Denim Monogram Ornament

I had to retire a pair of jeans that were too threadbare to wear anymore, so I salvaged what denim I could and made a monogram ornament. I had a wooden T on hand, but have completely run out of C's. So this ornament is for Trevor. Since he doesn't read my blog, I can save it for Christmas and surprise him. Affiliate links below.  

Denim Monogram Ornament

Materials: 

• 4" unfinished wooden monogram
• Folk Art paint (Navy Blue)
• fabric scissors
• denim
• Mod Podge (Fabric)
• jute twine
• holly leaves and berries

Steps: 

Paint the monogram letter navy blue. 

Cut out a piece of denim about a half inch larger than the monogram in all directions. Cut a second piece of denim that is about a quarter inch smaller than the monogram in all directions. Set that second piece aside. 

Place the first piece of fabric upside down on a piece of wax paper. Add a coat of Mod Podge to the monogram, then place it sticky-side-down on the fabric. Press it firmly in place and let it dry for a few minutes. 

Starting with a straight edge (if your letter has one), spread Mod Podge on the edge, then pull the fabric tightly over that space. Use more Mod Podge to secure it to the back. When you get to a curved area, snip the fabric so that you can round the curves without it looking bulky from the front. 

Cut a length of twine for the ornament hanger. Glue it to the back of the ornament. Add a coat of Mod Podge to the back of the ornament and glue the second piece of fabric to it. Not only will it make the back look a bit more finished, but it will help hold the hanger in place. Let the glue dry completely. Then decorate with holly berries and leaves. 

One pair of jeans has enough fabric for a lot of monograms, so go ahead and make a bunch! I only made the one ornament, but I did use another part of the jeans for a different project. I'll show you that tomorrow. 

Eagle Scout Court of Honor - Confetti Monogram

As I mentioned yesterday, our Scout troop has two large bins of supplies donated from past Eagle Courts of Honor. There are banners, tablecloths, ribbons, and artificial flowers in patriotic colors, that sort of thing. There's also confetti. A LOT of confetti. Multiple past Eagle moms have bought confetti for their sons' Courts of Honor, then decided against using it when they thought about cleanup. This monogram is the second of two projects I made using some of that confetti. 

Confetti Monogram

Materials: 

• unfinished wood or chipboard monogram
• white gesso
• Mod Podge Sparkle
• Eagle Scout confetti

Steps: 

Add a coat of gesso to the unfinished monogram. Let it dry completely. 

 

Spread a thin layer of Mod Podge onto the monogram. Add the confetti. When the Mod Podge is completely dry, add another thin coat on top of the confetti. When dry, add a third coat to ensure the confetti will not come off.

Diamond Art Flower and Monogram Tags

The new Diamond Art Freestyle program by Leisure Arts lets crafters buy gems individually to get exactly the colors you want. They have over 400 colors of gems, including metallics, aurora borealis, neon, and even glow-in-the-dark. With all the colors of sparkly gems available and two different adhesives that work on practically any surface, you can now create any design you can dream up. Today I'm sharing ideas for gift tags. First up, flowers. Scroll down further to see the instructions for the monogram tag. Affiliate links below. 

    

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Diamond Art Flower Tag

Materials:

• plain tag
• Folk Art acrylic paint
• Flower punch
• Freestyle sandwich adhesive
• Freestyle gems
• Dotz Stick Freestyle adhesive
• embroidery floss

Steps:

Paint the tag and let it dry completely. Use the punch to cut flowers from the sandwich adhesive. Remove the white side of the adhesive and stick the flowers to the tag. Then remove the clear lining from one flower and start dotting. In this photo, you can see one completed flower. The second flower still has the clear lining on it. 

When the second flower is complete, use the liquid adhesive to draw leaves and vines on the tag. Let the adhesive dry until clear, approximately 15 minutes. Dot the leaves and vines. Finally, add embroidery floss to the top of the tag.

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Diamond Art Monogram Tag

Materials:

• plain tag
• Folk Art acrylic paint
• Plaid Wood Letters
• Dotz Stick Freestyle adhesive
• Freestyle gems
• Supertite glue
• embroidery floss

Steps:

Paint the tag and the wood letter. When the paint is completely dry, add a coat of Freestyle adhesive to the front of the monogram. Wait 15 minutes or until the adhesive is clear.

Add gems to the monogram. Glue it to the tag with Supertite, then add dots of adhesive randomly on the tag. Wait until the adhesive is clear, then add gems. Tie a loop of embroidery floss to the tag.

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For more ideas for using gems, check out all of my Diamond Art ideas! There is truly no limit to how you can use these. 

Diamond Art Monogram Necklace

With the new Diamond Art Freestyle program by Leisure Arts, you can buy gems individually to get exactly the colors you want. There are over 400 colors of gems, including metallics, neon, aurora borealis, and even glow-in-the-dark. With so many colors of sparkly gems available and two different adhesives designed to work on practically any surface, you can now create any design you can dream up. 

