LOVE Marquee Sign

It's been awhile, I know!  Like almost a year!! haha.

So I have been in love with the all Marquee signs I've been seeing, and just knew I could make one for way cheaper  than they sell them for.

My Mom bought some plastic round bulb lights * I could only find the link to the clear glass at Target on sale for $3.99, regular $14.99! (I know hey!  I asked her to get me some too at that price!), and she wanted me to make a marquee sign for my sister's birthday.  Well I didn't have time, and her birthday came and went, so my Mom just gave her the lights if she wanted to make it.  Well an idea finally struck, and my sister came over one day and away to work we went!

My sister (Shawna), found the letters at Michaels Craft Store for about $1.49 each.

They were already white so we didn't paint them.  We had 25 bulbs, and four letters to spread them out, so we placed an X in pencil where we thought they should go.

We then dropped in on my husband at work who has all the tools, and helped us cut them and nail them with a nail gun. He also had glue to secure it all.  We used 4 2x1's going across the front, and 1x1's to cap a border around the sides.  

We used a scrap piece of MDF and cut to fit the back to hold all the boards together.

Then we let my husband get back to work and we went to my garage to do the rest.  We placed the bulbs to see how it would look.

Then we started drilling.  My sister held the board steady, while I drilled. Teamwork!

We did it over a garbage pail to support the board, and our drill could go right through without any damage to who knows what.

Lets just say we burned through a drill bit (as in it was smoking it was getting so dull), we let it cool down and tried again, but we didn't really want to start a fire on our lovely board, so we patiently waited until we got another one.  Then we were back at it!

On the back I used a bigger drill bit, so that the cord could push in a bit.  It was too thick to just squish the bulb in, so this was necessary. 

Yay!  The fun part!  We put the bulbs through the holes to try it out!!  We didn't secure the letters down because the bulbs hold them in place.

Final product:

Blurry, but I only grabbed the one shot in the dark'

I almost cried when I handed it over to Shawna to take home:(  I am determined to make another one for my girls room, but I have to wait to get a good deal on those lights again!!

We didn't stain the wood like we originally had intended, but left it natural because we liked the colour, and it will age nicely.  

Have you tried making a Marquee Sign??

Cost:

letters- $1.49 each x 4 (Michael's)

wood- $15 (roughly) (Home Depot)

MDF- Free (thanks hubby)

Lights- Free (thanks Mom) Target

Total: 20.96