Frugal Friday: Crafty Monograms

As some of you know, I made it a goal to redecorate my house this year.  As I listed my desired projects and items to get, I became quite discouraged by how much it cost!  So, I decided to try a frugal short cut and make many of the pretty things I had my heart set on.  My first project was a picture collage in the master bedroom that I wanted to personalize with monogrammed plaques.  So, I went to Michael's and loaded my cart with:


two wooden plaques ($2.00 each),

( Sorry, this isn't the one I used, but wanted to show you what something like this looks like unpainted,)



acrylic paint ($.50), spray adhesive ($3.00), Mod Podge ($7.00), and a foam brush ($.40).

I painted the edges of the wooden plaque with the brown paint and let it dry.  Then I traced the outline of the plaque onto pretty scrapbook paper that I already had (though, if you were to buy it, it would probably cost $.25 each), cut the scrapbook paper, and glued it to the wooden plaque using the spray adhesive.  Next, I used my Cricut machine to cut out the monogrammed letter on card stock (also super cheap).  If you don't have a Cricut machine, no problem!  Just find a font and size you like on your computer, print out the letter, cut it out, and trace it on your scrapbook paper.  Then just cut the letter out.  Use the spray adhesive to glue the letter onto the plaque.  Finally, brush the Mod Podge on everything, using thin layers.  If the paper starts bubbling up, wait until it's mostly dry and press the air out. 

And, voila!  You get this:

So, all in all, it cost around $14 to make both plaques...$7 each!  And I barely made a dent in the paint, spray adhesive, and Mod Podge.  So, tons of leftovers to use on other projects.  And I mean tons.  You may want to stay away from the Schoolfield house because I may try and Mod Podge you.

I am super happy with the results and will show the final reveal of the photo collage later...that is, once I patch and paint all the holes in the wall from previous pictures and failed attempts at hanging the pictures in the right spots :(

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