Cardboard Letter decor (for free!)

I saw this idea online and have been wanting to do it for a while. Here is where I found this idea. She does a tutorial as well.

So all I did, was google the letter P. I found one that was just an outline. I printed it out. I didn't want to print a solid P, and waste a bunch of ink. I sized it a bit before I printed it to make it big. I didn't want it too huge, but figured the size of a piece of paper was a good size for where I wanted it.

Then I took a cereal box, cut it open and traced the P on the back, two times, and then cut them out. 

Then, I took the sides of the cereal box, and cut them to be about an 1 1/2 inches wide. I started taping it to the bottom of the P, to make the middle of the P. 

It was a little tricky, making the cardboard bend, but it got better as I went.

I then taped the second P on top of the outline I had.

In hindsight, I should have started with the top P to tape the middle to, and then added the bottom P last, instead of doing the top P last.

I noticed the P kind of bends ever so slightly, because the top P was harder to tape and make fit. I would have rather the bottom P not fit as well, so it wouldn't show.

Now, you are left with a cardboard P!

Next, I did a paper mache'. I had never done this, but it was really easy. You just take flour and water, a 2:1 ratio, and rip newspaper. I actually did phone book pages, since they are a little thinner than newspaper. Dip it in the mixture and spread it over the P. They lady's tutorial said to do it at an angle,  and to overlap a lot.

Let it dry 24 hours. 

I painted it the same blue as my TV stand.

If you look close, it has an aged, crackled look. That was just from the paper mache'. From far away you can't see it. I'm debating on glazing it to make the lines stand out. Not sure yet, if I will do that. 

I need to put something else on this shelf, to compliment my P. Maybe a candle or something...

Overall, a fairly easy project. And it was FREE! I had all materials already on hand. Most people do and the only thing you may not have is paint. You could easily use acrylic paint for $1 a bottle.