DIY - Faux Anthropology Metal Letters

For a few years I have followed Kristen F. Davis Design blog. She does amazing decorative painting and can turn a run down dresser into a beautiful piece of furniture with a fabulous distressed finish.

I have wanted to try her DIY - Faux Metal Letters. They look just like the Anthropologie letters that sell for $18+, which is pretty pricey. So Friday night I went to the craft store and got all the supplies; Apple Barrel black acrylic paint, Folk Art Metallic paint in "Pearl", chip brush (they come in a bag of 3) and the letters. Here are 5 EASY steps to your own Anthro-like letters! 

1. Lay out all your materials. I used a brown paper trash bag. 

2. Paint each letter black. It's okay if you have brush marks. It doesn't have to be perfect!

3. Let the paint dry. It dries very quickly!

4. Now it's time for the "metal" paint. I followed Kristen's tip on dry brushing the pearl paint. You just take a dry paint brush, dip it in the pearl paint and dab it on your paper towel and paint in an up and down direction to create a more aluminum effect. You just paint until it looks right to you.

5. Wait for everything to dry and you are all done!

I did D & S for me and the boy. I think they turned out amazing and really do look like metal. My boyfriend went to pick one of the letters up thinking it was going to be heavy. He was surprised that they were cardboard letters. 

I think I spent around $14 and had a 40% off coupon. All the supplies were purchased at Joann Fabrics.