Sunday, January 11, 2015

Zinc Letters: Anthropologie Inspired





We've all seen those beautiful zinc letters from Anthropologie with just the right amount of industrial charm. For $18 a pop, I decided to pass on the real thing, but I did make myself a nice cheap knock-off. 

Anthro's version: $18 each


My version: $3 each





Starting with some $2 cardboard letters from Hobby Lobby, I used an Exacto knife to cut a little slot for each brad. I thought the brads gave the letters a little more authenticity, like they had been welded together or something,




Once each brad was in place, each letter got a double coating of Krylon Stainless Steel.



I used a black chalkboard paint for "grease" and a copper acrylic paint for "rust" to give each letter its own character. 



 Brushing off almost all the paint on to a plate before touching the letter helped me not to over do the distressing. 


I focused on the corners and edges, to give the letters a more "worn" look. 


By the end, I swear they looked like real metal. For now, I'll let them add a little industrial charm to the top of my mirror. Maybe they'll give me the nudge I need to pick up a book every now and then and work on that growing stack on my nightstand. I always have good intentions when I buy a book. 






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9 comments

  1. Wow!! Very well done!
    I will be copying this one. Thanks for the how-to.

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  2. Oh very chic, I absolutely love them!

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  3. this is super cool idea which I'm going to use, because I want to make something beautiful and stylish for my room! thank you for sharing :)

    http://happinessvictim.blogspot.com
    x

    ReplyDelete
  4. These look great and I love that you used brads to create the welded bolt look!

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  5. These definitely look like real metal to me! Thanks for the tutorial. I'm so happy you're blogging again. :)

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  6. Oh my heck, I LOVE THIS! Thanks for the tutorial!

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  7. These turned out great. You definitely stopped with the distressing at just the right point, my problem is I never know when to quit! And I echo some of the other commenters, it's nice to see regular posts form you again, glad everything is going so well for you.

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  8. Wow! This kind of big letter standee will be a perfect decoration for my son's 1st birthday party.

    Marlene
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    ReplyDelete
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