DIY Number Marquee...

I've received a lot of questions regarding the large number 8 featured at Hallie's baptism dinner. I was inspired by this project here from the website Tater Tots and Jello. I mentally "pinned" the item a while back and knew that I wanted to make a marquee - I made an 8 in honor of Hallie's baptism (knowing that we'll have several kids turning 8 - call me crazy but I think it would be fun to create all the numbers to use on their birthday every year.) I never referred back to the inspiration site, so I'm not even sure how they created it but it was really easy.

I bought a hobby piece of plywood from Home Depot and drew a large 8 and cut it out using a jig saw. I found round patio lights at target (string of 25 lights) and marked off on my board where I wanted to drill. I tested several bits until I found one that the base of the light would fit through, but once the bulb was screwed in, they would fall through the hole. I had my trusty assistant sand the whole thing down and paint it white. (She was beyond excited to take this project on as her own!) Once it was painted, I removed all the bulbs from the string. From the back, I inserted the base of the light and screwed the bulb in from the front. I attached a conduit fitting to the back so I could mount it on a pole in the ground. And we were done.

Really easy (as long as you can follow a line with a jig saw) and inexpensive and it was the main focus (also lighting the food table) as the night grew dark. The best part was watching Hallie tell people how we made it - she was pretty proud of her work...rightfully so!