DIY "Aluminum" Letters

As promised in my first post about initial crafts, I've finally tested out the faux aluminum finish from this tutorial on pinterest:

Lizzie at 346 Living posted a great tutorial on her blog for both the silver finish that I did and a beautiful soft gold set of letters she used for her bedroom. Check it out!

As for my letters, I chose an A and an S, for me and my love! I'm planning on hanging them above our headboard for a sweet, romantic touch. I'm trying to make this apartment much more personal to us since we are no longer sharing with a roommate!

I started out with plain papier-mache letters, that I purchased at Joann Fabrics a few months ago for around 4-5 dollars a piece.

I started spraying the letters while I had them standing up like this, to make sure I covered all the sides and corners completely. After letting them dry for about 5 minutes, I flipped them upside-down and did the same thing. I knew I'd be hanging these above our bed, so if I missed any spots on the bottom I would see them when I was laying down. That stuff drives me crazy!! After I was sure that I had all the edges coated, I waited another 5 minutes before laying the letters flat on the plastic to spray the fronts.

The tutorial says to use heavy coats of spray paint to get the uneven, textured effect of antique aluminum, so I was definitely generous with my paint application! Working with spray paint can sometimes be tricky, since normally you want to avoid thick spots and runs, but this project is totally fool-proof!

After letting it dry 15 minutes, I have it another full coat, just for good measure! The finished letters look like this:

I promise to post a picture once I have them hanging up in our bedroom! I am keeping my eye out for a cute ampersand (&) or plus (+) sign  to paint navy blue to match our bedding. Hey, these may even double as wedding decorations! Definitely suits our color scheme!

**Update: So our bedroom is still not together, as our bed has broken 3 times since we've moved...we're on the hunt for a solution for that, but in the meantime, our initials have found a new home in our living room!