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

Kathy@ Gone North said...

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

Unknown said...

Oh very chic, I absolutely love them!

Elizabete said...

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

lisacng said...

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

Anonymous said...

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

Becky Marie said...

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

Sum of their Stories said...

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.

Marlene Detierro said...

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

Marlene
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