DIY Soapstone Decorative Letters

What and AMAZING and INEXPENSIVE craft! Using two simple supplies, turn dollar letters from the craft store into decorative soapstone letters.

I know I’ve been teasing you with projects for my new office space. I promise it is almost ready for the big reveal! I just can’t stop perfecting the space and doing new projects. I love finally having a designated space for work, school, and most importantly, crafting.

The latest craft I made are these decorative soapstone letters to put on the floating shelves above my desk.

I bought these bright decorative letters at Michael’s a while back – they’re my kiddos’ initials. I wasn’t sure what exactly I was going to do with them, but what can I say? It was a dollar impulse buy. I’m a total sucker for impulse dollar buys!

As I have been deciding what to put on the floating shelves above my desk, these letters seemed perfect to put by a picture of the twins. The only problem: yellow and orange don’t exactly match the color theme for the space.

DIY Faux Soapstone Finish Technique

Chalkboard paint and chalk to the rescue! I started playing around, first by painting and them with the chalk, that I came up with a finish that I really like. Here’s how I got that soapstone effect:

Supplies:

fine-grit sandpaper
paint brush
chalkboard paint
chalk
scrub rag

Step one: Sandpaper.

I lightly sanded the decorative letters since they were already painted. If you are working with unfinished wood, you can skip this step.

Step two: Paint.

I did two coats on each side of the decorative letters, letting everything dry between coats and sides.

Step three: Chalk.

Take a piece of chalk and draw all over the decorative letter.

Step four: Erase.

Take a dry scrub rag and gently rub in/wipe away the chalk.

Step five: Repeat. Repeat steps three and four a few times, until you get the look you want.

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6 Comments

They look so nice. I have to go to Michaels today….have coupon….Can’t wait to try this. I think I am going to do the word JOY! What do you think?

aimee says:

November 18, 2014 at 5:31 am

Great Idea and perfect for the Holidays! Let me know how it turns out!

Reply

Those are really, really nice! I’ve been looking everywhere for inexpensive letters for my little guy’s room, but I’ve never seen any that low in my Michael’s. You did an awesome job on the finish. 🙂

These are perfect! What a great project to do with those marked down letters I see at the craft stores. I never like the colors, but this idea would make them perfect for any decor space. Great job!

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Love your diys and crafts. I like the shelves but would probably fall on my toes on carpeting. I lived in Brooks, MN for a few years then off to sunny Wisconsin! HA!