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You are here: Home / Crafts / Designer Marquee Letters with Lights

Designer Marquee Letters with Lights

13 · Jul 3, 2013 · 32 Comments

DIY Marquee Letters // Today is the BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!! I'm guest posting over at Today's Creative Blog and I've created something rather fun. It's a two part post on how to make your very own Designer Marquee Letters. Part One, Designer Letters is over with Kim at TCB and Part Two, how to create Designer Marquee Letters with Lights is here on WhipperBerry. 

designer marquee letters by whipperberry

I have been in love with old marquee letters forever. I've collected several fabulous can lights over the years, but I really wanted some Broadway style marquee letters. To purchase a Broadway style sign would cost a fortune so, I thought I would create a sign of my own with parts that you can find at a couple of local stores. First, I needed to create my letters…

Designer Letter by WhipperBerry

For this tutorial head on over to Today's Creative Blog, while you're there say hello to Kim for me. She's one of my favorite blog friends!! The cool thing about making your own letters, is that YOU get to pick what your sign says. You can do just one letter or and entire word, heck… write a whole paragraph if you want. the sky's the limit!!

Now that I've created my letters, it's time to add some lights to these babies!!

designer marquee letters

Supply List

  • designer letters
  • hole punch
  • self-healing cutting mat
  • globe string lights

Instructions

First you need to punch some holes into your letters…

cut holes into the cardboard letters

Now, this proved to be a bit of a challenge for me. I started the sign using my Martha Stewart Screw Punch which worked great. I just had to make several punches to create the circle that I needed for the light bulb to fit through. Which was fine, but later I decided to use a grommet punch and a mallet. It worked a little better. It was nosier, but did the job a little quicker. It's up to you how you decide to make your holes. 

Space your holes carefully. I'm not going to give you specific measurements because it will depend on what type of lights you select. Basically, work slow and careful. Punch a hole and place a light bulb in the hole and then eye ball where the next hole should go.

place your light bulbs in your marquee letter

Once you've created all your holes, it's time to add the lights…

How to add lights to your marquee letters

Unscrew the light bulbs and place them through the holes and screw the bulb back in the socket with the cord on the back of the letter… Keep in mind, before you start to place the cords, think about the most logical way to wire the letter. Where do you want the cord to start and end? Just think things through a bit and you won't have to go back and start over.

how to manage your cords for your marquee letters

The lights that I used from Target had nice little clips on the light sockets that made it really easy to tuck the cords in so that they didn't peak out from behind the letters. They were perfect!!

WhipperBerry Amour Sign

Once everything is wired up all you have to do it light it up!

WhipperBerry's Amour Marquee Letter Sign

Isn't it fun?! I plan on using it as part of a gallery wall in the near future. It will also be a fun way to dress up an event or dessert table. I can dream up all kinds of fun ways to use this sign.

Now keep in mind… the sign is made out of paper. DO NOT leave the lights on for a long period of time or leave unattended. I've turned mine on for quite awhile and nothing has happened, but the lights do warm up and I don't want any fires started with this fun sign. 

Soooo, now that you know how to make your own Marquee Letter Sign… What word would you light up?

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Comments

  1. Beckie says

    July 3, 2013 at 6:42 am

    Wow Heather you make it look so easy.  I absolutely adore these.  I might actually try to tackle this!

    Reply
  2. Julie {CalleLillyCafe} says

    July 3, 2013 at 6:54 am

    LOVE this! Thanks for sharing! I've been a fan of marquee letters for so long too. I need to make this our summer project! 

    Reply
  3. katygirl says

    July 3, 2013 at 8:43 am

    amazing!!

    Reply
  4. Meg Hastings says

    July 3, 2013 at 10:28 am

    This is brilliant.  And gorgeous.  And seriously brilliant.  I LOVE IT!!!!!

    Reply
  5. Sarah K says

    July 3, 2013 at 11:11 am

    This is awe-some! Would love to see a final picture of the backside with all the lights attached. 

    Reply
  6. Kristyn says

    July 3, 2013 at 11:52 am

    Just AH-mazing!! LOVE them!

