DIY Butcher Paper Sign

I am so excited to be sharing this DIY project! I have been seeing these butcher paper scrolls/signs/lists (not sure what their official name is) pop up all over Pinterest and Instagram and from the moment I saw them I knew I had to try to DIY one!

I have been wanting to spruce up our dining room with some new decor (even if we do only use this room once a year). I had seen a picture pop up of one of these scrolls surrounded by a plate wall (that is coming next). As most of my readers already know, I am a very strict budget since leaving my full time job to stay home with my son a few months ago. So, even though I could have picked one of these up custom made by a professional for around $50 I decided to drop the zero and make this myself for $5. Yes, you read that correct... FIVE dollars y'all!

Let's get started!

What you will need:

- 1 roll of postal paper 

- Tape

- Black Sharpie marker

- Black paint (I used fabric paint that I had on hand but honestly I think any ol' black paint would do!)

- Artists Brush

- Twine

Step 1: Choose your quote/Lay it out

So, the first thing I did was decide what I wanted my sign to say. I have seen a lot of different quotes used on these scrolls but I wanted to do something unique that tied into a dining room. Once I had figured out what I wanted my sign to say I decided to lay out exactly how I wanted my sign to look using Canva. This was simply something I used as a guide as I was writing out the words so I could visualize spacing and how I wanted the letters to look. 

Step 2: Write out quote

Using the template I created as a guide, I simply used a ball point pen to write out the quote. I tried my best to make the letters look whimsical. The GREAT thing about this project is that you have a whole role of paper so if you mess up you can simply roll it up and start over (confession: I wrote mine out 4 times and STILL could have tried again!)

Step 3: Start Painting

Once I had the quote exactly how I wanted on the paper, I started to paint over them! I am not a hand lettering expert so this took some practice! I made sure the brush was flattened and then made a thick line along the letters. I got the hang of it after a while and started making the lines thicker in places and thinner in others. Then, I got smart and only used paint for the thicker lines and left the thin to be finished in the sharpie marker.

Step 4: Clean It Up

After all of the painting was complete (and DRY!) I went back to clean things up with the sharpie marker. I cleaned up edges and finishing the thinner lines I mentioned above.

Step 5: Hang your artwork

Now that the wording was complete I simply rolled the paper about 2 feet and cut. I then rolled that two feel up to make the top of the scroll to match the bottom and taped it in place. 

Once that was complete I measured some twine I had on hand and looped it through the top scroll to hang. 

Step 6: Pat yourself on the back! 

You did it! And it looks wonderful :)

I love love LOVE how this turned out! Now that I have the first one done I am thinking about trying some seasonal ones!

What would your scroll say? Let me know in the comments below!

As always, thank you for visiting R&R at home!