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Mrs. Mascara, Chicago/Upper Michigan Age and Occupation: 25, Biomedical Engineer Fiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Process Engineer Engagement Date: July 27, 2008 Wedding Date: September 2009 Venue: Catholic ceremony, reception at local armory About Me: A lover of Mr. Mascara, crafting, baking, Gossip Girl, diet soda, and all things wedding. A Yooper girl somehow displaced in the Chicago suburbs, planning a wedding from a distance, and counting down the days until I marry my best friend.
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DIY Project: Mossy Initials

March 27th, 2009 @ 12:16 pm by Mrs. Mascara

One of the first projects I decided I wanted to take on for the wedding was some initials to hang on the doors of the church. They are just so pretty!

Here are my initial inspiration pictures…

DIY Project: Mossy Initials :  wedding decor diy reception tutorial Jennife
Jennifer Brum


DIY Project: Mossy Initials :  wedding decor diy reception tutorial Aprils

April Smith via Style Me Pretty

Here’s what you’ll need to make your own mossy initials.

DIY Project: Mossy Initials :  wedding decor diy reception tutorial Initial

  • A large piece of Styrofoam insulation (the pink stuff works just fine!), but cardboard letters would also work. We used 1/2″ thick insulation and doubled up the layers for strength.
  • Box cutter
  • Sharpie
  • Spray adhesive
  • Sandpaper
  • Spray paint (I used a light green color)
  • Spanish moss

Instructions:

1. Draw the letters onto your Styrofoam with a permanent marker.

DIY Project: Mossy Initials :  wedding decor diy reception tutorial Initial01

2. Carefully cut the letters out with a box cutter.

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3. If your Styrofoam is thin like ours, trace the letter you just cut out onto more Styrofoam. This will be your second layer to strengthen the letters.

DIY Project: Mossy Initials :  wedding decor diy reception tutorial Initial03

4. Carefully cut out your second letter with a box cutter.

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5. Now you have your two layers!

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6. Apply spray adhesive to the front side of the bottom layer and to the back side of the other top layer.

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7. Match the edges and carefully press the two layers together. Now you will have one letter with double the thickness.

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8. Use sandpaper to smooth the edges of the letter. Sand, sand, sand, until all edges are complete.

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9. If you are using insulation, remove the plastic covering from the top and bottom of the letter. This is an important step! If you forget to do this, the paint and glue in the next steps might rub off.

DIY Project: Mossy Initials :  wedding decor diy reception tutorial Initial09

10. Spray the top, bottom, and all edges of the letter with spray paint. Be careful not to spray too close, or the paint will eat away at the Styrofoam.

DIY Project: Mossy Initials :  wedding decor diy reception tutorial Initial010

11. Wait for the paint to dry!

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12. When the paint is dry, apply spray adhesive to the top and all edges of the letter.

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13. Spread the Spanish moss over the letter to cover it.


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To help the moss stick, squeeze it around the edges of the letter.


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14. Admire your pretty initials! Depending on how you plan on hanging them, you will have to add a ribbon, mounting tape, etc. to the back of the letter. We’re going to add some plum double-faced satin ribbon to the tops of ours (similar to the first inspiration photo), but I haven’t ordered the ribbon yet.

DIY Project: Mossy Initials :  wedding decor diy reception tutorial Initial015

Hope you enjoyed the tutorial!

How are you incorporating your initials into your wedding?

Tags: decor, diy, reception, tutorial |
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30 Responses to “DIY Project: Mossy Initials”

1 2 

1.
heather25
Member
heather25 (message)  2,350 posts, Buzzing bee

so pretty! and prob less expensive than some of the versions we’ve seen. BRAVO!

 
2.
Member Icon
Member
msashleymarie (message)  616 posts, Busy bee

The best place to get ribbon is on bbcrafts.com. They have everything and their prices are amazing. For example, I ordered 50 yards of 1 and 1/2 inch satin double-faced ribbon for $8 each.

