DIY Maritime Letters on the Cheap – Learn How!

Have you ever seen something you really, really liked on Pinterest or Instagram and gone to purchase it, only to realize how expensive it is? Well that happened to me recently when I found these letters online and realized that they were a $100 for three. THREE! C’mon, surely you can make them for much cheaper than that.

Well after some digging around the net I came across a DIY project which actually tells you how to make these exact letters. Best thing about it? It’s only going to be a fraction of the cost. Now it may seem like it’s going to be a bit difficult to make, but honestly – they’re quite easy. It’s ridiculous to pay the full price when you can make ones just as good yourself.

Supplies

The supplies for this project are limited and few:

• Wooden Letters (Either black or white works best)
• A Map (preferably one with dull/washed colors)
• Glue
• Paint

We found that the white letters look much better, but as always – however it really depends on where you plan on putting them in the house. These letters aren’t that expensive (especially if you shop online) and cost only $2 if you buy them from here, although we find it best to use at max 5 – 6 otherwise they lose their personality. So assuming you don’t get any more then 5 – 6 it shouldn’t cost you much more than $10 – $15 for the lot.

The map is a different story. You may have a particular location in mind for the map so the price is really going to depend on this. A cute thing to do is use a map from the coastal town where your beach dwelling is located. You can generally pick these up from the general store for a couple of bucks each so the cost isn’t going to be to high. Like we said above, washed out colors tend to look better than the brighter/more vibrant colors.

The glue is pretty self explanatory, the paint however is optional. We used the paint just because we wanted it to match the furniture in the room, so we painted the sides a nice light green (which also blended really nicely with the map).

What do with them

These letters look really good placed on a mantle piece/display cabinet. Throw in some seashells and  fisherman netting wrapped jars and you got yourself a beautiful decoration.

Have a look at some of these photos for some more inspiration.

To have a look at the step by step guide on how to make these, head over to JaxdoesDesign where they go through the process from start to finish.

So there you have it – a DIY guide on making some truly spectacular maritime map letters. These make a great gift for friends and family so once you have made yourself a couple, do the same for your friends (who knows, they may even think you forked out the big dollars for them!)

Show us what you come up with in the comments below. We would love to see them all!