Zinc Style Letters

Have you all seen the lovely zinc letters from Anthropologie?

Well, they are drool worthy...but, they are around $18 and I wanted three.
Here is what they look like:
Nice huh?
The good news is is that you can replicate them for CHEAP!
Hobby Lobby sells cardboard letters and they also have metallic spray paint....
See where I'm going with this??

Here is what you'll need for your knockoff version:
-cardboard letters (mine were from Hobby Lobby and they were $2.47 each)
-Metallic spray paint (also from Hobby Lobby...around $5)
-sand paper

Preparation:
Lay some paper down and get to spray painting...remember to do light coats...I actually only did one coat and it was perfect.
For a more distressed, metal look I used some sand paper and lightly sanded them and it really made them look more like zinc.

These aren't the best pictures as it was nighttime and so the lighting wasn't great, but they really do look like metal in person and for all three of them and the spray paint it was about the same price as what one would cost at Anthropologie.

I originally had planned to do "eat", but Hobby Lobby was out of the "e" and "t" and I am a now person when I have my mind set on something, so I went with "yum."

I love it and it adds a nice modern touch to the kitchen!

What do you think? Is it worth buying the Anthro ones or do you like the cheaper knockoff version?