DIY Marquee Letter Lights

In typical fashion, I had the majority of this post drafted right after the holidays, but haven’t gotten around to finishing it until now, a solid two months later, hah. During my annual visit to good ol’ Bakersfield, I made an obligatory stop at Michaels Art & Craft store (made easier with the help of numerous 50% off and 30% off coupons). Upon walking in, right at the head of Aisle 1 (glitter paper and Martha Stewart supplies), I stumbled upon these fantastic marquee light kits by Heidi Swapp:

Her collection ranges across the full span of the alphabet along with a few miscellaneous shapes like ampersands and arrows. Each kit costs only $12.99, a steal compared to real metal marquee lights that easily run $100 or higher.

The kit contains the essentials: the letter/shape frame itself, which is a blank white paper material, a stencil, lights specifically for that letter (some have fewer/more lights than others), and the light bulb casings that you pop on in the end. With the AAA powered LED lights, unsightly wires are not a concern. You can customize the letter in almost any way you want – with paint, glitter paper, real glitter & glue, washi tape, or just leave it white if that works with your decor.

Below, I used black and bronze paint with a sponge to achieve a burnished metal look:

And glitter paper cut outs (with the handy stencil) for the following:

As you can see, I had quite a bit of time on my hands. Five out of five stars for ease of set-up and customization – a fun project for a rainy or snowy winter afternoon!

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