiece. I spelled "music" with mine, but obviously you can choose whatever you want.
• Mod Podge
• Sponge brushes (they're like 97¢ for a 3-pack at Walmart)
  
• Black tea bags
• Sheet music and song lyrics. I just printed sheet music off of Google, and typed out some of my favorite lyrics in Word and printed those. Simple.
• Newspaper (this gets messy)
• Mounting tape (I used Duck brand. It works very well)

     Start by boiling some water to make the tea. While you're doing that, lay out your newspaper on a large surface. When the water's boiling, pour it into a small glass bowl or coffee mug. Steep a few tea bags in it. Now, start cutting your lyrics and sheet music so that there are no empty edges. We just want words and music on our letters, no blank spots. 

When the tea is a nice dark color, pull a tea bag out of it and rub it across the sheet music and lyrics. We're staining the paper so it looks old and awesome. Lay out the wet paper on your newspaper to let it dry. Do not move forward to the next step until the paper is fully dry, or it won't be easy to work with. I learned that the hard way. If you're pressed for time, or you're just super excited to finish the project, using a hair dryer on the paper works wonderfully.

    Go ahead and let it dry. I'll wait.

Okay. Your paper is finally dry. Time to have some fun. 

Take your Mod Podge and dump a big glob of it onto a paper plate. Dip one of your sponge brushes into it and spread the goo onto a strip of your sheet music or lyrics (I ripped it for a frayed edge), spreading it all the way to the sides. Press the strip onto your wooden letter, and wrap it around the sides. This part may require pressing with your fingers to get the paper to stick, so be prepared for a coating of glue on your hands.

Keep adding strips to the letter, and go crazy with the Mod Podge, covering the front and back of the strips. We don't want our paper peeling off later. 

When you have most of the letter covered, start adding smaller pieces between the big ones to make it look nicer.

After it's all covered and looks satisfactory, spread a final layer of Mod Podge over the whole darn thing. Don't worry, it dries clear. Set it aside to dry, and repeat with the rest of your letters.

To mount them, just use the mounting tape you bought and stick a few pieces onto the back. Very simple.

And there you go! You are now the master of wooden letters covered in sheet music. Wear the title with pride.

 Thanks for reading! Check back often for more DIY projects and various forms of nerdiness.