DIY Marquee Sign

I was the Camp Director for our Young Women Camp this past summer (LDS girls camp), where the theme was “Stand Ye in Holy Places.” I REAAAALLLLY have had it on my list for awhile to make my own DIY marquee sign–and searching on Pinterest brought up some great tutorials on awesome blogs all over the place. So right before I went to YW Camp I decided we HAD to have our own marquee sign with the theme “STAND”! 🙂 So teaming up with my sweet husband, we made it happen! Here’s how.

What I used to make my own marquee sign:

wooden letters

craft paint and brushes

wood glue

Christmas lights (globe outdoor lights)

beadboard (as the background)

Drill and drill bits (we used 1 inch bits to make 1 inch diameter circles)

Duct tape (to tape the light strands behind the board)

 

It was meant to be. I rummaged around the clearance area at Michaels and happened to find the last wooden letters to spell STAND! Miracle I say. These puppies are at least a foot tall. I sanded them and painted them various colors with craft paint.

I measured how far apart I wanted the light bulbs to be and marked it with pencil. Note, I actually ended up using GLOBE LIGHTS–not the mini string lights that are pictured here. I love the look of marquee signs with the big round bulbs, but you could use smaller lights as well. I used 2 boxes of globe lights for my project.

I had a spare piece of beadboard from a previous project in my garage. I cut it to the right size using a jig saw and sanded it to prep it.

Then I painted it turquoise and white stripes for the background of the marquee sign! Love it!

Next I took the painted wooden letters and used wood glue to attach them to the beadboard background. I didn’t take a photo of it but then I piled heavy things on top of it all to make it all have a firm hold.

Once the glue was dry we took it back out to the garage to drill the holes for the lights to go through. The size of your drill bit will depend on the size of lights you use. Get a powerful drill so you can go through the two different layers of wood!

Here’s the beauty all cleaned up!

I don’t have a photo of the last step unfortunately! To attach the lights, I unscrewed the light bulbs and inserted the base through the hole, then screwed in the bulbs through the front of the sign. I used duct tape to tape down the wires and strands behind the board. It’s a hot mess but you can’t even tell from the front. 😉

Here’s the finished sign during the day!

And here is the marquee sign in the dark with the lights on. The finished product is about 5 feet long and almost 2 feet tall–it’s BIG. I LOVE IT!! I seriously jumped up and down and squealed and danced like a crazy person when it all worked out! 🙂 It was an awesome statement piece at camp for sure.

This is just one way to make your own light-up marquee sign! Think of the possibilities! I’m already thinking of what word I can do next…….