Heidi Swapp Marquee Love: DIY Marquee Letters

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I'm in the planning stages of a gallery wall art project and it's killing me.
I'm very hesitant about what types of wall art to include. But one thing I
know for sure is that I want to try something different than your run-of-the-mill
photos in matted frames. I'd like to use some contrasting colors and textures

for visual interest and I'd also like to mix it up by using 
traditional as well as nontraditional types of art.

Enter Heidi Swapp's Marquee Love Collection.

I consider myself a member of the I-love-marquee-letters club, so the recent
launch of this (essentially) DIY marquee letter kit - lights and all - has made
 me one happy camper. The concept is simple: Buy a cardboard letter (mine
is approximately 6 1/2" wide by 8" tall) with holes already punched into it for
the light bulbs. Decorate said letter using pretty papers, paint, washi tape, etc.
(they give you a letter template to help you with this). Then insert the bulbs and
two triple-A batteries, sit back and enjoy your cool looking creation.  

They're very reasonably priced. Mine was on sale for half price for about $6.00
at Michael's. You can also buy more letters and create fun words with them. Get
some great ideas for how to use them over on Heidi's blog.

I used the glitter paper that's sold along with the Marquee Love collection at Michael's. The template that comes with the kit worked well for the flat face/front view of the letter. But for the rest of it, well, let's just say that I wish I had painted it instead. This particular letter has numerous surfaces that need to be covered and I found it challenging to 1) get my hands into some of the smaller spaces and 2) get the glitter paper to actually stay on. I used a glue stick and then had to shore up a few spots with clear tape. I didn't want to glue the paper on to it because I want to be able to change it out for a different look as the spirit moves me.

 So what do you think?

You can see that I left a few small areas uncovered after wrestling with the glitter paper

one too many times. I still think it looks pretty awesome, though. Just wait until it

actually goes on the yet-to-be-created gallery wall. I did hang it on the wall to get a

sense of how it'll look. Luckily, once it's on the wall any imperfections fade away.

I think it looks perfect! I'm still working on the wall, and I can't wait for it to be done!

Be sure to follow along on my gallery wall art journey to see the final reveal (and

tutorial-shhh) and visit this post for a recap of how to use monogram/marquee lighting

wall art. 

**I was not paid in any way for writing this post, I just loved working with this cool product!** 

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