QUICK DIY PROJECT: HOUSE NUMBERS
I really wanted new house numbers…something with color and personality. Unfortunately, I didn’t want them enough to spend the amount of money they were selling for. What to do, what to do?! Make them myself of course! That is what this blog is about. I made this set of four house numbers for about 10.00 total. Yes, that’s right.
Now before I launch into my tutorial, let me state that I live in an all-weather climate in Southern California so I have a little more freedom with what I hang outside than some of you might have. However, if you live somewhere where it gets darn cold in the winter or is very wet, you have a couple of options. You can make these and put them out in the spring when it warms up. You can use slightly different materials than I did so they are more weather resistant. Or, you can make them and hang them inside as part of a cute vignette that maybe includes a great photo of your house and a photo of your family, or something along those lines.
Okay, now on with the tutorial…get ready, it’s a short one and if you blink, you might just miss it! :)
Step 1:
Buy your frames. I bought mine at the dollar store and they were two for the price of one so I got them for 1.00 apiece! I got black so I wouldn’t have to bother with painting - but paint is always an option if you want to customize the frame color.
Step 2:
Cut your inside board. Now, here is where things may be different for you. You may get lucky and get a frame with cardboard in it that will work just fine to mount your numbers on. I wasn’t that lucky so I cut my own out of foam core board. If your backer board isn’t the color you want simply paint it.
Step 3:
Add a border to your board. This step is optional but is a nice way to add a hit of color to your numbers. I used patterned duct tape that I found in the dollar store.
Step 4:
Get your numbers ready. I used thin wood numbers that I found at (yes, you guessed it!) the dollar store. I wanted them black against my white background. They were white when I bought them, so I simply painted them black with paint I had on-hand.
If you want to leave the glass or insert a plexiglass piece to protect your numbers and backer board, you can either use a deeper frame than I did so it will all fit or you can actually use thinner, adhesive numbers so your whole frame, glass included will fit back together. If you are using wood numbers, glue them onto your backer board. Be sure and use a good, strong glue and allow them to dry for several hours before you handle them to put them into the frames.
Step 5
Put them together and hang them up. Wow, that’s it…done! As far as hanging goes, I can’t recommend anything specific for you because there are too many varying factors…your weather conditions, what type of siding you have on your house, etc. But I’m sure you will know just what works for your situation. If you need help figuring it out, ask me in the comments.
Okay, again, total cost of this project was about 10.00! The total time was several hours but most of that was drying time for the paint and glue. So, how easy, fun, and affordable was that?
Now, what will you do next to love where you live?
