Finally, some warmer weather. It’s so nice to see and feel the sun. Around here, we relish in Spring, because by the time Summer gets here, it’s pretty miserable.
It’s time to list new things in the shop and sign up for any shows we’d like to participate in this season. The pop-up market in Fort Worth is coming to Arlington, so we may see what that’s all about! Things are busy here at the center where the hubs and I live, what with our new management, and all the seasonal activities coming up. The big event is our annual Spring Banquet to celebrate our students, and, to honor our new staff and all of the changes being made, I chose the theme “new beginnings.” For the past couple of years, it’s been my job to come up with a theme, buy and make all the decorations, and put them up the day of. Fortunately, we started a little sooner than we did in years past, so I have plenty of time to focus on making things look spiffy!
For our buffet table, I decided to create a display inspired by this tutorial: DollarStoreCrafts: Make A Floral Monogram. As you know, I love me some Dollar Tree, so I knew I would be able to find exactly what I needed to create what I had in mind. Here’s what I have so far:
S-R-N- What does that spell?!?
… “Nothing, Chelsea, that spells nothing. What are you talking about?”
Never fear, “PIG” is here:
For you word scramble enthusiasts, you’ve already figured out that when you alternate the floral and moss letters, that spells “spring.” The moss letters are another dollar store creation. Right now, they have tons of moss on sale of different kinds. I chose the Reindeer Moss for it’s pretty green color, which matches our color palette of grassy green, yellow, white, and pops of red and blue.
It’s not “Make It Monday,” but I thought I’d go ahead and share how to make the moss letters:
What you need
Foam board
Moss (about one Dollar Tree package will cover the front and edges of a 12″ letter)
Blade (box cutter, exacto knife, etc.)
Hot glue gun
How to make it
1. I used some leftover foam board (that I also bought from the dollar store,) to cut out letters that were relatively the same height and width of my floral letters. They measure about 12″ tall and 5″ wide. If you’re not confident in your free-handing skills, you can always print out letters in your desired font to create stencils to trace onto your foam board.
2. Once the letters are cut out, warm up your glue gun and open your package of moss. Begin separating the moss into chunks so that it’s easier to handle.
3. Spread glue over a small section of your letter, and quickly grab a chunk of moss and press down. You’ll find that there’s probably excess moss that doesn’t attach, but that’s OK. It’s better to have that extra to keep you from burning your fingers as you press down. Continue spreading glue on small sections of the top of your letter and adding moss.
4. Once you’ve covered your letter, tilt it and shake any excess moss off of it (as if you were working with glitter.) You may see that you have a couple of “bald” spots, in which case, just add a drop or two of glue, and use that excess moss to patch it.
5. Now it’s time to cover your edges. Use the same technique, this time, laying glue down the line of the edge for several inches, then covering with moss until you’ve covered the entire edge of the letter.
6. Depending on what you’re doing with your monogram or word, you may want to cover the back of the letter in moss as well. If you’ll be hanging the letter on a door or wall, it’s not necessary, but it gives it a nice, finished look.
7. Now you decide how to display it. You can glue a ribbon to the letter to hang it, glue a dowel or two to the back of the letter to “plant” it in a pot or vase, or leave it as-is to prop against a nook in your home.
There you have it! I’ll be sure to post pictures of my finished “spring” display once it’s done, and some pictures of the rest of the decorations for the banquet.
Share the Love,
Chelsea