Diy Cardboard Marquee Letters

Diy Cardboard Marquee Letters – This DIY shows you two options to make it with metal fiber or wood. Because you can never have too much light.

The letters I used can be found at most craft or home decor stores, and I used two different string lights – a larger crude bulb version and then a smaller plastic LED version. Both patio string lights or holiday lights work.

Diy Cardboard Marquee Letters

*Light strings usually have 10-15 lights, so you may need more or less depending on the letters you choose and the distance you are looking for. For this letter A, I used 2 strings

Diy Marquee Numbers

You will want to measure your letters and count your bulbs to determine where each one will be placed.

I marked them in my letter by making a small paper template with the same diameter as the light bulb socket and drawing around it with a sharpie.

You want to make sure to leave enough room for the bulb – if you only measure and space with the sockets you may not have enough room to add a bulb later – which is wider than the socket.

For the metal letters, the bulbs were single-file, but for the wooden letters, I made a double row in the vertical part of the letter since it was much wider than the horizontal part.

Ways To Decorate Your Party With Cardboard Letters

You will want to just drill out the hole you previously measured using a bit that is slightly larger than your light bulb socket.

You will remove the bulb, push the socket, and reinsert the bulb on the other side. You want the socket to fit snugly enough, but push it a little into the hole you drilled.

For a piece of wood, you can use just about any bit that is the right size, but the spade drill bit is probably the best way.

For the metal letters, I used a hole saw bit. Other bits can also be used, depending on how thin your metal is.

Diy Gaint Marquee Numbers Sign Letters Lights Large Light Up Letters Numbers Marquee Letter

You want to make sure you don’t push too far down when drilling your metal holes so you don’t bend your letters.

Wooden letters will probably need a coat of paint unless you are going for a raw wood look (you can also stain it).

I recommend painting after you drill the holes so you don’t have any cracks because you have to re-paint for touchups.

For lamps with actual bulbs, they must be screwed out of the socket. You’ll want to remove them all and set them aside where they won’t break.

Cardboard Marquee Letters Templates

For LED lights, they often have a small LED bulb inside, and then a plastic cover made to look like a light bulb.

Mine are like little balls that have openings that surround the LED bulbs and snap in place, so I can just pull them off to remove the plastic cover.

It looks almost exactly like the one in the picture, except the bulb cover has mercury glass. Pretty sure they are actually Holiday lights from Target, but the patio string light version works too.

I used duct tape to tape the wire down flat on the back. I started by inserting the socket into each hole I drilled, then tapping it in place.

The Best Christmas Proposal Ever Diy Marry Me Marquee Letters

After all the sockets were in place, I carefully coiled the extra wire and attached it flat. It took a bit of tape to secure everything because I wanted it to be as flat as possible to hang on the wall.

I secured the wire by plugging out the bottom corner of the letter so that it could be plugged in.

For the metal letters, I choose my bulbs facing what is actually behind the letters so that the “wall” is a little on each side to offer the bulbs a little more protection.

The nice thing about having the bulb on the front or soft side of the letter is that you can use the space behind it to hide and secure the cord which will make hanging easier.

Diy Letter “w” Marquee Light Up Kit

I actually did this with the wooden letters as I taped each one in place because the covers are plastic and they help secure the sockets in the holes I drilled before gluing.

Plug in your DIY marquee letters to turn them on, or string them together to make words.

Have you tried these DIY marquee letters? Which version do you prefer? leave a comment below, or use #

P.s. This article may contain affiliate links. While this link doesn’t cost you much to use, a percentage of all sales made through this link will help fund future Never Skip Brunch content.

Girl And The Word

I’m Cara, the designer & diy queen behind Never Skip Brunch. I’m a print-obsessed DIY queen who’s here to help you create a beautiful life through home design advice and chic DIY tutorials.

Making your own marquee lights is actually super easy. This DIY shows you two options to make it with metal fiber or wood. Because you can never have too much light. The letters I used can be found at most craft or home decor stores, and I used two different string lights – a larger crude bulb version and then a smaller plastic LED version. Both patio string lights or holiday lights work.

COFFEE & LET’S TALK I love connecting with women about DIY + design questions & feedback — just let me know what you think! These super easy DIY marquee numbers or letters are perfect for so many different occasions. Milestone birthday parties, graduation parties,  New Year’s Eve parties, Halloween parties, Christmas parties, oh my!

We made this giant 16″ marquee number for my 40th eeek I know 😉 birthday recently and I love how it turned out.

Steps To Diy Marquee Letters

If you like the idea but are short on time. We also found an option on Amazon to order pre-made marquee numbers and letters. It’s only 8″ tall but it’s done. Totally up to you!

With a few supplies and a little time, this came together pretty quickly and added a lot of fun to our recent birthday shindig.

I found this number at Hobby Lobby, but it looks like Michaels also carries the letters online and in some stores. We also take a craft knife to cut off the top of the figure and make a cut for the light to pass through.

We found the string lights at Michaels. Luckily they were 50% off at the time but you can usually find coupons online if they are full price when you need them.

Diy Marquee Sign {knock It Off Project}

You can use a battery led type of light, but this one works perfectly. They have little glass globes on top that mimic real marquee signs.

The glass part comes out of the LED light so you can easily stick it through the back of the paper mache number and then put the glass back. This allows us to hide the wire behind the letters.

We found something similar recently at the Target Dollar Spot as well. I believe around the holidays there will be many different options available.

We picked up spray paint for the project during a trip to Walmart and were blown away by the color options available. We chose this coppery, golden metallic color from Rust-oleum. Craft stores usually carry a selection of spray paints as well.

Dollar Tree Diy Marquee Letters

1. Using your craft knife, carefully cut along the top edge of each number or letter. You will reuse this piece so try to cut as close to the seam as possible.

2. Remove the top of the number or letter and set it aside. Next, remove all the loose cardboard from the center of the number and set it aside. You will need this again later.

3.  Using your pencil and ruler, map out where you want the lights to go. Count how many bulbs are in your light string and try to evenly space the number (or less) in your number.

We used one string of lights per figure because there are so many, but you can use as many lights as you like. Start from where the light will cut since we want them to line up perfectly and work our way out from there.

Diy Marquee Sign For A Photo Booth

4. Mark each point where you want the light with an “X”. Use a power drill to drill your hole, put the number on a piece of scrap metal or a pile of cardboard, something that you can drill through a thin layer of numbers into and not ruin.

If you are not using the drill, make small slits in the shape of “x” with your craft knife on top of each place that has been marked.

Lay down a drop cloth or several large pieces of old cardboard and lay both the top layer and the bottom layer of your marquee numbers.

We used a screwdriver to poke holes in the top layer and into the ground to avoid them during drying.

Diy Marquee Letters And Signs

Allow the figures to dry according to the spray paint package directions and apply a second coat. Once they are dry to the touch it’s time to put the lights on!

7.  Cut it