A Paint Pen & A Ukulele

I’ve never been one to leave things as they come. For some reason, whenever I acquire an item, whether it’s a brand new dress or an antique dresser, I always get the urge to change something about it; to make it my own in some way. This past Christmas, I was so psyched to get this pretty little ukulele – thanks, Dad!

Decorating A Ukulele

I’d been learning a few songs here and there on my dad’s uke, so I was so excited to get one of my very own! As soon as I laid eyes on it, I couldn’t wait to play it, and I think I was equally as excited to decorate it. I had visions of whitewashing the little guy and covering it with dreamy designs, but after doing a bit of research, I found that any major paintjob might affect the sound quality… So instead I took a paint pen to it.

I must make a little disclaimer: I am not knowledgeable in the area of instruments with regards to the materials they’re made of and what may or may not alter the sound. If you’re interested in decorating your instrument but are nervous that it may impact the sound quality, I think it’d be best to talk to a music expert. I just play my uke for fun and would not be too upset if it sounded a little different after this project – I probably wouldn’t even notice.
Here’s how I added a personal touch to my already adorable ukulele! All it took was a uke & a paint pen. Well, that and a pencil.

Decorating A Ukulele

First I thought about what I wanted to add to it. I knew I wanted to decorate around the sound hole, so I thought long and hard about what it would look like. Lately, although it’s the dead of winter, I’ve been in a spring kind of mood. (Maybe it has something to do with our January catalog theme of girls on bikes. Yeah, that’s probably it.) I decided to draw some tiny flowers all around the sound hole. I did this first with a pencil, to make sure I liked how it looked.

Decorating A Ukulele

Once I was satisfied, I got to work with my little white paint pen! It was a little tricky to get underneath the strings, but luckily my paint pen just so happened to be the same color as the strings… :)

Decorating A Ukulele

Decorating A Ukulele

“Do I like it? Yeah, I like it. Actually, it needs something.” …and then I added a little extra to the headstock.

Decorating A Ukulele

(Side note: I absolutely just Googled “parts of a ukulele” – otherwise I can guarantee I would have said “hole” for “sound hole” and “top” for “headstock.”)

Decorating A Ukulele

Decorating A Ukulele

I’m so happy with how it turned out! I’m actually thinking I might want to continue the design all along the white border. What do you guys think? Have you ever decorated a string instrument? Do tell!

More decor and DIY ideas!

Photos by Julia and Brigette.

 

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Zoe
11 years ago

That looks gorgeous, may have to do some doodles on my Misters guitars!

Zoe
http://gypsiesister.blogspot.co.uk

11 years ago

Loving this idea. Love it.

11 years ago

If it’s just for fun/creative purposes, then I would keep going! It looks super adorable! I may do the same to my hubby’s guitar.

11 years ago

so simple and cute, i love it!

Laur
11 years ago

Beautiful! When one of my older ukulele’s neck broke, I did a mosaic piece on the body, used a paint pen on the sides and put fake sunflowers on the top of the neck. It looks quite lovely on display.

11 years ago

beautiful!!!

DIY and more:
diyearte by L & S

mel
11 years ago

What brand of paint pen did you use? (It’s super cute, by the way :)

10 years ago

good idea, ukulele you seem to like the new model

kenzie
10 years ago

Hey! what brand of ukelele did you use?
Could you send the link?
Thanks!

10 years ago

I just painted my ukulele that I got as a Christmas gift. I love it!

Vince
9 years ago

Good stuff !!
Just ordered a uke with a plain sound hole, and was
Looking for a way to dress it up a bit ! This is a great
Idea ! Thank you

Ali
8 years ago

I was also wondering what brand pen you used. Looks great!

Eric
7 years ago

If you wanted to change the design would you be able to?

Yellow Budgie - Mikayla Lawrence
6 years ago

Is that a KALA KA-S? That’s the uke I’m getting and was wondering if it was the same. Also what kind of paint pen is that?