School of Decorating

Decorate with Confidence and Create a Home You Love

  • Free Class
  • Videos
  • Blog
    • How to Decorate
    • Simple DIY Projects
    • Life Tips
    • Success Stories
    • Our Home Tour
  • Classes
  • About
  • Contact

Faux Zinc Letters

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, on purchases made after following an affiliate link. See my full disclosure here.

July 16, 2012 By Jackie

This project was one of the best I have done in a while.  It is nothing remarkable, but it was free, quick, and my 4 year old was able to do it with me.  It is so great whenever you can include a child in decorating their own space…they love that!

Faux Zinc Letters
I originally purchased these paper mâché letters from Joann Fabrics for my son’s first birthday.  They spell out his nickname, Pepé.  They were painted blue and orange to coordinate with his first birthday party decorations.  Since then they have been in storage.

The area above his bed has been bare since we moved in.  I thought these letters would fill the wall space nicely, but they definitely needed a makeover.  I love the metal letters available from Restoration Hardware, but not the price.  So, we tried to recreate the look for less, or I mean, for nothing.

Faux Zinc Letters
In my acrylic paint stash, I found a bottle of Folkart Metallic Gun Metal Grey and Martha Stewarts Metallic Silver.  We used them together to create a new metallic finish for our letters.  We loosely mixed the two shades with our foam brushes before slathering it on our letters.  The streaks where the color was not perfectly mixed only added to the metal patina.

Faux Zinc Letters

We did three coats of the dual color mix on each letter.  I wanted to ensure the blue and orange colors did not seep through.  While painting, I put the letters on wax paper, which removed easily when we were done.

Faux Zinc Letters
This project was great to do with a four year old.  The more he smeared the paint on the more mottled look we achieved.  Even edge drips that would normally bother me on any other project, were fine here, because the raised edge looks like welded metal.

Faux Zinc Letters
Once they were dry, we hung the finished letters with 3M command strips above his headboard.  They fit perfectly.  The letters are so light, we just used one Command Strip horizontally at the top of each letter.  We made sure each letter was straight with a level, before fixing to the wall.

Faux Zinc Letters
I have not shared much of his room before, mostly because I still have lots of unexecuted plans in here.  But I will give you a peek with this wider shot.

Faux Zinc Letters

The wall color is Schoolhouse Slate by Martha Stewart.  It is a beautiful grey/green and the perfect backdrop for a superhero bedroom.  The upholstered bed was a Room & Board outlet find for under $300 in queen size. We got a mattress from Ikea.  The two blue nightstands are from the Hemnes collection at Ikea, with lots of storage for bedtime story books.  The sconce lamps are from Pottery Barn kids, used originally flanking the changing table in his nursery.  They are perfect for a kids room, because I don’t have to worry about him knocking over a table lamp on his nightstand.  The Spiderman sheets and sham are from Pottery Barn Kids.  We also have the batman and superman ones (all bought during sales).  The grey quilt is from Target.  It has a little texture with the modern quilting, but it is lightweight.  The reverse side is black.

Faux Zinc Letters

With his new faux-zinc letters, this bed vignette is all pulled together.  The project was no-cost and done in under 30 minutes!

Sharing this project here:
Home Stories A2Z
Snap!
Shabby Nest

Previous Post
Quarterly Home Goals Check-In #2
Next Post
Happiness in a Jar

Comments

  1. Brittney says

    July 16, 2012 at 10:14 am

    I have to do this! Such a great idea! Thank you for sharing.

  2. Megan @ Two Live Colorfully says

    July 16, 2012 at 10:09 pm

    Wow! These look awesome! I can’t believe how much they look like metal! Great project!!

  3. [email protected] says

    July 18, 2012 at 6:37 pm

    I was walking through Hobby Lobby yesterday and saw those little 3D cardboard stars. I was thinking that your technique would look good on those stars. I thought it might be fun to give it a try. I’ll let you how it turns out.

  4. snosie says

    July 18, 2012 at 11:41 pm

    I’m always worried wall mounted lights won’t be ‘right’ re:height and where they cast the light… I flirt with the idea regularly (ie when I see them at IKEA)

  5. Julie says

    July 20, 2012 at 7:33 am

    Love these! They look great in the room. Visiting from the Shabby Nest :)

  6. Erin says

    July 23, 2012 at 7:30 pm

    Fabulous job! I love the room…it looks like it will come together well for a bigger boy…

  7. Tauni says

    July 25, 2012 at 1:31 am

    Holy. I love these letters. Like love, love them. Will be pinning straight away.

    Thanks for sharing at Show and Tell on SNAP!

    xoxo, Tauni

  8. rebecca says

    April 24, 2013 at 11:26 am

    those look very much like metal. I love that. they are so cute. Im going to do some for my kitchen, but bronzed instead of silver. still, soooo cute =) you boys room is very chic

Hi, I'm Jackie. I believe you are the best person to decorate your home and I'm here to help.

I teach online decorating classes to help you create your dream home. Click on the images below to learn more about each class.

Take an Online Decorating Class

Best for beginners!

12 Class Bundle!

Get a free copy of my book
Free Decorating


Start reading now...

Follow Me Here

Categories

  • How to Decorate
  • Simple DIY Projects
  • Life Tips
  • Success Stories
  • Our Home Tour
I believe you are the best person to decorate your home. You just need a dash of courage and a dose of decorating know-how. That's why I created School of Decorating.

I know how frustrating it is to feel like failure at home. I also know how amazing it feels when decorating finally makes sense and your home reflects you. I want to share what I've learned so you can create a home you love without years of trial and error.

Get a free copy of my best-selling book Free Decorating

  • How to Decorate
  • Simple DIY Projects
  • Life Tips
  • Success Stories
  • Our Home Tour

© 2018 School of Decorating
 · Terms of Use 
· Privacy Policy
 · Disclaimer




This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.

Necessary Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.