I really dislike detail painting. I decided to make a wall hanger as a gift for a place I eat on a regular basis. I wanted to duplicate their existing logo but wanted to avoid all the tedious painting I would have to deal with if I cut it from one piece.
Decided to used 1/4" MFD for the background and painted it orange, mask the entire thing and then cut the mortar lines. Grey paint was then slopped on them. Then cut the pockets for the text and then the outside profile. Peeled off the masking.
Cut the letters out of 1/4" MFD then sealed and spray painted them black. Next took a 3/4" piece of MFD and cut a 1/2" pocket to allow the entire background to be countersunk within. Sealed and then spray painted the exposed raised border and backside with black. Glued in the background into the base and then glued in the painted letters.
I was pleased with the result which gave me raised letters and border. Yea, a lot more cutting and some extra material but it eliminated the detail painting. For me, that’s an easy tradeoff.