31 {More} Days of Pinterest: Day 4 Elegant Monogram

When it comes to making art for around the house, I have two requirements: one--that I don't have to actually draw anything, and two--that I can do it for not a whole lot of money.

This project was both of those, with a side of simple. It comes from my Pinterest board "Inspiration" because when I first saw it, I liked it but was going to use it more as a springboard for a project that was closer to what I was looking for.

I love love love The Graphics Fairy. I could probably (and actually might already have) spend lots of hours browsing through the extensive collection of images...which are all FREE.

Free?

FREE.

I can't remember what in the world I was searching for when I came across this image:

(Originally from The Graphics Fairy)


I bookmarked it for later, then forgot about it, as I do.

When I was going through some of my bookmarks and saved things, I rediscovered it and figured I'd better do something with it, otherwise I'd lose it again.

I like the bee well enough, but I thought it would look good with a letter "E" too. I kind of knew I wanted a font that was very flowing and elegant, especially since I was going to put it in a more ornate frame in our formal entryway.

To get rid of the bee, I opened it up in Paint and basically colored over it with white. Then I saved it again as just the wreath.

Then I opened a Microsoft Publisher document, imported the picture, and went to work trying out different fonts. This would probably be easier in Photoshop or something, but I work with what I have...and what I have isn't terribly high-tech.

The font I finally decided on was Edwardian Script ITC, which I honestly can't remember whether or not it came with the Microsoft stuff or if I had to download it from somewhere. You can find it (for free) at www.azfonts.com
--this link will take you directly to the Edwardian Script ITC download page.

When I had chosen the font, I created a text box to put it in so that I could move the text box around within the wreath to balance the weight of the picture instead of relying on the automatic centering. I used a 325 font size to make it big enough.

After it was all done, I just printed it straight from Publisher on everyday copy paper, but here's what it looked like:

I put it in the frame, which I'd picked up at a Goodwill for under $2:

And hung it on the wall:

It probably took me longer to choose and size the font than it did for the rest of the project. But it looks like it's always been there, which is my lithmus test for how well things blend in around here.

To see my other 31 {More}Days of Pinterest projects, click on the image below, and it will take you to my original post.