paddle help for the 'artistically challenged'?

[raincoat]

I am horrible at all things art. I'm the one who failed the class in third grade where most people had to try not to get an A...I can barely even draw stick figures.

Now it's time to make a paddle for my big, and I really want to make it nice and show her how much she means to me. I searched the rest of the forum, but a lot of the ideas given seem too complicated for me to attempt. Does anyone have any ideas of very SIMPLE but classy/nice things I can do?

[frathole]

Have someone better than you do it.

[L.O.C.K.]

Get the two leveled greek letters, paint the top one color, then the "border" thingie a diff color. Also, paint the paddle sides a different color. You could arrange your names in like a pattern, or make them interlocking. You could also do spray paint shades to give the back ground a fade look. Also, paint the back, and write a meaningful quote on it.

Just some ideas I've seen.

[KatieKate1244]

Whatever you do, keep your design simple! Less chance to mess it up. Also, many arts & crafts stores sell crests and other symbols that are made for paddles, so look into getting those, which you can just glue on (you can also find these online). You can also buy little wooden cutouts that say "big sis" and "lil sis," and they usually have little wooden letters that are about the same size. All that would require is a rule to make sure everything is going on straight--oh, and use wood glue. Are you buying a paddle already painted/stained, or do you have to do it yourself? If you have to do it on your own, staining is much easier for the artistically-challenged.

[Senusret I]

I am not a great artist myself.....but I've been doing some paddles lately.

Simple ideas that don't involve anything but the paddle and paint: Get a cheap paddle from www.paddlemegreek.com. Spray paint it one of your sorority's colors. Get a paint pen in the other color. Draw the letters big on one side, write a personal message on the back.


Or, you could purchase those wooden letters, spray paint them SEPARATELY from the paddle, then stick them on when everything has dried. (Most letters are self-adhesive these days.)

Otherwise, I second L.O.C.K.'s advice.

[PhoenixAzul]

You can also decoupage (AKA: collage). Our crest is really detailed and hard to do in paint, so some girls got smart and photocopied the one out of their pledge book, colored it nicely, and then decoupaged it onto their paddle using modge podge.

[SOPi_Jawbreaker]

If you can find the letters with the adhesive backing on them, go for that. Super, super easy. And I found that spray paint was the easiest way to get a nice even paintjob on the paddle. For the letters, if you're doing just one color (i.e. single layer letters), go ahead and use spraypaint for that too. But as previously mentioned, paint the letters and the paddle separately. Then remove the backing and then stick the letters on (make sure you know exactly where you want to place each letter, so there's no mistakes). That is the absolute easiest way I've found to make a paddle. I'm not very artistically talented, so I've never done any of the fancier stuff like decoupage or fading of one color into another.

[adpiucf]

Buy a traditional paddle at your Greek Store.

Also at the Greek store, purchase your letters in the large double raised Greek Letters size.

Next, buy medium-to-large sized letters with your name and your big's name.

Small letters: the year

You may want to include a wood crest (the person at the Greek store can apply the decal if it is not already on the wood), a family number, your chapter designation, your animal mascot or flower-- all represented in wood pieces that are available at your Greek Store.

For a cheaper alternative to wood shapes and letters, try Michael's. You may want to give the stuff you buy at Michael's a coat of paint varnish. You can buy this also at Michael's or at Walmart or Home Depot.

You don't have to paint anything if you are artistically challenged, but if you decide to paint, then paint and let the pieces dry before you put them on the paddle!

Arrange the wood pieces on the paddle and decide on a pattern. You might want to take a pencil and tick off where you are going to place your wood pieces. Next, take wood glue (available at any craft store and at your Greek store), apply some to the back of the wood pieces and glue them down. Set the project aside and allow it to dry overnight.

I don't recommend buying the wood letters/shapes with adhesive backing. Depending on how long they have been sitting on the shelf, they tend to fall off the paddle after awhile--- if you do buy these, reinforce it with wood glue or some Elmer's glue.