Today's project is a simple monogram necklace. It is very easy and takes just minutes. I used Aegean Blue #5003, but any color would be beautiful. Affiliate links below. 

Diamond Art Monogram Necklace

Materials:

• Plaid Wood Letters
• Folk Art acrylic paint (I used ultramarine blue)
• Dotz Stick Freestyle adhesive
• Freestyle gems 
• jewelry bail
• Supertite glue
• embroidery floss

Steps:

Choose a letter and paint it with your desired color. When the paint is dry, add a coat of Freestyle adhesive. It will go on milky white. It is ready to use when it is clear, anywhere from 10-30 minutes depending on the temperature and humidity. 

Apply gems to the front of the monogram. Glue the bail to the back. When it is dry, measure enough embroidery floss for the length of your necklace, thread it through the bail, and tie it with a knot. 

Shredded Money Ornament (with Hidden Bills Inside!)

I know you've all been waiting impatiently to see the latest money gift I made for my nephew, Timothy. OK, maybe you haven't, but I'VE been waiting impatiently to tell you about it! Check out this delightful ornament. 

It's filled with real, actual shredded money! You might remember that this was a free souvenir from our visit to the awesome Money Museum last summer. 

Of course, I included real, actual non-shredded money as well. I'm not a monster. Affiliate links below. 

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Shredded Money Ornament

Materials:

• plain glass ornament
• shredded money (in case you can't visit the Money Museum and get it for free)
• non-shredded money* 
• embroidery floss
• alphabet sticker

Steps:

Roll up the non-shredded money into a little packet and tie it with embroidery floss. 

Remove the ornament top and add a layer of shredded money. (A cheap funnel makes this easy. You'd be surprised how often a funnel comes in handy when crafting.) Drop the rolled money on top. 

Continue adding shredded money until the ornament is completely full. You shouldn't be able to see the real money. Give it an aggressive shake to make sure everything is packed in tightly. 

Replace the ornament top. Add the monogram sticker and a hanger and your gift is ready to give.

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*For fun, I typed in "money" on Amazon to see what would come up. Apparently, money is a popular theme for parties and home decor!

Washi Tape Monogram

Several months ago, I found 12" monograms on clearance for well under a dollar. Quite a deal! I dug through the bin expecting to find nothing but Qs, Vs and Xs and was very pleasantly surprised to find a C, S and T. I decided it would be fun if the three of us decorated ours separately from each other without letting the others know what materials, colors, etc. we were using. 

Trevor was totally onboard. Within an hour of my bringing the monograms home, he had banished me from the craft area and secretly completed his. (You can see it at the end of yesterday's post.) I made mine once he had cleared out and hidden his T. As of right now, months later, the S is still plain. Crafts just aren't Steve's thing, which is fine. Trevor's been eyeing the blank S and will jump on the chance to decorate it as soon as I give him the go-ahead. 

Here's my monogram:

All I did was cover it with strips of washi. I alternated between the four rolls of red that I own. Rather than try to cut the pieces to size, I just wrapped them around the back and smoothed them down. I added a ribbon rose as an accent.

For more monogram inspiration, check out Decorate with Letters by Leisure Arts (affiliate link). I have my eye on that foam flower M on the cover, plus a few more of the painted monograms. The next time I find monograms on clearance, I'm going to buy every C I can find!

Decorate With Letters - Rose Monogram

I've been having great fun for the past few months creating projects inspired by craft books by Leisure Arts! In February, I showed how to make faux stained glass from a coloring page using the the gorgeous Art of Coloring Animals. In March, Trevor and I played with Crafting with Felt (affiliate links here and below). He made a felt rabbit electronics case and a rabbit finger puppet. April was Easy Foam Crafts and the Very Hungry Caterpillar Pencil. In May, we're playing with monograms.

I made this rose-covered wooden C, following the directions step-by-step from Decorate with Letters. 

Decorate with Letters is unusual in that it is really two books in one. Jennifer and Kitty O'Neil designed the projects in the first half of the book, which focus on decorating monograms with a wide variety of craft materials (such as yarn, fabric, stickers, shells and more). The second half of the book is all painting projects designed by Patti Wallenfang. Between the two halves, there's a lot of inspiration.

I've never painted roses before, but it seemed like the perfect way to cover my C since our last name means "of the rose." The directions were clear and easy to follow with plenty of helpful step-out photos. I also really appreciated the guide to painting techniques and types of paintbrushes at the beginning of the painting section. I don't have any training in painting (besides a 4-session watercolor class that I took as a teenager) so this was very useful. While there is definitely room for improvement, overall I'm very happy with how my C turned out.

This book, along with a plain monogram, would make a really cool gift for a child or adult who enjoys crafts. I'm already thinking about who will be receiving copies for upcoming birthdays!