Lettered Wall – Work in Progress

Do you collect things?

The only thing I “collect” are playing cards from places we’ve traveled. I throw them in a big basket in our living room and they are a great conversation starter. They are also a practical reminder of places we’ve been and experienced. The irony is that I really don’t care to play cards…I just like to collect them. But let’s not delve into my issues!

Lately, I realized that I have the beginnings of a collection of the letters “A” and “J” for the first initial of my name and my husband’s name. Here’s how I grouped them in our last home. I kind of miss that cozy room with its old-fashioned light.

In our current home, I decided to hang those same 4 letters in our master bedroom too. I haven’t painted the walls yet, but really, that particular wall color has been the least offensive thing in this house, so it’s at the bottom of the priority list.

It’s kind of a big wall, to the right of this wall is a doorway that leads to the master bathroom. I suppose I could make this into a reading nook of some sort, but again, bottom of the priority list. However, I decided that I needed to dig deep and find my inner hoarder collector. How cool would it be to fill up that wall with As and Js?

Tada! Here are 4 more letters. It’s starting to look much more purposeful now.

I’ve had the 4 original metal letters for probably 9 or 10 years. (I can’t believe I’m at that point where I can make decade references. Sigh.) They were all purchased at TJ Maxx or other similar stores. The prices (because I never removed the price tag stickers from the back) are either $5.99 or $7.99.

So, I went into Marshall’s and TJ Maxx a couple of weeks ago and did happen to find some A and J letters in similar sizes and they wanted $19.99 per letter. HOLY INFLATION BATMAN! Sheesh.

(That sliver you see below is the only glimpse of our master bathroom that you are going to get right now. The wallpaper is so atrocious that I can’t even think about it. This is a “no linger” bathroom. Get in and out people before you burn your eyes on the early 90s wallpaper.)

Back to the story. Sometimes I end up crafting just because I’m irritated by how much things cost. $19.99 for a letter? I’m not Vanna White!

So, off to the craft store I went and picked up 4 wood letters in different fonts. After that, it was as simple as busting out the champagne-colored and silver-colored spray paint and going to town.

The wood letters I picked up at the craft store were very thin, without much depth. As my collection continues to grow (because how can I stop now?), I’ll need to be careful to keep a good mix so that the wall doesn’t look too flat. And yes, I spend time thinking about these things. Ridiculous, I know, I know!

You can see the difference in depth between the old and new letters in the picture below.

So, for less than the cost of one metal letter at TJ Maxx, I made 4 new letters. Happy dance! Take THAT inflation! Now to keep my eyes peeled for good deals on As and Js!

Thanks for reading! Here are some other places I’ve used letters in decorating!

Ireland Foyer 

Personalized Wood Hangers