DIY Marquee Sign with LED Globe Lights

There are and so many ways to DIY a marquee sign right at present. These projects can range from intense and long-term (recall solid forest letters and nailed aluminum flashing for permanent marquee signage) to a sort of temporary "faux" marquee sign, with ornaments that look like lights but that don't actually calorie-free up. This DIY Marquee Sign tutorial is kind of in the middle – information technology does lite up, simply information technology can be created without any power tools. Interested? Let's become to it.

DIY Level: Beginner to Intermediate

Materials Needed:

String of LED globe lights
Foam core lath (big plenty to fit your marquee sign in one piece)
Poster lath
Metal ruler
Razor bract, box cutter, x-acto pocketknife – whatever you phone call it
Pencil, pair of scissors, and a big piece of fleck butcher paper (big enough to fit your marquee sign)
Hot glue gun & gum (not shown)
Spray paint (not shown)

Begin past making a sketch of what you desire your marquee sign to expect like. This could be a word, a letter, a symbol, an creature…annihilation, really. This tutorial shows a mesomorphic arrow; adjust directions accordingly to fit your sign content.

DIY Marquee Sign - determine the dimensions

Make up one's mind the outside dimensions of your marquee sign, and cut a piece of butcher paper to those dimensions. For the arrow, fold the longest sides of your butcher newspaper into thirds.

Unfold one of the thirds and make a sharp crease on the other thirds-line so that it will exist visible when you unfold the butcher paper.

Unfold the butcher paper, then fold the two shortest sides in half. The creased 1/3 line should exist visible.

Line up your metal ruler with the folded corner closest to the one/3 line, and angle the ruler downwards to where the 1/three line meets the unfolded edge. Depict a line. This will be the indicate of your arrow.

Keeping your newspaper folded in half, roughly divide the i/three line into thirds once again; mark these.

Place one edge of your ruler on the new one/3 mark (on the 1/3 line) closest to the unfolded border of your paper; run the ruler down to the lesser unfolded corner of your paper. Draw a line.

Keeping your paper folded, cutting forth these lines.

DIY Marquee Sign - open the butcher paper

Open up your butcher paper; y'all should have a great, proportionate arrow. Of course, you lot can change the 1/3 measurements anywhere along the manner; this is but an easy fashion to go on your pointer in a visual residual at any size.

Re-fold your arrow in half. Measure the length of ane of the 1/iii marks (that you lot made on your 1/3 line; that length for this example was about two-i/ii"). Measure this altitude from the bottom of the folded border up the folded edge, and make a mark. Draw a line from this marker to the lesser unfolded corner, and cut.

This creates an interesting arrow's cease, although if you prefer the arrow directly, don't worry about the last step.

Gyre a couple of pieces of tape, sticky side out, and adhere your butcher paper pattern to the foam core board.

Using your metal ruler, draw (or go straight to cutting with your razor blade) around the arrow's perimeter.

Before you cut, make certain to have a piece of thick paper-thin underneath your foam core board to protect the piece of work surface. Besides, make sure your razor blade is sharp (recommended new) for the cleanest cuts.

Carefully make sure corners are completely and cleanly cut before removing the foam cadre board from your arrow's edges.

DIY Marquee Sign - remove the butcher paper patern

When your arrow is cut out, remove the butcher paper pattern.

Use your razor blade to clean upwards the edges of your pointer, if needed.

DIY Marquee Sign - grab the poster board

Set your arrow aside for a infinitesimal, and grab your affiche board. Mensurate one of your globe bulbs from base to top (mine measured a piffling over iii"). This means, for this marquee sign, I want 2" of poster board flange on either side of the cream core lath. Measure out and marking 4" strips on your poster lath.

Cut out the iv" strips. I recommend using your razor blade for this step as well to get a straight, crisp line. At to the lowest degree 1 of these strips' edges volition be visible when your sign is displayed, and so proceed it perfect.