Amazing.

 
3.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Bruschetta (message)  5,565 posts, Bee Keeper

Those look great! Hehe, and it looks like the mister pitched in on this crafting effort. One’s his initial too, right? ;-)

 
4.
JennyBryde
Member
JennyBryde (message)  1,168 posts, Bumble bee

That’s amazing! Love it! I kept looking for large wood initials at craft stores, and I had never thought about cutting them out of styrofoam!

 
5.
Steph921
Member
Steph921 (message)  189 posts, Blushing bee

Those are fabulous! What a great tutorial too! Thank you :) I hadn’t thought of that idea, yet! We were just thinking our new monogram as a cake topper or something along those lines. Too cute to also use and hang on the back of our wedding chairs.

 
6.
LatteLove
Hostess
LatteLove (message)  5,590 posts, Bee Keeper

They turned out so amazing!
Kudos for making Mr. Mascara help out :-)

 
7.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Perfume (message)  2,254 posts, Buzzing bee

Great job, Mr & Miss M! Very nice tutorial! Thanks!

 
8.
Emilydll
Member
Emilydll (message)  428 posts, Helper bee

You are so crafty Miss Mascara! :) I’m so impressed by all your DIY projects thus far!

 
9.
honeymyheart
Member
honeymyheart (message)  764 posts, Busy bee

awesome :) i like the lettering style you used.

 
10.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Stiletto (message)  919 posts, Busy bee

Oh fun!! I want to do this…fabulous!

 
11.
Miss Gloss
Bee
Miss Gloss (message)  1,222 posts, Bumble bee

Great tutorial- and I love them!! Good call on using moss-

 
12.
Guest Icon
Guest
diytypebride

OMG I love these! I never thought of using spanish moss but this is perfect and natural looking- thank you for sharing!

 
13.
Guest Icon
Guest
Lexie

Yay! Those look amazing! I’ve picked up several wooden and cardboard letters (both for our initials and for spelling out things like “cards” in front of the card box), and I hadn’t yet decided how to adorn them. Moss is such a great idea, and will fit the green, earthy feeling of my wedding perfectly! Thanks for the tutorial!

 
14.
LzzNYC
Member
LzzNYC (message)  882 posts, Busy bee

Thanks for the tutorial! Fun project for my FI ;-)

 
15.
frenchbulldog
Bee
frenchbulldog (message)  7,706 posts, Bumble Beekeeper

Those turned out super cute! Good call on spray painting them green before putting the moss on.
There is a gate leading to our venue that I am hoping to do something similar on :)

 
16.
Member Icon
Member
Cleo B (message)  27 posts, Newbee

Great job, Miss M! And I have to say that both this and the envelope embossing were really great tutorials - very well done!

 
17.
evelinej
Member
evelinej (message)  370 posts, Helper bee

Very nice!

 
18.
Guest Icon
Guest
A

They look great!

Another ribbon website that I LOVE:

http://www.reasonableribbon.com. AWESOME prices, reasonable shipping, great ribbon.

Pretty!!

 
19.
Erindesmar
Hostess
Erindesmar (message)  2,188 posts, Buzzing bee

Very cute! My sister did something similar with metal initials - now they are christmas ornaments : )

 
20.
purpleHaze79
Member
purpleHaze79 (message)  874 posts, Busy bee

Great tutorial!!

 
1 2 

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Mrs. Mascara
Mrs. Mascara

Mrs. Mascara, Chicago/Upper Michigan Age and Occupation: 25, Biomedical Engineer Fiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Process Engineer Engagement Date: July 27, 2008 Wedding Date: September 2009 Venue: Catholic ceremony, reception at local armory About Me: A lover of Mr. Mascara, crafting, baking, Gossip Girl, diet soda, and all things wedding. A Yooper girl somehow displaced in the Chicago suburbs, planning a wedding from a distance, and counting down the days until I marry my best friend.

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