Simple Saturday Project: Burlap Love Letters

I have been searching for a simple wall hanging for our bedroom, but could not find just the right thing to hang above our bed. I ended up creating this easy Saturday project -- and thought I might turn it into a series on the blog! I'm going to call the series "Simple Saturday Project," posting easy 1-day craft projects. 

This project is as simple as can be, as long as you can paint light, thin coats of acrylic paint and manage a glue gun. It is also inexpensive. I purchased all of the supplies for less than $15! For this project you will need:

• 4 burlap canvases. I took a picture of them in the package so you can see what they look like (they come 2 in a pack):

• Four wooden craft letters. I recommend purchasing the letters and canvas at the same time -- hold the letters up to the canvas to ensure the letters you're purchasing can be centered well on the canvas.
• Acrylic paint and a small paint brush. I recommend a matte finish paint, as it does not show the brush strokes as prominently as a glossy finish. The small brush makes it much easier to paint the edges of the letters.
• Glue gun and glue sticks. I have a "high" heat mini gun. 

Step 1: Paint the front and edges of all four letters. The wood does soak up a bit of paint and it is easy to forget the little edges and sides of the letters. Don't worry about painting the back of the letters -- that side will be firmly glued to the burlap. Let dry 20-30 minutes in between coats. Remember to use thin coats and watch for bubbles in the paint. A professional looking finish takes a little bit of patience but is preferable to one thick, gloppy coat. I also recommend purchasing a small paintbrush for this craft. The letters below were painted with a glossy paint and you can easily see the brush strokes. A matte finish dries a little better:

Step 2: After your letters have dried for about 2 hours (should no longer feel "tacky" to the touch), plug in your glue gun and prepare to place the letters on the canvas. Use several large dots of hot glue to firmly affix the letters. Also, once you've firmly pressed the letter into place, flip the canvas over and push on the letter from both sides. I didn't do this at first and the bond was much looser. If it fails to bond well, let the glue dry, peel off the glue, and try again. 

Step 3: Place the canvases together to make sure the positioning of all of the letters looks okay. I used the natural lines created by the wood behind the canvas to make sure the letters were centered properly. 

And that's it! Very simple project you can complete in just a few hours. I chose a pale yellow and gray color scheme because it matches our bedroom. Here is the finished product hanging on our wall.

Happy Saturday! We'd love to see this project if you make it -- 

please comment with a photo if you do!!