the Mathews Family Happenings: mossy monogram and weekend recap

Sunday, March 20, 2011

mossy monogram and weekend recap

helllooooo....

(I hope you read that with a British accent because that's how I said it in my head just now)

The fam and I had a fantastic end of the week/weekend-

the hubs was off work,

we had a date (yipee),

lots of outside playtime for the kiddos (temps in the 80's),

I finished another project (tutorial in this post),

the hubs did lots of yard work,

I made pancakes....again,

the kiddos and I went to a birthday party,

I cleaned out O's closet (no more 18 mos-3T clothes!),

I organized my craft cabinet,

and the hubs and I both started new projects!

(whew)

And get this...

we're a couple of steps closer to ripping out the rest of the kitchen.

can't wait

Now- onto the project I finished over the weekend...

That's my take on these...

from Pottery Barn.

They cost 79.99.

Did you hear me, internet?

That's 80 buckaroonies!

Here's what I used to make my less-than-4-buckaroonies version of the Pottery Barn moss initial...

A really ugly picture with a perfectly good, albeit, gold frame that you found for 4.88 at the thrift store-

a wooden initial (1.99) and a bag of moss (3.99), both from the hob lob-

now, friends- I'll be honest.

I wasn't exactly crazy about that 'M' that I picked up so I made another using a piece of foam board and an 'M' I keep on the table in our foyer. I traced around it twice, cut them out, and hot glued them both together so it would be a bit thicker.

See?

Better.

And since I already had the foam board it didn't cost me a thing to make another one I was happy with.

Moving on...

I plugged in the ole' glue gun,

opened up that moss,

(make sure you either do this outside or on top of something that will catch thousands of tiny pieces of moss, because let me tell you friends...

this is messy),

and then just started gluing...

having a 'helper' stand next to you who is singing and playing in the dirty dishes in the sink will help you pass the time as you glue,

glue,

and make a huge mess.

I promise.

After lots of gluing and mess making,

you'll have something like this...

(unless, of course, your name doesn't start with an 'M')

Pretty, ain't she...

Now here's where that picture in the frame comes in...

I took it apart,

set the glass aside,

and took the frame, along with several other items that I wished were white but weren't,

set them all on some lovely orange bulletin board paper...

and went to town with my white spray paint.

It took several coats, but while you're waiting for them to dry, you take some lovely pictures of your assistant who happens to be with you-

Thank you lovely assistant!

Now-

your items are dry.

Take them back inside,

hang the newly white frame on a clear plastic wreath holder,

tie a lovely turquoise bow on it and cover the plastic all the way to the top of the door,

use fishing line to hang your monogram from your frame,

use a bit of tape to secure the frame and the letter to the door so that the frame stays level,

and...

tah-dah my friends.

you're done.

(and yes, it bugs me too that I can see the fishing line. I think I might poke a tiny hole at the top on each side and run it throught there so it doesn't show on the front of the letter. I'll let you know how that goes...)