I have been drooling, DROOLING over colored felt letterboards. I just haven't drooled over the price. They are expensive! I kept thinking there had to be a solution, and I've found it!
I recently found THE BEST DEAL! An 11"x16" letter board for $9.95, that comes with a set of black letters! This letterboard can be found at Walmart. I've not found it online, only in stores, and not all stores carry it, so you may want to call and check, unless you are making a trip anyway. I've found it in fabric and craft, and in stationary. The construction is okay, and the white felt looks a bit dingy, not like the Letter Folk letter boards. You can even get 2 sets of additional letters and words for $9.95.
As I mentioned, it was a little dingy, and I didn't love the color of the white. It looked more grey. I thought this would be the perfect board to turn a color!
So... an inexpensive, easy DIY solution was born! Textile medium mixed with the craft paint color of your choice, and brushed on your letter board, was the answer! You can find textile medium at any craft store, and I think most brands work just fine.
I used Anita's on one, and Delta on the other board, and they both gave the same results.
Squirt as much paint as you need into a cup, and add the textile medium. What this does, is it thins the paint, and makes it so it doesn't dry hard. It stays soft and playable. Mix more than you need. You will need more than you think, and the felt will suck up any excess.
I found that adding a little more textile medium than paint gave me the consistency I wanted. It will be pretty thin! Kind of like pudding that's not set up.
Mix it up, and start brushing it on your letterboard. The felt will soak the color up. It feels more like a stain than a paint. I loved using the medium flat brush for this project, because it was able to get under the frame and not get paint on the frame. It went super fast! By the way... I tried to take the frame off, and couldn't bend the metal prongs back into place after, that's why I opted to just paint with the frame on. If you get paint on the frame, you can just wipe it off. You may need to add extra to the crack lines, just to make sure the color has saturated everything.
Let it dry in the sun or over night. This is very important, because the letters can leave dents in the painted felt, if you insert them before it's all the way dry.
I also made a pink one for my bedroom. I kinda want one in every room of my house!
At $9.97, there is NO EXCUSE not to buy and customize your own letterboard today!
The board says what I felt when I finished.
Now I have two more boards, one for my bedroom, and one for the powder room. Just think... you could have two more boards by the end of the day too!
Thanks for stopping by!
Have a Happy and Creative Day. And seriously... make a painted letterboard!
Risa