This Post is Brought to You by the Letter "M"

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year. Things were hectic and fun at the Monogram household, but also quite sad with the absence of preppy puppy. The boys received so many things that we still haven’t even taken them all out of their boxes, and I must admit that I am quite tired of putting together little Playmobil pirates, knites, skateboarders, and all their homes and methods of transportation that ensues. Ugh. While it’s the coolest stuff on the planet for kids to play with, each set comes with a zillion tiny little pieces that are a quarter of the size of your pinky fingernail. NO LIE. And while I’m admitting things here today, I have to admit the Wii has sucked away more hours from my days lately than anything else. This thing is seriously addictive and I’m pretty certain I’m developing carpal tunnel from trying to qualify in the Cars: Mater-National tournament. Good news is though I've found a great new exercise routine with it so stay tuned.

Before Christmas, I was able to work on lots of great projects around here, but unfortunately had to take my little absence what with everything going on with preppy puppy. But one project I did doesn’t have to just be a Holiday project. I think it could be an all year décor staple in your home, so that’s what I want to share with you today.

As I’ve mentioned many times, I always have the hardest time with my mantle décor. And two years ago while walking around JoAnn’s I found a huge paper mache letter “M." I had no idea what to do with it, but I picked it up anyway and it’s sat in my garage for the past two years sort of mocking me every time I looked over at it. I decided this was the year I made something out of that letter “M.” Remembering I had all that left over moss from the cancelled Derby Party, I decided to cover it to make an elegant but earthy additional to my Holiday mantle.

You Will Need
-large paper mache letter (got mine from JoAnn’s Craft Store)
-small bottle acrylic paint (a similar color to your moss)
-LOTS and LOTS of moss (I ended up using 3 different types of moss)
-glue gun and LOTS of glue
-Ribbon if you chose to hang the final product

Step 1

Paint your letter so the background will blend in with your material in case you miss some coverage.

Step 2

Start gluing! As I said, I used 2 types of moss (reindeer, Spanish, and something else that was big and clumpy and dirty). I kept alternating between the different types of moss I’d glue on, using the Spanish moss as my filler to fill in the empty spots. NOTE: I recommend having a wooden skewer or craft (Popsicle) stick on hand to help press the Spanish moss down into the glue really well so you don’t burn your fingers. The Spanish moss is very fine and loose, so you’ll need to ball it up before adhering it to your letter.

Step 3
If you want to hang your letter, make sure you do what I DIDN’T do, and make sure your ribbon for hanging is of adequate length. I ended up cutting mine too short and as a result, was unable to hang it as I envisioned, but rather place it on top of the mantle. I still think the final result looked great though, so it’s totally up to you.

I have to warn you that this project has a high mess factor to it. But if you don’t like the messy moss idea, then you can always use whatever other materials you like to cover your letter. A few other things to try would be fabric, dried flowers, faux berries, small Christmas balls, any type of greenery, or even just ribbon. Originally, I was planning on covering it completely with ribbon, but decided I wanted a more three dimensional look to my project. In the end, I think I could leave it up year round (although I don’t think I will), just as I think you could too.