Pottery Barn Kids Word Plaque Knock Off

It’s no secret that I’m a sucker for all things Pottery Barn. Unfortunately I don’t have a Pottery Barn budget. So what’s a girl to do? Roll up your sleeves ladies, we’re gonna make some Pottery Barn goodies on the cheap!

I just fell in love with these word plaques from Pottery Barn Kids.



I knew they would be a perfect addition to my little girls new “big girl” room.

Here's what you’ll need to make them.

• 5.5 inch tall board (I got a 1x6x4’ board from Lowes for about $3)
• Primer
• Acrylic paint
• Paint Brushes
• Paint markers
• A printer
• Pencil

1. First start by printing your lettering. In WordPad choose the Georgia font in a 320 font size.

2. After you’ve printed your words turn the paper over and trace the lettering on the opposite side. I found it easier to see what I was tracing when I put the paper on a piece of 8x10 glass from a picture frame and sat near a light. (Please excuse the blue paint blob. This paper did some double duty.)



3. Cut your boards at the following lengths: 7.5 inches (fly) 13 inches (laugh) 20 inches (dream) 24 inches (imagine)

4. Prime and paint your boards. You can use whatever color and patterns you like. I tried to copy as close to the original as I could because quite frankly, I have no imagination. Neal Caffery would be so proud.

5. After your paint has dried carefully line the lettering up on your board with the pencil outlines faced down. Tape paper down to keep it in place.



6. Retrace the lettering onto your board pressing firmly with a pencil. This will transfer your pencil outlines onto your plaque.

7. Once you have traced all the letters remove the paper and you should have something like this.



  8. Using a paint marker fill in the lettering. These pens made it so much easier than trying to use a brush. I did have to use a brush for the “laugh” plaque because I couldn’t find a paint pen in the right color. I ended up painting it the wrong color anyway (it was suppose to be green ga!).



I found these great little picture frame hangers by 3M that I’m going to try and use to hang them on the wall. It kind of looks like plastic velcro. Anyone else have any luck with these?

“Laugh” (was suppose to be green, oh well)



“Dream” This one took the longest with all those little flowers.



“Imagine” This one looks orangey in the photo but it’s actually more of a peach color.



Imagine, Dream, Laugh, and Fly. I have plenty of board left over to make at least two more. I may end up doing one with her name and the "wish" plaque as well.



One knock off down, one to go!

Up next? The Pottery Barn Kids Bird Dream Catcher.








Linking up with:

Big Girl Room Inspiration

My baby is now 2 years old so it’s time to start converting the nursery into a “big girl” room. I’ve been itching to change it since I finished it a little over 2 years ago. (You can see how that turned out here.)

I found my inspiration for Maddie’s room from none other than Pottery Barn Kids. These are pictures that started it all.



Gosh I love everything about this room, mainly the bedding. I’ve been drooling over the Hayley collection for over a year now. I just love the little birds and owls. I also love these quilts because there are so many colors and patterns to coordinate with.


These plaques are so cute! They are no longer sold at Pottery Barn but I’m pretty sure I could make them myself.


I love this fabric garland that Hana over at The Mom Tog Diaries created by using strips of fabric, ribbon, and lace.


This little birdie dream catcher was also something that was previously sold at Pottery Barn Kids. I may try to make one of these as well.


I found this robin’s nest printable on Google images. It’s identical to the one in the first picture of the bedroom.


I still have this chandelier I got on one of my Goodwill runs last year. This will replace the smaller one from Ikea that we currently have up in her room. The Ikea chandelier will go in her closet…because every little girl needs a chandelier in her closet right? ;) 


Now that I have my inspiration all that’s left to do is choose a paint color to go above the chair rail. I keep going back and forth between a light blue and a light pink. I hate, let me repeat, HATE choosing paint colors. It gives me major anxiety. Hopefully I can make a decision soon so we can get this show on the road!

So here it is now…

Stay tuned for the “after”!