DIY Decor: Make Recycled Cardboard Letters for Your Kitchen

Create DIY decor for your kitchen like colorful, recycled cardboard letters!

As I shared in yesterday’s post, 30 DIY Decor Projects for Your Kitchen, I moved into a different rental home with an ugly kitchen. I can’t paint the cabinets or do anything drastic, so I’ve been coming up with ways to make it more “me,” or at the very least, distract from the ugly. I remembered the recycled cardboard letters I created last fall and was inspired by the “Eat” cardboard letters from this kitchen from Thrifty Decor Chick. Rather than buying cardboard letters from a craft store, I upcycled a box left over from my move to create the phrase “Yum” above my kitchen cabinets.

What You Will Need:

1. Cardboard

2. Scissors

3. Low VOC spray paint

4. A pencil or pen

5. A ruler

6. Hot glue/hot glue gun (optional)

How To Do It:

1. Measure the area where you will place your letters. This will help you determine the size of the letters. Like I mentioned before, I wanted to put the letters above my kitchen cabinets, so I measured above the cabinets to make sure the letters would fit.

2. Draw Y, U, and M on your cardboard (or E, A, and T if you’d rather do eat). Then, cut them out.

3. Optional step: If you want to make your letters thicker than the previous recycled letters I made, you can easily create more “layers.” Simply cut out each letter 3 or 4 times each. Then, glue the 3 or 4 layers together with a hot glue gun. Make sure you don’t go overboard on the hot glue — if you get too clumpy, it might peek through. Once all of the layers have dried, trim any wonky areas.

5. Spray paint the letters!

I love the texture of the cardboard letters and the brightness of the red paint, don’t you? Operation distract-from-the-really-ugly-kitchen is in full swing, and I’m loving it!

Do you have any other tips for me and my ugly rental kitchen? If so, leave your advice in the comment section below!