    Reply
  7. Laura @ Make Life Lovely says

    July 3, 2013 at 12:51 pm

    These are so amazing Heather!  I LOVE them so much!  Thanks for the great tutorial.

    Reply
  8. Colleen says

    July 3, 2013 at 7:30 pm

    I love this! Seriously love it!

    Reply
  9. Amber says

    July 4, 2013 at 2:57 pm

    Fantastic!  It really came together perfectly and the globe lights absolutely make it.  I'm so happy I popped by today … this will be perfect for an outdoor movie night im hosting later in the summer!

    Reply
  10. Jenn says

    July 5, 2013 at 3:43 pm

    These are awesome Heather!!  Can't wait to see your final wall1

    Reply
  11. Chandra@The Plaid and Paisley Kitchen says

    July 10, 2013 at 9:14 am

    I absoultely Adore this project! You have an amazing Blog! I would love to have you come share on  my Show Me Your Plaid Monday's linky party! http://www.pandpkitchen.com/2013/07/07/show-me-your-plaid-mondays-29/

    Reply
  12. Cari says

    July 24, 2013 at 8:15 am

    Love this! We're doing this in my niece's room thanks to your tutorial. I have a question though about the lights. We found the lights at Target, they come 25 bulbs to a strand. We noticed you have 64 bulbs, what did you do with the extra 11 on the strand? Thank you again for such a neat project. 

    Reply
    • Heather says

      July 24, 2013 at 10:52 am

      Cari- Good question!  I unscrewed the bulbs from the sockets and left them empty. The lights still work this way, however I’m not sure if there are safety issues there. I’m going to look into that and let you know. 

      kisses // heather

      Reply
      • Cari says

        July 24, 2013 at 11:15 am

        Thank you. I thought that may be the case, but then I thought maybe cutting the excess and using a wire cap to the end, but then it was getting a little too complicated. This helps a lot. 

        Reply
  13. Amanda says

    August 1, 2013 at 6:29 am

    Hi Heather! I love this project, it is so fun! I have featured it over at Copycat Crafts today 🙂 http://www.copycatcrafts.com/designer-marquee-letters-with-lights/

    Reply
  14. blair lieber says

    August 22, 2013 at 11:31 am

    this question might be stupid, sorry…im really UNcrafty….If you hang this on a wall…do you see all the cords frmo one letter to another?? I wish i could see it hanging!! and then all the strands connect so you only need one outlet right?

    Reply
  15. Hannah @ We Lived Happily Ever After says

    October 3, 2013 at 9:41 pm

    I can't tell you how much I adore these! You inspired me so much- and I wanted to show you the ones I made- they are slightly different….

     http://www.welivedhappilyeverafter.com/2013/09/diymarqueeletters.html?m=1

    Thanks for the visual inspiration! 

    XOXO Hannah

     

    Reply
  16. Jenny says

    November 24, 2013 at 2:09 pm

    I love these! Do you have a link to the actual lights you bought? I bought two strands so far (at Target and another local craft store), and neither one will work if bulbs are removed – but I can't find any strands short enough for me to use the whole strand. Thanks! Jenny

    Reply
  17. Jessy says

    June 11, 2014 at 9:50 am

    I absolutely love these! I am going to attempt to make them for my niece’s room and I wanted to hang them on the wall. I was wondering if you had any suggestions as to how to do this since the cords are rather bulky from the back and won’t “sit” on the wall properly.

    Reply
  18. Kelsie Mayer says

    October 1, 2014 at 11:16 am

    Hi there!

    I am interested in this but have very little time. We are looking to create a ‘BEER’ sign to display outside of our Chicago restaurant and love this look!

    If this is something that would interest you, please email me and we can discuss details!

    Or if you know of someone who would be able to tackle this project and has had success in the past, please let me know!

    Best,

    Kelsie M.

    Reply
  19. child says

    October 31, 2017 at 4:43 pm

    Good post. I definitely love this website. Stick with it!

    Reply

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Heather from Whipperberry
Hello... my name is Heather and I'm the creator of WhipperBerry a creative lifestyle blog packed full of great recipes and creative ideas for your home and family. I find I am happiest when I'm living a creative life and I love to share what I've been up to along the way... Come explore, my hope is that you'll leave inspired!

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