Homemade Shelf

I've had this project in mind for a while and with the help of my husband, Kevin my idea came to life.

I wanted it to be rustic looking, but still match the colors of my decor.Thank goodness Kevin is handy with woodworking and willing to build whatever is in my head :)
He used cedar siding, that still has a rough sawn texture and we left it unfinished so it would continue to age.
I got the hangers/hooks at Hobby Lobby. Kevin cut out the rectangles for my letters from 1" thick MDF and I painted them a chocolate brown. Then using my Cricut and the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge I cut each letter in shadow then regular using the patterned cardstock. I also inked the edged of all my papers with Vintage Photo distress ink to give it a further aged look. I adhered the letters to the blocks of MDF with mod podge. I applied 3 coats total (letting it dry completely between each coat). Then I inked the edges of the blocks with Staz-on saddle brown (because that won't smear off of the slick mod podged surface)

The shelf/rack has already become very useful. The girls hang their coats and back packs on it when they come home and I always know where my purse is now :)