• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • START
  • SHOP
  • About
    • Welcome To My Repurposed Life Home of Repurposed Furniture
    • My Repurposed Life™
    • More About Gail
    • MRL On Etsy
    • Disclosure
    • Privacy Information
  • Project Gallery
    • Repurposed Furniture
  • Repurposed Items
    • Building Supplies
    • Miscellaneous Household Items
    • Picture Frame/Chalk Board
  • DIY
    • Home Reno
    • outdoor living
    • Painting
    • Shop Talk
    • Tips for Around the House
    • Build It
      • Furniture
      • Home Decor
      • Storage
    • Crafts
      • Dollar Store
      • Easy
      • Holidays Seasonal
  • Furniture
    • Chair
    • Desk
    • Dresser/Chest
    • Headboard | Bed Parts | Cribs
    • Kids Furniture
    • Table
    • Kids Furniture
My Repurposed Life® Rescue Re-imagine Repeat
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • About
  • Start Here
  • Project Index
  • Furniture
  • Subscribe
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter
  • ×
    Holidays Seasonal » JOY Christmas letters

    JOY Christmas letters

    Published by Gail | Published November 10, 2020 | Updated June 28, 2021
    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Pin
    Share
    Tweet
    Share
    How to make Joy Christmas letters out of reclaimed oak flooring. Tips on gluing the pieces together, painting and more. Fairly quick project. #MyRepurposedLife #repurposed #reclaimed #oakflooring #Christmas #JOY via @repurposedlife

    I’ve been wanting to make JOY wooden Christmas letters for a few years now. A few months ago, I got a pile of reclaimed flooring from my neighbor Rodney. Suddenly, it hit me that this would be the perfect time to make monogram like letters spelling JOY for Christmas! They aren’t perfect, but I think they have a certain charm, being handmade instead of manufactured.

    JOY Christmas Letters

    wooden JOY letters for Christmas

    Here they are hanging on my fence. Have you been enjoying Spring like weather in November like I have? Let’s see how the JOY letters came together.

    Prep Reclaimed Oak Flooring

    reclaimed wood flooring

    The reclaimed oak wood flooring is very old. First, I had to remove any nails and staples. Then I gave it a light sanding just to make the wood a little more smooth.

    Make Letter Templates

    make JOY letters on cardboard

    I get a lot of these large cardboard envelopes when I order transfers from The Junky Chalker Shop. Who knew this type of cardboard would be the BEST to make my JOY Christmas letters template?

    IF your printer will print poster sized, you can skip this part by designing and printing oversized letters. I could not get my latest printer to do that.

     

    cardboard letter templates on reclaimed oak flooring

    My letters are about 12” tall. The reclaimed oak flooring is tongue and groove, so I did the best I could matching up the pieces.

    Trace JOY Christmas Letters

    trace joy letters onto reclaimed wood

    Using a sharpie, I traced the letters onto the wood. I did the same for the letter O.

    TIP: if you have letter cutouts from the craft store, you could trace those a little larger, then glue your pieces onto the original craft letter for a secure hold.

    *this post contains affiliate links, read more here*

    Cut Reclaimed Flooring

    cut reclaimed wood letters with a jigsaw

    Because it can become very confusing, I cut out one letter, one board at a time with my jigsaw.

     

    mark an x on the drop off piece of wood.

    I advise you to mark an X on the pieces you won’t be using (as shown here).

     

    joy letters cut out of reclaimed wooden flooring

    Cutting each board at a time, is the same method I used on my Hello Fall Rustic Pumpkin Sign.

    Clean Tongue & Groove on Reclaimed Oak Flooring

    claan tongue and groove boards prior to gluing

    Since this reclaimed flooring was very old, I used a small screwdriver to dig out the dirt from the tongue and groove sections.

     

    scrape dirt off tongue on flooring

    The small screwdriver easily removed all of the debris from the tongue ends of the reclaimed flooring. The tape measure serves no purpose here, I simply used it to prop up the piece so I could take a picture.

    Time to Glue JOY Christmas Letters Together

    glue joy letters together with hot glue and wood glue (1)

    Being an impatient person, I used Gorilla Wood Glue for durability, and hot glue for a quick hold. I love my Robi Glue Gun! It does take a little longer to heat up, but it gets hot and works great.

    glue wooden letters in sections

    To ensure the letters would set up, I glued them in sections, then the next day I glued the sections together, and let them set up overnight.

     

     

    sand joy letters made from oak flooring

    I wanted to be gentle with the glued pieces. To sand them, I placed them on a board that was flat. My plastic table has very uneven places.

     

    mouse sander for JOY letters

    For smaller areas, I switched to a mouse sander.

    NOTE: I have round sandpaper on the mouse. Winking smile

    Ready for Paint

    paint joy letters with milk paint

    The letters were painted with Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint.

    Nailess Saw Tooth Picture Hangers

    nailess saw tooth picture hangers

    These are the saw tooth hangers I used for the JOY Christmas letters.

     

    use nailess saw tooth hangers

    On most projects, I use d rings, however because these JOY letters are not heavy, I knew these hangers would be best!

     

    joy letters on the driveway (1)

    See, the JOY letters are not perfect, but full of country charm.

     

    reclaimed oak flooring JOY Christmas Letters MyRepurposedLife

    I do believe if I had craft letters to trace, then glue to, this would have been a much easier job. I do believe it’s easier cutting one board at a time when you can.

    This JOY Christmas letter tutorial could easily be used for monogram letters!

    gail

    Pin
    Share
    Tweet
    Share

    Related Posts:

    • Reclaimed wood projects | Fence | Pallets
      Reclaimed wood projects | Fence | Pallets
    • Wooden Spindle Sign For Christmas
      Wooden Spindle Sign For Christmas
    • How to remove layers of vinyl flooring to make room for new appliances
      How to remove layers of vinyl flooring to make room for new…
    « Faux Enamelware bucket for Christmas Decor
    Countdown to Christmas | Perpetual Calendar »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      See comments Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    1. Cheri

      November 10, 2020 at 9:53 pm

      Looks great, but I would NEVER be patient enough to do all that! Hobby Lobby is my go-to:) You are just so danged crafty...good for you:)

      Reply
      • Gail Wilson

        November 11, 2020 at 5:32 pm

        Cheri,

        It was fun to do (for me) But I just love sawing wood!

        gail

    2. girlfromwva

      November 10, 2020 at 8:51 pm

      that is so crafty and they look so good!

      Reply
      • Gail Wilson

        November 11, 2020 at 5:32 pm

        You're too kind Nova..... they definitely have their own charm! lol

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi, there! I’m Gail Wilson, the author and mastermind behind My Repurposed Life. I’m obsessed with finding potential in unexpected places and believe that with a little hard work and imagination, any old thing can be made useful again—myself included! I hope you’ll enjoy the journey and pick up a few tools along the way… literally!

    More about me →

    36 Repurposed Furniture Projects eBook
    Buy Gail's eBook

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    SEEN ON

    Might I Suggest

    • Start Here
    • Furniture Makeovers

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    About

    • Gail's Favorites on Amazon
    • About

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2022 My Repurposed Life · Privacy Policy · Disclosure