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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