If you do paint, have a plan and don't go too crazy with colors; and even if you only pick 2-3 colors, don't go nuts painting every other letter a different color. Keep it simple. If you are unsure, get an artsy friend to assist.

[kddani]

If you want to paint anything, two words for you: "paint pens". Much much easier than freehand

[Greekopedia]

Get a paddle custom cut... thats what my guys do! its really hot!

[FSUZeta]

we didn't exchange paddles-we had wooden crowns which the big sister decorated for us and gave as an initiation gift. i was teasing my big sis unmercilessly and she threatened to paint my crown black if i didn't stop. well i kept it up a while longer. a month of so later imagine my surprise when i opened my initiation gifts and found a BLACK crown!! she painted the entire front of the crown black, then painted in large, stylized letters z e t a(in gray), and superimposed over them two stick figure girls (done in white)in dresses facing each other,each holding the stem of one flower(the flower was red). it was the hit of the initiation banquet, not because of its artistry-the design was simple-but because of its creativity and uniqueness. you do not have to be artistic to create something that will be cherished-i still have it to this day and have proudly displayed it everywhere i have lived. have fun, be creative, be unique-she'll love it!!

[Senusret I]

I FINALLY finished this paddle today. It is a very special gift for my non-profit mentor. It is a standard 22-incher with all the typical crossing information on it.



The paddle was spray-painted black. I only use the kind that says "enamel" so that it will have a gloss to it. Prior to sticking the letters on, I spray-painted them with an antique gold paint -- not quite enamel, but it worked. Like the letters, the shield was purchased at a Greek store (The one in Columbus, to be exact!). I used a gold paint pen and painted around the edge of the shield so that it would contrast with the black background.



Although I was scared as hell to do so, I free-handed the Brother's name. I felt that it would personalize the paddle, save money (wood letters are cheap, but add up!), and allow me to be more creative. (FYI, Sigma Eta is at SUNY New Paltz and includes West Point).



His line name is "Smooth Criminal" and I thought it would be nice to visually represent that in the font.



No decoupage this time! I actually don't have any pictures with this brother. So instead, I placed my info at the bottom and some Egyptian hieroglyphics at the top...



He and I once had a discussion about paddles. Really, I was picking him for information so I could get all the info without making it too obvious....somehow, it comes out that he used to always request that whenever he is given a paddle, he wants the giver to put on the paddle whatever it is he taught that brother.

So.... I placed the Egyptian symbols that loosely translate to:

I KNOW I CAN.

Literally: Eye of Horus, Understanding, Action.

The End.

[OrchidAlum]

Originally posted by PhoenixAzul
You can also decoupage (AKA: collage). Our crest is really detailed and hard to do in paint, so some girls got smart and photocopied the one out of their pledge book, colored it nicely, and then decoupaged it onto their paddle using modge podge.

I totally recommend decoupage. It's totally idiot-proof! I'm not artistic at all and I was totally at a loss for what to do for my Big's paddle, until my roommate suggested decoupage.

My Big loves Peanuts (the cartoon), so I printed out a whole bunch of Sunday strips (color is more interesting than black and white), cut them up into individual panels, mixed them up and decoupaged them to the paddle. I then glued our letters and names (and maybe the date?) on top of the paddle.

When we gave our paddles to our bigs, everyone was drooling over my masterpiece.

In short: decoupage is super-easy and produces some very cool results.

[raincoat]

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for your wonderful advice. I encorporated a lot of your ideas into my paddle, especially the one about making it personalized, and my big absolutely loved it!! I even got comments from the other members of my pledge class about how much they liked my work.

and Senusret, your paddle looks amazing! Your mentor is a lucky man.

[Senusret I]

Originally posted by raincoat
I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for your wonderful advice. I encorporated a lot of your ideas into my paddle, especially the one about making it personalized, and my big absolutely loved it!! I even got comments from the other members of my pledge class about how much they liked my work.

and Senusret, your paddle looks amazing! Your mentor is a lucky man.

Congrats on your paddle!

And thanks...I gave it to him on Monday and his reaction was awesome.