of Baby Sprinkles and Alphabet Projects (the Wooden &)

Excitingly, my family will be adding another lady to our ranks this July when my sister Jenny is due. In order to prepare for this little fashionista, my sister Mandy and I devised a way to include extended family and friends in adding a little something just for her to their existing nursery. Basically, I found a pin on Pinterest and Mandy sprang into action with the plan. This is typically how our projects work...then it is up to me to do the nitty gritty crafting. My job this time was also to find examples for her to send around with the email and there is no shortage of DIY tutorials floating around to choose from. I found this one and knew that whatever letter I got it would be my inspiration.

While Ronnie and I were out one day specifically to find an & (there is also no shortage of willing volunteers with regard to this project), we stumbled upon a really cool patinaed copper flower and it happened to look great with the & I chose. I also found some really cool pearl beads on eBay and I knew I had just what I needed to add my own stamp to the inspiration piece. Mandy and I conveniently schemed to have all the letters sent to where we had our baby sprinkle. Just close family was invited since its Jenny's second baby girl but I really felt like because the letters were there more people took part in the fun! It was definitely a wonderful way to include everyone in the action.

Today's Cast of Characters:

Totally easy DIY today with all sorts of fun! It was really easy to dredge up what I needed from Michaels and eBay so as long as you have access to those fear not! I got the pearls from eBay and the wooden & and flower from Michaels; I had the spray paint I used lying around from another craft project. I'm not convinced it was necessary but it does add a nice bit of appeal to some of the naked areas. I'd say go for it.

What to Do:

Be proud friends, I remembered process shots during this project. It is really fun to do things like this and actually prove that I did it.

First make sure there is no lingering dust on your letter. You can do this with a wooden, mdf, or even cardboard letter and it will still turn out great. Mandy imposed a size restriction on our letters (no bigger than 4 inches) but & don't come in 4 inch size so I marched to the beat of my own drum a little on this.

Spray your letter until it is evenly coated with your paint. I used two coats on this little baby & and I'm sure it would need at least that if it was larger.

After the paint dries, get to work placing your embellishments. Because I had a specific idea about where I wanted my large flower, I glued that down first. Then I just kind of mish mashed around it with the pearls until they were looking good and the wood was pretty covered.

Once your project is completely dry you can add a hanging mechanism or leave it alone depending on your final plans.

Here is a quick shot of my & among the other spectacular creations made by family and friends. Jenny and her husband Pat are currently deciding on where and how they would like this glorious alphabet displayed!