Thursday, July 21, 2011

Honey, You Mossed Try It! - (DIY Moss Letter)

I was just itching for an afternoon craft project a couple of weeks ago, after being tied up for several weekends in a row with out-of-town tasks and whatnot. After seeing a few tutorials online, I decided to get my fix by creating a moss-covered letter.  This was one of those "I don't know why I'm doing this but I want to" kind of projects.  I knew I would like it, even though I have no idea where it'll end up.  After all, I love the color and flair these can bring to walls, bookshelves, and various vignettes.

And after all, it's not like I'm investing in a moss-tang.  It was basically the price of a jar of moss-tard.  (Yep, I just went there.)

So...

Here's what you'll need:
- Letter (I used an inexpensive cardboard letter from JoAnn)
- Sheet moss (I used two packages, but would recommend buying three so you have more large, full sheets to work with)
- Low-temp glue gun (The "low-temp" part may reduce the amount of curse words and hopping around like a fool while shaking your frying hand in the air.  At least, that's what I was thinking.)
- Glue sticks
- Something to cover your floor/craft area (I used free Christmas wrapping paper I keep on hand for projects)
- Scissors

In case you didn't notice, I didn't include scissors in the photo above. On accident.  But I mean, you do have other options.  You could shred the moss with your teeth, for example.  But I would recommend it. (a) The moss will get stuck in your teeth (b) It's really messy (c) I don't imagine it tastes very good (d) If the neighbors catch a glance through the windows, it would be rather hard to explain.

So, use scissors - even if I didn't include them in the photo, mm-kay? Moving on...

Get to Workin':
It's pretty simple.
- You just fold the sheets out, then start wrapping pieces around the letters.
- Glue the pieces in place, one piece at a time.

Here's my progress after the first sheet.

Next:
- Use your scissor to trim around the excess around the edges.
- Keep gluing pieces next to each other.

As I mentioned earlier, I might buy more than two packages to make things move along more easily. My packages had about 1-1/2 larger sheets and a few smaller pieces for each package, so I had to spend more time making each "seam" look natural and fairly seemless.  I think would be easier to have three-or-so large sheets, and just use a couple smaller pieces to fill in. Capeesh?

Here's the final product:

And some detail shot of the side...

I got my crafty-fix.  And a moss letter in the process!  I keep moving it around our place.  It looks so vibrant in each little spot. 

Do you ever find yourself itchy to get your hands a-workin' to make something pretty?  Do you love the bright green moss as much as I do? Any recent crafty projects to share? 

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