homemade gift #2

We are going to a wedding reception tonight, for our good friend Mike. It was a big change of mindset thinking about what to make for my two year old to what to make for a wedding gift.

I am totally in to monogram stuff, and decided to make them something monogram-ish. Now, it was really hard because, well Mike is probably one of the most creative and talented designers in the world. So I kept it simple and clean. It was very simple, and ended up being really affordable.

So first, i designed this as a 12x12 in photoshop.

Next, I printed it off at Costco. Then I got a plain wood frame from Hobby Lobby. I know, I know.. it's not TOTALLY homemade, but my personal carpenter is out of commission with a broken shoulder... so Hobby Lobby had to do.

Step 3.. Paint the frame to whatever color you feel matches.. If I would have known their colors of decor in their home, I probably would have done it a fun color.. BUT I didn't, so I think black looks nice. I did two coats on the front, and one on the back. Then distressed it a little.. and put a clear coat finish on it.

Last Step: Put it all together and what do you get?

Ta-da.. A cute monogram wall hanging!

You could embellish the frame a little more with a bow or something from rod works. But I love the clean and simplicity of the way this turned out..