How to Make Your Own DIY Marquee Lights

Learn how to make your own DIY Marquee Lights … it’s so simple and such a fun way to add a unique vintage touch to your home!

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I love adding fun decor elements to my apartment, and for a while now, I’ve been coveting a marquee light.

Vintage marquee lights are prohibitively expensive though, and most DIY marquee light tutorials are quite time intensive.

What can I say? I’m cheap and lazy (ha), and I wanted a marquee light that didn’t take a lot of money to buy or time to make.

Lucky for me (and you), I discovered an inexpensive way to make your own marquee. You will not believe how easy it was to make!

DIY Marquee Light

The key to this Marquee Lights DIY project is a super affordable Heidi Swap Marquee Love Kit. These cute little kits are available in all sorts of shapes, plus all the letters of the alphabet.

Everything thing you need to assemble the marquee light is included in the kit, and you just need to decorate it. The shapes and letters are made from lightweight cardboard, which makes them easy to hang or display anywhere.

I wanted my light to resemble metal, so I coated it with my favorite gold paint. Then I picked out a fun floral paper for the interior. However, you can decorate these kits however you like … I even made a Lighted Holiday Marquee Sign!

Want to know the best part about these kits? You can easily change up the decorations if you want. I love this floral paper for now, but it will be fun to change the look in the future by simply swapping out the paper … how easy is that?!?

How to Make Lighted Marquee Sign

Want to make your own easy DIY lighted marquee letters or other shapes? Here’s what you’ll need:

• Arrow Kit (or other Shapes and Letters)
• FolkArt Metallic Acrylic Paint in Pure Gold
• foam paint brush
• pencil
• scrapbook paper (or other decorative items: washi tape, glitter, stickers, etc.)
• scissors
• 2 AA batteries

Start by painting the outside and inner edge of the cardboard marquee light. Add additional coats until the light is completely covered.

Set aside and let dry.

Next, use the pencil to trace around the arrow template that’s included in the kit.

Cut out the arrow and holes using the scissors.

Place the cutout inside the painted marquee light, then insert the LED lights through the holes in the paper/marquee.

Add the bulb caps over the lights and through the holes.

Insert the batteries, and your light is complete. It’s that easy!

I love the pretty floral paper I used

It’s so perfect for spring, but I can easily change it out whenever I want!

My favorite thing about this DIY Arrow Marquee Light is that is looks just as cute (if not cuter!) during the day as it does lit up at night.

I’m so happy with how this turned out. I’d like to get my initials done next!

If you like this DIY Marquee Lights Project, make sure to check out my Lighted Holiday Marquee Light for more inspiration!

Have you worked on any fun projects lately?