Monogram Makeover

Don't forget to follow the Kids Summer Craft Camp along on the KSCC Pinterest board where I will be pinning all of the posts.  Also, I encourage you to take pictures of your own creations and use the hashtag #KidsSummerCraftCamp on Instagram or on Twitter!  I'd love to see what you are up to!

Today's guest post is coming to you by one of my most loyal readers, Heather from the frill of life.  I was so happy she hopped on board for this project!  I was even more happy when I saw the project she submitted because it's pretty awesome!  Well, you just got to see it, so on to Heather!

I am so excited to be here as a guest on Sowdering About, a blog that I have read since I discovered the blogging community 2 years ago! My name is Heather and I host a blog called The Frill of Life where I share highlights of my life as a Christian, working mother, wife and student. I believe life is much better when you spend it smiling, which is why I find reasons to smile every day!

My husband and I have been trying to get pregnant with our second child for over a year now, so my baby fever is pretty intense. When my sister announced she was pregnant, the first words out of my mouth were "I'm throwing the baby shower!!!" I should have known it would be the most non-traditional baby shower, since that's how my sister is. She told me she wanted to do crafty things instead of play games and my work was cut out for me. My 7-year old niece came to me with the idea to take the letters in the baby's name and cover them with scrapbook paper to hang on the nursery wall. Yes, my niece is a little genius and came up with this all on her own. We had so much fun with the craft that I decided to do it with my son for his room!

The Stars of the Show

For this craft you will need:

Wooden letter or letters to be covered (We got ours from Michael's)

Mod Podge - any finish will do, but we are using the plain old matte

Scrapbook paper - this is where you let your creativity shine; the sky's the limit!

Scissors  Craft knife (not pictured) Pencil or pen (not pictured)

Mod Podge applicator of your choice - some like paintbrushes, I prefer the foam wedge on a stick

Table cover - I always have extra dollar store table cloths for crafting

Oh yeah, don't forget an excited kid!!!

When deciding what kind of scrapbook paper you'll use, consider where you plan to showcase your masterpiece. For me, I considered what the nursery wall color was, and the other decorations in the room. My brother-in-law had hung a Batman poster up in the nursery and it seemed to stick out like a sore thumb. So when I saw this super hero scrapbook paper, I knew it would be just the thing to make that Batman poster feel more at-home. Plus, I knew I'd be able to use it for my little man, too!

Lay your scrapbook paper printed side down on your covered table. Then lay the letter face down on the scrapbook paper and trace your letter. I found it helpful to line up the bottom edge of my letter with an edge of the scrapbook paper, that way I had an edge to go by. Also, if there's a pattern on the paper that you want going a certain direction (like the Chevron paper I did for my "B") be sure you are tracing it correctly. Carefully cut out your letter using scissors or a craft knife. If you use a craft knife, don't forget to protect your table with a cutting mat. (No cutting mat? I just use a cutting board!) 

This is a great opportunity to hand over some kid friendly scissors and let the littles practice their cutting skills while you perfect yours!

When you've cut out the scrapbook paper that you'll need, cover the face of the letter with Mod Podge. This is the part Bryson really enjoyed!

Next, lay the paper on top of the Mod Podge with the printed side out (obviously). Be careful to line it up as well as you can...this will save you time later.

Next, add any additional layers of paper, or decorations if you're the embellishing type.

 Allow the Mod Podge to dry a few minutes. When the Mod Podge has had a chance to dry, carefully trim the edges with the craft knife. Then use the nail file to smooth out the edges. The edges will still look slightly rough, but the final layer of Mod Podge will fix that!

When you're happy with the way your letter looks, finish it off with a second layer of Mod Podge to seal it off. Be sure to get the edges of the letter and the edges of any decorations you may have added. This will help your letter last a long time!

Allow your letter to dry a few hours before hanging it or setting it out for display.

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