Gear up your 4" affiche board strips in a pile.

Mensurate 1 edge of your arrow (recommend starting with the longest).

Employ this measurement to measure and cut a length of 4" poster lath. For example, the long side of this pointer was 17-5/8" from corner to corner, so I cut a 17-v/8" length of affiche board.

DIY Marquee Sign - continue around arrow

Continue working around your arrow, measuring each side to get a perfect length measurement. (They likely are identical, simply just in case they're off 1/8" or 1/sixteen", you can adjust appropriately.) Keep track of which poster board strip goes to which arrow side.

Make a halfway mark (2") along each affiche lath strip. This line will exist of import for attaching the strips to the pointer.

DIY Marquee Sign - determine how many bulbs

Determine how many bulbs are on your LED globe light strand (this tutorial has 20). Then measure (or eyeball) positions for that number, or fewer, bulbs. As yous position your markings, maintain enough space for the full diameter of the glass bulb. Also, do the corners beginning and piece of work backward from at that place to evenly space the globe lights along the arrow sides betwixt corners.

After you've marked your light positions, cut out a circumvolve affiche board circle guide by tracing the base of the light bulb (the height of the base, that's closest to the glass part). Then punch a pigsty in the middle of your circle guide. Trace the circle around each of your placement markings.

Your arrow should look something similar this when you're done.

Using your razor blade, cut out the circles.

DIY Marquee Sign - continue with a razor

Tip: Use your razor bract in an upwardly-and-down way from the front end, then plough the foam core board over and cut the circumvolve out from the back. This was the cleanest and nearly efficient method I found for cutting these circles out.

When you're done cutting the circles, your marquee sign will look something like this. Y'all could now spray paint the foam board arrow and the cut poster board edge strips if yous wanted. I chose to get together the arrow first and so that any glue would be painted (and, consequently, disguised) every bit well.

With your hot glue gun, piece of work rapidly and advisedly to adhere the marquee sign sides. Run a line of glue on one side of your line; this volition allow you to be able to come across the verbal line equally y'all place the sides on the arrow and result in perfect, parallel sides.

DIY Marquee Sign - working with inner corner

Working from the inner corner (where applicable) out, position your poster lath strip onto the edge of your foam core board. You'll desire to piece of work rapidly, but you'll also need to get it positioned correctly on the first try.

Exist sure to go along each pencil line visible on the same side/front of your foam board, or the heights of your sides volition vary.

Gently run your finger on the poster board strip where yous've glued to secure the bond. Attach all poster lath sides in this manner.

To secure the corners, run a minor line of hot gum on the inside of each corner and concord the joined strips in identify while the hot glue dries. Practise this to the front and back of each corner.

It looks adept! You're done with the hard parts. Now information technology's onto the fun stuff – painting and attaching the globe lights.

Grab a tin can of spray paint in the color of your choice.

Work in light strokes to spray pigment the inside and outside of each side slice, besides as the flat foam core board of your marquee sign. Practise multiple coats until the spray paint coverage is the way you desire it. Let dry thoroughly.

DIY Marquee Sign - detemine where you will install

Decide where in your house your marquee sign will go, and the direction it will point. Then figure out where the nearest electrical outlet is. The circle cutout that's closest to the outlet is where you lot should start placing your globe lights.

Unscrew the glass meridian off the showtime (closest to the plug) globe low-cal.

Push button the light base only into the adamant circle cutout from the back of your marquee sign. The fit should exist snug.

Screw on the glass top. Move onto the next calorie-free and next cutout. If you happen to accept more than bulbs than yous have cutouts, skip a light every so oftentimes as yous get so you don't end upward with a long strand of "empty" bulbs all at the end.

DIY Marquee Sign - Working systematically

Working systematically around the perimeter of your sign, fill all cutouts with lights.

Carefully flip your marquee sign over. Loosely loop neighboring wires together to proceed them from peeking out from behind your sign when information technology's displayed.