So the moment is finally here when I get to show off to you how amazing and easy to use these Marquee Love letters and symbols by Heidi Swapp really are!
You may remember that we fell in love with these letters at the CHA Show in California in January, and have been counting down the days until their arrival with us. For our introduction to these amazing letters, and a quick tour of Heidi Swapp’s CHA booth, click here.
So these letters are 8.5″ high, and each pack comes with everything you need in one kit; the letter itself, a template to trace your letter shape out of, a strand of lights personal to each letter, instructions on the best way to arrange the lights and a battery holder for your AAA batteries. These aren’t included in the pack, but rechargeable ones aren’t too expensive.
The template that comes with the kit is made from a good quality thin plastic material so can be used again and again to change the design and look of your letters.
Materials:
Heidi Swapp Marquee Love Letter Kits
Scissors
Craft knife & cutting mat
Pencil
Cardstock:
A: My Mind’s Eye Necessities Vellum
&: Core’dinations Gold Glitter Cardstock
C: My Mind’s Eye On Trend Cardstock
Step-by-step:
1. Firstly, decide how you are going to decorate your letter(s). I decided to use three different cardstocks for mine to create a different effect for every letter. Plus, as we live in a rented flat at the moment, we don’t actually have a colour theme, so I could be as random as I wanted!
2. Turn your cardstock over to you are drawing on the reverse. I did this just to make sure I didn’t have any pencil lines on the side that will be showing through! Turn the template over so you have a mirror image and draw around the outside shape with a pencil, making sure you also draw around the holes where the lights will go.
3. Cut around the pencil lines carefully making sure you stick as close to the edge as possible. The templates make the shape very snug, particularly when using thicker cardstock. Use a craft knife and cutting mat to make cuts in the holes where the lights will go. I did start off with smaller scissors for this, but it got a bit fiddly (and I have no patience!)
4. Once you have cut out your shape, turn it over and place it into your letter to make sure it fits. You can either do this before or after you have cut out the holes for the lights. If it doesn’t fit, trim it down slightly and gradually until you are happy with it.
5. Once your cardstock is in place, push the clear bulb caps through one-by-one. With thicker cardstock, these can be quite tricky to push in. If the holes need widening, simply use a pencil to run around the edges of where the bulb will go. This should make a bit more room for the bulb to fit through.
6. Following the instructions, push the light strand into each bulb cap in turn, add some batteries, and let the light shine!
7. Stand back and rejoice in your handiwork!
Each letter took me about 10 minutes to complete. This was whilst watching tv too, so it shows just how quick and easy they are to set up. I accessorised mine with some candles and candle holders from Ikea, and a mason jar filled with some artificial flowers!
Within the Heidi Swapp Marquee Love range, there are also bulb caps of different colours, and washi tape that matches the dimensions of the letter perfectly, so you can decorate both the inside rim and the outside of the letter.
How would you decorate yours?
The lovely Ellie from The Mummy Diary and Rachel from The Ordinary Lovely have reviewed these letters for us, and we love love LOVE what they have done with them! For inspirations, check out their blogs by clicking on the links above. Here’s what they made with theirs:
One Stop Craft Shop 