How to Create Monogram Wall Art {without vinyl cutting}

Happy Monday peeps. Just thought I’d share an easy little tutorial on painting your own monogram art.  I’m a big fan of monograms. So I decided to try to make one myself for my new living room gallery wall (which I’ll share with you soon). You don’t need a Cricut or a Silhouette or any other special vinyl cutting tool. In fact, I personally think that a hand-painted monogram has a much more authentic feel.

1. First, find some great material, and cut it just a little larger than the size you intend to frame. The thinner and the more ‘open-weave’ the better, beacuse the next few steps involve tracing. I used a table napkin that has a linen/grain sack kind of feel. I found it on sale after Christmas for $1.49 at Bowering (a Canadian home decor store).  I cut mine ~5×7.

2. Use any desktop program (like Word) to create a large letter in the font of you choice.  I used Bookman Old Style as I was going for a more classic feel.

Yes, my printer cartridge needs changing!

2. Next place your material over the letter, and trace with a fine tip black pen.  Easy peasey.

3. Now, fill in the letter with your favorite acrylic craft paint.  If you want, you can mix it with textile medium, but I didn’t, and it turned out just fine.

If you want to create more texture and depth, just use a darker shade of the colour as a top coat.

It doesn’t have to be perfect.  In fact, imperfect is best!

4. To create a more aged effect, you can lightly sponge some brown paint onto the edges.  You can also fray the edges of your material.

5.  Final step: frame your beautiful monogram in a frame of your choice, and enjoy!

I adhered it on top of the mat instead of under it, so the aged edges were visible.

Until next time,

Post-script:
This tutorial was referenced on E-How!