The Crafted Sparrow

Create to Inspire!

  • Home
  • About
    • Advertise
    • About Me
    • Disclosure
  • Tutorials
    • home decor
    • diy
    • crafts
    • Cricut
  • recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Sides
    • Soups and Salads
    • Dessert
    • Drinks
  • holidays
    • new years
    • Valentine’s Day
    • st. patrick’s day
    • mothers day
    • fathers day
    • 4th of July
    • halloween
    • thanksgiving
    • christmas
  • free printables
  • Contact

DIY Cocoa Bar Marquee Sign

11/24/2014 8 Comments

DIY Cocoa Bar Marquee SignLast week I shared a sneak peek of the amazing Merry & Bright Holiday Party I hosted with some of my favorite local blogging friends.  As I mentioned in that post I got to style the Cocoa Bar with the sweet Sunny from Dandelion Square.  I will be showing you the full reveal of it later this week, but first I wanted to show you this fun DIY Cocoa Bar Marquee Sign I created to welcome guests to “Warm Up Here”.  

Supplies:

pine board cut to 8 x 24″
Cricut vinyl
red acrylic paint
foam brush 
Christmas lights, the standard mini lights will do unless you prefer the larger round bulbs
drill
drill bit – same size as the glass bulb on the small Christmas lights
wood spade drill bit – same size as the largest part of the Christmas lights
glue gun
electric sander or sandpaper

I started by making a simple vinyl stencil in Cricut Design Space.  For this sign I used one of my favorite fonts Bebas Nue.  Stretch it to fit your pine board how you like, then cut the vinyl stencil.

Weed your vinyl, this time leave the letters and throw out the rest.

Apply the stencil with transfer tape, being sure to center it and use a small squeegee to remove any air bubbles before painting.

DIY Cocoa Bar Marquee SignI picked a classic red acrylic paint from DecoArt and used a foam brush to paint 3 solid coats on my board.  

Be sure to remove your vinyl stencil before the last coat is completely dry, if you don’t you risk having your crisp edges peel up with the vinyl.

DIY Cocoa Bar Marquee SignUse a pencil to plan where your Christmas lights will go.  You can use a ruler, or just guess like I did.

DIY Cocoa Bar Marquee SignUsing your regular drill bit that is the same size as your glass bulbs on the Christmas light strand, drill through the front of your sign.  You will need to drill all the way through to the back, being sure to drill on your pencil marks so everything stays even.  

DIY Cocoa Bar Marquee SignFlip your sign over so it’s face down.  You may want to put an old towel or cloth under it to protect the paint.

Then using your wood spade drill bit that is the same size as the largest part of the Christmas light strand (this is the plastic socket each bulb goes into) drill from the back to create the little pocket for your bulbs to nicely set inside of.  I found it best to lay my sign face down on the patio cement, this allowed my drill bit to not go all the way through to the front.  If you don’t do that you will have to worry about not going all the way through each time you drill.

Once all the holes have their little pockets drilled use a sander or piece of sandpaper to smooth everything on the back. 

DIY Cocoa Bar Marquee SignInsert all the bulbs into your board.  Secure each bulb in place with hot glue to the back of the sign.  I just placed a small amount on the top inside of each pocket when I put the bulb in, the glue should only adhere to the plastic sockets of the strand.

Use jute twine or some saw tooth hangers to hang your sign.

DIY Cocoa Bar Marquee SignThe lights are a little hard to see in these photos, but I love how this sign turned out.  Trust me, it’s pretty dreamy – especially at night.  Plus I learned how to use a new drill bit, that’s totally a bonus.  

I can’t wait to show you more from this gorgeous party, so stay tuned.  A huge thank you to Rebecca Cooper from Simple As That again for all the gorgeous photos.

DIY Cocoa Bar Marquee Sign

DIY Cocoa Bar Marquee SignThis post may contain an affiliate link.

Related Posts

  • Mini Pallet Sign OrnamentsMini Pallet Sign Ornaments
  • Copper Inspired Fall TablescapeCopper Inspired Fall Tablescape
  • DIY Christmas Tea TowelsDIY Christmas Tea Towels
  • Vintage Truck Christmas PillowVintage Truck Christmas Pillow
  • Geometric Christmas Tree PillowGeometric Christmas Tree Pillow
  • Gold Striped Mason Jar + Free Printable Holiday TagsGold Striped Mason Jar + Free Printable Holiday Tags

Filed Under: christmas, crafts, Cricut Explore, decoart, diy, holiday decor, holidays, home decor, Tutorials, vinyl Tagged With: marquee sign

« Mini Pallet Sign Ornaments
Top 10 Reasons You Need to Own The Cricut Explore »

Comments

  1. Virginia Fynes says

    11/28/2014 at 5:59 PM

    Super cute!! A marquee sign was on my must make list this year, I have to get on it! Thanks for the inspiration

    Reply
    • craftedsparrow says

      11/28/2014 at 6:46 PM

      Thanks girl. This one was fun to make since I learned how to use a new tool, I’m obsessed with marquee signs! Have fun making yours!

      Reply
  2. janelle.m says

    12/03/2014 at 5:41 PM

    Looks fantastic!!!

    Reply
    • craftedsparrow says

      12/03/2014 at 10:49 PM

      Thank you Janelle! Have a great week.

      Reply
  3. Courtney says

    11/01/2015 at 11:03 AM

    Love this!! What lights did you use? Just a strand of battery powered christmas lights?

    Reply
    • craftedsparrow says

      11/01/2015 at 7:46 PM

      Hi Courtney, Thank you so much. I used a regular strand of plug-in lights, but yes you could use battery operated lights for sure. 🙂

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Hot Cocoa Bars We Love! - B. Lovely Events says:
    11/08/2015 at 5:44 PM

    […] {This hot cocoa bar will definitely get you warmed up with its loveliness from The Crafted Sparrow!} […]

    Reply
  2. Hot Cocoa Stand Cuteness - House of Hargrove says:
    11/19/2015 at 9:58 PM

    […] The Crafted Sparrow shows you how to make this adorable sign!! […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2023 · Genesis Framework · Design By: Key Lime Digital Designs · Privacy Policy · Log in