Button Monogram Wall Art

Lately I've been slightly addicted to Pinterest, and love all the great DIY ideas I've been finding. One of them that I especially love are the button monograms on canvas. This is such an easy project to do, and while it didn't turn out perfectly (by my standards) it was my first time working with Mod Podge so I'd say it didn't turn out too shabby.

This project in particular is a birthday gift for my sister, Amy. Her apartment walls are lacking in artwork, so I thought I would make a trio of canvases using her and her boyfriend Byron's initials.

The process really couldn't be any easier. I purchased 2 double packs of 12 x 12 canvases at Michael's, as well as chose a few scrapbook paper designs I thought she'd like. You'll also need a bottle of Mod Podge (I used the Mod Podge Paper in matte finish) and a disposable foam brush.

Brush a thin layer of mod podge on the back of the paper, then apply to the canvas. At this point you'll want to use a burnishing tool or a credit card to help smooth out all the bubbles (which I didn't think to do at the time!) It's a little tricky working on the canvas, I ended up turning mine over and pressing really well on the backside of the canvas itself. Allow it to dry for a few hours, then coat another layer over the entire surface of the paper.

From there, I used my handy dandy Cricut to cut out the monograms. You could probably lightly trace the outline onto the canvas itself, but I choose to cut the monograms in a similar color paper and glue them down to use as a guide. I only have a few font cartridges, so chose the Storybook with the "Fancy" option to get all the little swirls. The monograms are cut at 9 inches. Since the paper I was using had a white core, I used my *new* Tim Holtz distress ink in burlap to darken the edges so it wouldn't stand out once applied to the canvas. I then mod podged them down to the canvas and allowed to dry. Then it was button time! I raided my button stash for all the white and clear buttons, as well as raided the stash of a generous craft-a-holic co-worker (thanks Bonnie Jo!). In hindsight, I'd stick with only using white buttons. The clear ones look alright, but I'm not sure I like being able to see the paper color behind them. Once I had all my buttons ready, I applied a slightly thicker layer of mod podge just to the monogram and added the buttons, working small sections at a time until completely covered.

And voila! That's it! They can be hung either horizontally or vertically.

Here's a better close-up photo

There are so many different things you can do with this. They'd be super cute hung in a nursery or kid's room.