DIY Monogrammed Shams

Good morning, pretties! I actually did a DIY project this weekend that I've been meaning to do for a long time. I shared it with you last week here when I talked about how much I love monogramming. Per the instructions, I only needed a few things:

• fabric for monogram (got it at Forsyth Fabrics)
• Heat and Bond Ultrahold (got it at Michaels)
• cardstock to make your stencil 
• iron
• Exacto knife

Total Spent: about $10 (pillow shams, cardstock, iron, and Exacto were already in hand.)

I started off by first deciding how large I wanted my monogram to be. I did a little research on Pinterest of the various sizes, and decided I wanted my total monogram to be roughly 8x11. I toyed back and forth with the idea of a traditional monogram font (circular, interlocking, etc.) but opted to instead go with an Arial Bold design I arranged in Photoshop. I printed my design directly on cardstock, used an Exacto knife to cut out the letters, and my stencil was ready to go. 

One thing I would have changed is using a relief mat to cut on. I think I have one somewhere, but couldn't seem to locate it. I cut instead on a magazine, and it got old really fast. With each cut I made, the magazine became more uneven and shredded. I ironed the Heat and Bond onto a piece of my fabric (I only had to get 1/4 of a yard...$6!) and then taped my stencil onto the fabric, with the Heat and Bond side up. I cut out the letters individually, and then arranged on the floor.

 I was a little surprised to see how straight they were, and there wasn't much fraying on the sides. It's crucial to put Heat and Bond on your fabric before attempting to cut, as this is mainly what helps with fraying. 

The last step was deciding placement on the shams, peeling the Heat and Bond paper liner off the back of my letters, and ironing directly onto my white pillow shams. Voila....

Do you like my results? I do! I think it was a major success, and adds a little more color to my basic bedding. I also picked up a few other things when I was at Michaels to complete a few more DIY things. Take a gander, and I'll be sharing with you what I've done. 

if you have any questions about this DIY, feel free to leave me a comment!

xoxox