Easy DIY Shabby Chic Cabbage Rose Initial Door Hanger
There are just some styles that transcend time, like the shabby chic style. It’s an interior decorating style that includes all shades of soft and creamy white, pale pink paired with time worn distressed furniture. Characteristics of shabby chic style are the use of chalk paint as well as floral patterns, muted hues, and ruffles. Some of the terms used to describe the “feeling” of this style are: vintage, relaxed, age-old charm and romantic.
It’s probably safe to say if I wasn’t married my whole house would be in shabby chic style. I just love the girly feel of this home decor style and all that chippy-furniture goodness. Recently we refreshed my daughters bedroom and I couldn’t help but create this easy DIY shabby chic initial door hanger for her after I came across the cabbage rose scrapbook paper. I just knew I had to do some kind of craft using this paper because it’s just so pretty!
This easy DIY craft consisted of just a few supplies including mod podge and a hot glue gun. I did pull out of my craft stash some coordinating pink key charms because I thought I would use them. As the craft came together the keys just didn’t pair well with my vision so I didn’t use them. But they are cute aren’t they?!
The one thing I regret while gathering the supplies for this craft was not tracking the costs. For example, the pink plaque was on clearance at Michaels Stores and it’s actually a chalk board. I don’t remember the exact cost but I’m positive it was less than $5. In fact, most of the supplies I picked up were either on sale, clearance or I had a coupon for it.
While most of these supplies are no longer available, I have linked below products that are comparable to what I used. Don’t worry too much about the colors because you can always paint them to match your decor.
Supplies:
- Chalkboard Sign 8×10 Double Sided Hanging, 3 pack (I used an 11″x7-3/4″ chalk board)
- Wood Wall Letters, 6″ (I used a 7″ x 8.5″ letter “N”)
- Stamperia Double-sided Shabby Rose Paper Pad, 12×12
- Prima Marketing Flowers With Love Collection -Sweet Sunshine
- White silk ribbon, 1/4″
- Mod podge sealer, matte, 16 ounces
- We R Memory Keepers Glue Gun Kit, Mint
- Additional embellishments of your choosing
- Pencil
- Spray Paint
- Scissors
- Craft Knife
- Sponge Brush
- Apple Barrel Acrylic Paint
Prepare Wood Letter
The bulk of work on this easy DIY craft was simply prepping the wood letter. The wood letter was actually a neon green color and had a string attached for hanging on the wall.
01. Spray Paint
I knew I wouldn’t need the string to hang it so I removed that and grabbed my favorite transformation tool -spray paint! I just love how easy it is to update and refresh anything around the house with a simple can of spray paint. For this project I used a white spray paint as the base.
02. Cut Letter From Paper
Next I used mod podge to get the lovely pink cabbage roses scrapbook paper onto the letter. This particular paper was double sided and that required a little extra care to cut the letter out of the paper correctly.
There are two methods to cutting letter shapes from paper:
- Put a coating of mod podge on the letter and set the 12 x 12 piece of scrapbook paper on top the letter. Once dry flip the letter over and use a craft knife to cut the paper from around the letter.
- Trace the letter onto scrapbook paper and then use scissors to cut it out. If you use this method see my tip below.
To make sure I cut the double sided paper correctly, I set the paper on top of the letter with the print side that I want showing on top. Next I flipped over both the letter and the paper together. Once the letter is upside down I used a pencil to trace an outline of the letter.
Using this method works best because it leaves the pencil marks on the backside of the paper (the side that will be stuck to the letter) and it ensures the paper will be cut with the correct print on top.
Once the paper is cut, it’s time to mod podge.
My Tip: If you plan to trace the letter onto the back of your paper remember to reverse your letter. See the picture below. The pink gingham check pattern was not what I wanted and that became the side that was stuck down to the letter. Notice the letter is reversed!
03. Mod Podge
Next, using a sponge brush or soft paint brush, paint onto the front of the letter a thin coating of mod podge; place your paper onto the letter and line up the edges; wait until dry.
Put a final coating of mod podge over the papered letter; let dry completely. I love how the brush I used created these streaks! To me it seems to add to the feel of the shabby chic look I was going for.
Mod podge has come a long way over the years -there are so many options now! From glossy, matte, glow in the dark to glitter and more. Just be sure to read the instructions for the type of mod podge you get before using it on your project.
Notice the big white arrow above? You can see I over traced this corner a little. If you do this don’t worry, it can be fixed. All I did was used a craft knife to gently go around the edges and trim off any excess.
At this stage of the project, if you feel you want either a more defined edge or you want to add a bit of distressing to the edges, simply use a fine grit sandpaper and lightly sand around the letter.
Once the wood letter was ready, I realized I didn’t like the white edge of the letter against the pink board. So, I just pulled out my Apple Barrel acrylic paint colors, found the closest match to the pink board and painted all the exposed edges of the letter (before gluing it to the board).
Now that the project is just about complete you are probably wondering why I painted the letter white in the first place. I did that because I thought I was going to like the white edge of the letter against the pink chalk board. But as it turned out, I really didn’t like the stark contrast of the white edge to the pink board. That’s why I painted the edges.
Assemble and Hang
The final assembly of this initial door hanger included gluing the letter to the board; creating a draping white ribbon that was also glued to the board and then embellishing it with a pink paper flower.
This adorable plaque could be used on either a door or as a wall hanging. It’s super easy to create and very versatile. The last step was to simply hang it on my daughters’ bedroom door.
I really, really loved how this shabby chic cabbage rose initial door hanger craft project turned out! Best part is…my daughter loved it too!
If you are inspired to create an initial door hanger don’t forget to share by tagging me on Instagram and using #btdinspired, I’d love to see your work (and I just might repost your photo)!
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