Tips for papering curly letters

Hi ladies! Allison here. I don't have a craft blog of my own, but some of you may know me because up until this past March, I was the Assistant Manager at The Wood Connection. After working there for over a year and a half, I would like to think that I have a little bit of experience with wood crafts under my belt. I am so excited to be helping out today. I love The Wood Connection and I miss it dearly.
Anyway, I thought I would do a tutorial on something I used to hear customers ask about all the time...

Painting and papering the Curly letters!
Here are a few tips and tricks that will hopefully help you out a bit. I'm sure there are other ways to go about doing it, but this is what I do when papering and painting a curly letter.  (Bear with me. This will be a long post. I'm a very detailed person!)

Here is what you will need when painting and papering curly letters:
*Curly letters
*Paper
*Scissors
*Paint
*White Wood Glue
*Clear Acrylic Sealer
*Paint brushes
*Toothpicks
*Sandpaper
*Ribbons and any embellishments
*Plastic tablecloth or garbage bag
*Apron
*Mechanical pencil and eraser

First, you will want to get a small piece of sandpaper and sand all the edges of your letters. I love that it's nice weather now so I can do all of my sanding outside. (I didn't include a picture of sanding because I think that it is self explanatory)
Next you will trace your letters. I always try to trace BEFORE I paint. If you paint and then trace, you will end up with pencil marks on your paint, and then you will have to paint over the ink. I also prefer to use a mechanical pencil, and I'll explain why in just a moment.

Line up your letters on the edge of the paper. That way you can use the extra paper for other projects. I usually trace my letters right side up, on the side of the paper I want to use. Some prefer to trace on the back. If you like to trace on the back of the paper, just remember that if you flip your paper, you MUST flip your letter so that the will match up correctly when facing the right side up.
Trace as much of your letters as you possibly can. In the areas you can't quite get to, you will do a combination of these two things: pump out the lead until it is long enough to reach down in there. (The thicker the lead, the better.) Gently, I repeat, gently, guide the lead through the best you can.

The second thing you will do is free hand the areas you can't reach.

It's always better to overestimate when tracing because you can always trim the extra paper off later.
After you have your letters traced, it's time to paint. I like to use a plastic tablecloth or a garbage bag when painting. I have learned my lesson using newspaper or cardboard, and plastic works best for me. I always put the paint directly on the wood. That way no paint gets wasted.

Paint as much as you can. And remember, you don't have to worry about painting the front of the letters because paper will be covering it. Focus on the back, sides and getting in those curls and swirls.

Your brush won't be able to completely reach everything, so here is my solution for that...a toothpick! Squeeze a small squirt of paint down into the cracks and then smooth out with a toothpick. Toothpicks are also great for getting out any excess paint in any cracks.

After your wood is painted, start cutting out your paper while the paint dries. I prefer to use scrapbook scissors when cutting out letters. They are sharp, small and give me more control when cutting around all those curves. You can get them at your local craft store in the scrapbook aisle, or even at The Wood Connection.

Cut out your letters and cut just a hair inside of the line that you traced. I repeat, just a hair inside the line. It is better to have a little extra paper hanging off the edge because it can always be sanded off. If you have a letter "A" or one that requires cutting in the middle, I just poke a small hole with my scissors and then cut it out from there.

Now you are ready to glue your paper on. Squeeze some of the white wood glue sold at The Wood Connection on to your wood and use a foam brush to smooth out a nice, thin, even coat. Then take your paper and smooth it onto the wood. Work it over so that it dries nice and flat.

Give your paper 20-30 minutes to dry to the wood. Once it's dry, inspect it thoroughly and take some sandpaper and sand off any excess paper that may be hanging off the edge. I apologize that there is no picture for this, but it's very simple. I promise :)
Now you are ready to distress the edges. This is one of my favorite techniques because I think it just polishes off the project and makes the paper blend right in with the wood. Take a scrap piece of paper and squeeze a small amount of paint on it. Take a clean, dry brush and dab you brush into the paint. Wipe of most of the excess so that there is just a small amount of paint on the brush. Now you will gently stroke around the edges of the wood. Start with a little because you can always add more.

After you are done distressing, let it dry for a few minutes. Then you will be ready to spray your paint with some acrylic sealer. Take your plastic bag or tablecloth and go either outside or in a well ventilated area in your house. My basement is currently unfinished, so I do most of my spraying down there. Lay your letters face down, and spray a light coat of sealer all over the painted areas. This is definitely a step I do not recommend skipping over. Spraying your acrylic paint with a sealer spray will make the paint hold up much longer and prolong the life of your project.

Give it an hour or so to dry and then you are ready to embellish! I made these letters for my nieces, Ava and Claire. I kept the embellishments simple, because knowing my nieces, the embellishments probably won't stay on long. :)

Well there you have it! That is my take on papering and painting curly letters - with a few other craft tips thrown in. Hopefully this will help make your experiences with curly letters a little more enjoyable.
As a special thanks for reading this blogpost, if you leave a comment on this post, you will be entered to win a $25 gift certificate to the store! Please leave your name AND email in the post. The winner will be announced on Friday, June 1st.
Thanks again to all you wonderful readers and fans of The Wood Connection. I truly know how much the employees love and appreciate you and your support. And a special thanks to The Wood Connection for letting me be a guest blogger today!

xoxo -- Allison