DIY: Decorative Comic Book Letter

I love Pinterest and wanted to make some cute comic book letters for my boys.  When clicking on all the links it was very hard to find directions that I liked all in one place.  I had to sift through all the letters to find directions, while finding easy ones were even harder.  Here is my own version of how to create a 3-D letter and how to mod podge the comic onto the letter.

Supplies

metal ruler

cutting board

masking tape

x acto knife

scissors

stiff cardboard box (diaper box)

flexible cardboard box (cereal box)

pencil/pen

mod podge

foam paint brush

comic book

2 printed letters

3-D Letter

First you need to choose a font for your letter.  A font that has a flat bottom works the best for curved letters.  I use Aerial Black.  If you don’t have Aerial Black, use Aerial and make it bold.  I make the font 700-800 point.  This fills up an entire 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper.  You can make the letters uppercase or lower case.  You may also need to print landscape versus portrait for some letters like m.  Print two copies of the letter of your choice.  Tape the paper to the stiff cardboard and cut out.  If your letter doesn’t have a flat edge on the bottom like s, make sure to cut a small straight edge on the bottom so the letter can stand up.  If your two letters do not match exactly don’t worry you will never be able to tell once it is assembled.  Next you will need to cut strips of cardboard of equal width from the stiff and flexible cardboard.  I use my rule width as the width for the strips so no measuring is required.

You are now ready to assemble your letter.  Cut the strips to the lengths needed.  I use the stiff cardboard for the base and the flexible cardboard for the curved edges.  Tape the letter together.  It should now be able to stand.

Selecting your Comic

When I select my comics I try to find ones that have lots of images of my character.  Make sure the images don’t all fall on the backs of another as you can only use one side.  It is also very difficult to find two comics that have the same illustrations, so one comic book per letter is best.  Now that you have your comic you need to take out the staples and select the pages/images you would like to use and cut them out with your scissors.  I use my 3-D letter to trace onto the back of the images I am using for my cutting guide.  When doing the sides you will want to make sure you cut those strips a little larger so you can wrap the edges of the letter for a seamless look.  

How to Mod Podge

I use a matte finish mod podge and start with the sides, then do the front and last the back.  You do not need to make the back perfect since no one will be seeing it, just make sure all the cardboard is covered.  To mod podge the letter you brush on a coat onto the back of the comic and stick it to the cardboard.  Once all sides are done and have dried add two to three coats of mod podge.  Make sure you brush in the same direction so your strokes all look the same and allow the letter to dry before adding the next coat.  You can mod podge anything.  I also did the light switches in the boys rooms.

Enjoy!

xoxo
-J