Okay, so I wanted to make these cool “light up football signs” for my son’s football-themed birthday party. I had this idea of making them look like those vintage marquee signs, but, you know, football-shaped!
First, I grabbed some foam board from the craft store. I knew I needed something sturdy, but still easy to cut. Then, I sketched out a basic football shape. I’m no artist, so I kept it pretty simple. I used a ruler to make sure the lines were somewhat straight.
Next, I carefully cut out the football shapes with a craft knife. This took a little patience, and I definitely messed up a couple of times, but I had extra foam board, so it was all good. I made two identical football shapes for each sign I wanted to make.
Getting to the Lights!
This is where it got fun. I picked up some battery-operated string lights – the small, LED kind. I decided on white lights, but you could totally use team colors or whatever you like. I tested them out first to make sure they all worked (important step!).
Then, I laid one of the football cutouts flat and started placing the lights around the edge. I used a hot glue gun to secure them. A low-temp glue gun would probably work too, I don’t use it. A few burned fingers later, I had the lights glued down.
- Placing the lights: Make sure to evenly place the lights so it looks balance.
- Gluing:Don’t put too much hot glue,I use little dots every inch or so.
Once the glue was dry, I placed the second football cutout on top, sandwiching the lights in between. I used more hot glue around the edges to seal the two pieces together. Make sure to leave a small opening to access the battery pack!
Finishing Touches
After I finished with the light, I added some decorations to make it more attractive.
I used some brown paint to give the signs a more “football-like” texture. I just roughly brushed it on – I wasn’t going for perfection.
Then, I use white paint to painted on some laces. You could also use stickers, glitter, or anything else you want to personalize them.
Finally, I tucked the battery packs into the little opening I left and, boom! Light-up football signs! They actually looked pretty awesome, and my son loved them. It was a totally doable project, even for a crafting newbie like me.
