Top This: DIY Sparkly Monogram Tree Topper

So now that the tree was up, it was time to get busy with the decorating. I decided I was going to stray from my usual mainly gold balls this year and go with blue and silver. I'm crazy like that.

Our current tree topper was definitely not the right shade. I always loved using the letter but the academic looking font never did anything for me so I thought I'd try to make a version from scratch.

You will need: heavy cardstock or thin cardboard, newspaper, scotch tape, an exacto knife, flour, water, spray adhesive, glitter and time.

I started by print out two copies of a letter I had drawn on my computer (or you could draw it free hand) and cutting them out. You want them to be as similar as possible. Then using the same paper I printed on, I cut up some 2 inch strips to use as the supports to turn this 2D 'S' to 3D.

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Obviously I went with something a bit more swirly and complicated. If you decide to go with a more simple shape, the whole process is a lot easier. Fans of Helvetica, unite!

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Taping the strips so the letter shapes to make it 3D is the most difficult part. You'll use a lot of tape. Mine looked kind of like a hot mess when I was done. Thats okay because I was just covering it all up but if you wanted to do something more streamlined (like a simple coat of paint) you would need to be more careful about making the edges smooth.

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Now comes the messy part. Mix up a batch of paper mache (i used equal parts flour and water) and rip up a section of your Sunday paper. Dip the newspaper in the paper mache and apply it to your letter so that the entire cardboard 'skeleton' is covered except for a small hole in the bottom to allow for the top branch of the tree to be inserted. Now let dry.

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I was hoping to have this done in a day but that wasn't in the cards. You need to let the paper mache completely dry and it took a few days here. Fast forward to magically dry and more structurally sound letter S. Now the sparkly part - I mixed up a batch of silver and blue glitter, sprayed the whole thing with spray adhesive and glittered it up. Let dry.

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Voila! Sparkly tree topper ready to go. And if you are like me and happen to have a little stash of glitter laying around, this project can cost you zero dollars and zero cents. Huzzah!

Now that we're all topped off, time for balls!

24 comments:

  1. Duane_G_Hein9:39 AM

    fab. u. lous... I absolutely love it! t.xoxo

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  2. Jessica @ Decor Adventures9:48 AM

    The glitter color came out perfect. I thought it was carved out of foam or something, but you did some serious crafting! Looks great :-)

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  3. <3 it!  I've been looking for something new--something a little smaller than we have, honestly. This will be perfect!

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  4. It's beautiful! What a great idea.

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  5. Andrea10:17 AM

    Probably the most unique, and one of the most beautiful tree toppers, that I've seen!

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  6. Asuthernaccent10:59 AM

    Absolutely Love Love Love this - shocker, I know - I love everything you do. I must try this in red for my tree!

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  7. Absolutely Love Love Love this - shocker, I know - I love everything you do. I must try this in red for my tree!

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  8. OMG This is truly gorgeous!! I love the look so much, you are so very creative!!

    Vicki from French Essence has offered her duo of books to 2 winners! We are on our 5th day of Holiday Giveaways with 4 events being open!

    xoxo
    Karena
    Art by Karena

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  9. carmel12:50 PM

    I LOVE this!!  Your diy projects never cease to amaze me!

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  10. Lisa Raes1:26 PM

    This is fantastic, I love how personal it is.  

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  11. Mixing glitter?? Whodathunkthat? I love it! And I'm surprised at how sturdy it is given that it is simple cardstock... Beautiful job Mrs. Limestone! :)

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  12. Gorgeous and totally original! Love it.

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  13. Wow, you have very cool looking tree topper! I like how it sparkles, I LOVE the shape and this unusual idea all together. It is great that you posted the tutorial for making the letter - for me it will be useful for some other decoration projects :-)

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  14. Love it! I haven't found a tree topper I really love in the three years we have been living on our own - I think I may have to try this one out.

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  15. Becky9:12 PM

    What a great idea for a tree topper. I love your ambition in creating such a detailed monogram as well - beautiful!

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  16. Kerri, A Pop of Pretty9:58 AM

    Wow, it looks so awesome!  I'm a huge fan of monograms, but I never thought of using one as a tree topper.  Great job! ~Kerri, A Pop of Pretty, apopofpretty.com

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  17. Melissa Irvin1:56 PM

    This is absolutely fantastic!!!  I would love an 'I' one.  Thank you for providing step by step instructions - so extremely helpful as always!

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  18. S for superb, sparkly and splendid!
    Always love when you go crafty and go "free"-
    pve

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  19. Love that I can make this at home in one afternoon and its for free! I'm totally pinning this to make in the future!

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  20. This is brilliant!  This would be perfect for our tree!!  Spotted this link on Homepodge.  I'd love for you to come link up at my linky party, Freestyle Friday, over at Happy Hour Projects!

    Happy to be your newest follower ~ Adrianne
    www.happyhourprojects.com

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  21. Kara Paslay1:50 PM

    Love this Stef! Great job!

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  22. Melissa Irvin2:45 PM

    I commented the other day...and have been obsessing over this since then SO, I'm giving it a try!  I used cardboard for my letters and cardstock for the whatever you call the separator that also keeps them together.  I DON'T recommend using cardboard because your letters will never be a 100% match - not that they have to be but I am disappointed.  Now I just need to paper mache over it and get to glittering!  YAY!

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  23. MrsLimestone3:13 PM

    Even with the cardstock, my letters weren't perfectly the same either. But you can smooth it out a bit with the paper mache and then a lot more with the glitter. I was completely sloppy about the whole thing and it turned out okay (although of course I see the flaws)

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  24. I featured this today over at Scribbles and Swirls.  Take a look:  http://tamiscribblesandswirls.blogspot.com/2011/12/sparkly-monogram-tree-topper.html  I hope you love it and follow along as well.
    Thanks for the inspiration!
    ~ Tami
    Scribbles and Swirls

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