tutorial: studded letters

For my Pin-in home decor challenge I used an idea from dollarstorecrafts to make my own studded letters for the title on a layout. I took photos along the way to share how I made this title from brads, so you can give it a try, too.

Here was my inspiration piece:

And this was the layout I made: 

Here is how to make your own studded letters.

1. Lightly sketch letters in pencil. I also drew in light guidelines to help my writing stay even and straight.

2. Lay out brads upside down to check for spacing. I wanted to make sure I had enough brads, and to get an idea of if the brads were the right size for the size of letters I sketched.

3. Begin setting brads. I used a knife to cut small slits along the letters to slide the brad prongs into. If the brads sit a little too close together, you can gently slide the brad over through the paper so it sits nice and tightly against the first brad.

4. This is what the brads look like from the back. 

5. Once all of the letters were filled in with brads, I covered the backside with chipboard. to add some strength to the paper. This way I didn't need to worry about the paper tearing, and the chipboard made it easier to adhere to the layout.

6. Here are the set letters!