Before & After: DIY Wooden Letter Board

Today's post is in partnership with Goodwill of Central and Coastal Virginia.

We recently transformed a thrift store picture frame into a wooden letter board and have had fun using it as an added piece of decor and party prop at different gatherings we've had here at the house. It's a simple project and we can't wait to show you the before and after...

You'll need:

• Thrifted picture frame
• Balsa wood (30 8-inch strips for an 8x10 frame)
• Wood glue
• Frame saw (optional)
• Gold spray paint (optional)
• Black spray paint (optional)
• Letter board letters

We found an 8x10 picture frame for less than $2 at our local Goodwill. It was the perfect size for what we'd imagined and filled with all the potential for a new lease on life.

I used the frame and backing pieces to make the letter board — no need to keep the glass. To give the frame a modern update, I sprayed each piece in a contrasting gold and black finish. Once dry, I put the backing back on the frame and it was time to begin stacking the wood pieces in place.

If the wooden balsa strips aren't already cut to size (ours came in longer lengths), we found it simple to cut them down with a hand saw.

The wood strips act as the backing for the letter board, and are stacked in rows to hold each letter in place. One piece at a time, I ran a thin strip of glue along one side of a wood strip and pressed firmly onto the frame backing. 

Note — It was important to leave a small amount of room between each wood strip so the letters have something to grab onto. A credit card or using one of the letters to measure in between each piece worked well.

Once fully dry, it's time to add letters!

I have a few favorite quotes we keep in rotation, but the "letter board quotes" search on Pinterest is always a good one for new inspiration.

No time to DIY?  There are so many unique and budget friendly letter board options out there — check out a few of our favorites below:

We were thrilled at the opportunity to partner on today's post with Goodwill of Central and Coastal Virginia, an organization with a mission we support and regularly shop + donate with. If you liked this project, we have a whole slew of other fun DIY project ideas and inspiration to browse right here.