My niece celebrated her birthday in early October and I decided to make her birthday gift this year. She loves crafts and it just so happened that she had her room repainted recently and got some new furniture and bedding. I figured she’d appreciate a handmade gift more than the “Average Joe” and could possibly use some finishing touches to her newly redecorated room.
The wheels started spinning and I remembered THIS tutorial for monogram letters that I had seen online. Thankfully, I had pinned it and was able to locate it easily. See, sometimes I do decide to tackle one of those crafty projects that I’m always “pinning for later.”I think these turned out great. I was trying to match to the colors from pictures in a text message, so I wasn’t totally sure how it would all work out in the end. Since it turned out so well, I wanted to share it here in case you are looking for a frugal decorating or gift idea.
Here’s what you’ll need to get started.
Supplies:
Directions:
1. I started by painting the edge of the letters using the white acrylic paint*. I wanted to make sure the sides looked nice, and since I knew the trim in the room was white, I opted for white. I painted the edges twice in order to cover the MDF well.
2. Then, I traced the letters onto the scrapbook paper. I opted to use (2) different scrapbook papers for each letter {with a third as an accent}, so I had to trace everything carefully. Measure twice, cut once, right? 🙂
3. Once I confirmed my paper was going to fit nicely on each letter, I painted the Mod Podge* onto the section of the letter and then placed the paper down carefully. One thing I’ve learned about Mod Podge* is that you don’t need nearly as much as you think.
4. I used strips of a third paper as an accent over the seam where the (2) sheets met. I wanted another pop of color and figured it would hide any imperfections in my seam.
5. After the scrapbook paper had dried, I applied a thin layer of Mod Podge* over the top of each letter. I wanted this layer to act as a “seal” for the scrapbook paper. After it dried, it gave it a nice and clean finish. Since these weren’t going in an area near water, I didn’t use any other finish coat, although you could use a sealer if needed.
There are a variety of ways you could hang these, depending on the look you are going for or how much space you have. Picture hangers or even decorative ribbons would have worked, but I opted for Command Small Picture Hanging strips* to avoid nail holes.
Here’s the cost breakdown for the project.
Mod Podge = $7.99 each {used 40% off coupon} = $4.79 at Hobby Lobby
acrylic paint = FREE {I already had some}
paint brushes = FREE {I already had some}
I saved a little money by having some of the items on hand and I didn’t include the cost of the hanging strips, but this would still be a really affordable DIY project. I think the end result turned out great and my niece seemed very pleased. She even commented that I was really crafty, and if you know me in real life, then that is saying something! 🙂
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Are you crafty?
