The Pinterest Challenge

Last week one of my favorite blogs, Young House Love, issued a challenge: pin something that inspires you on Pinterest, and then DIY it.  Being a crafty sort of Pinterest-obsessed girl and also a girl who can’t turn down a good challenge, I was game.  I knew exactly what I wanted to pin and DIY.  I’d seen an Etsy store with pillows and canvases on which the creator had sewn monograms made of buttons.  I loved the crafty-chic vibe and thought it would be fun to create some unique wall art for my house.  Here’s the finished product…

Pretty cool, yeah?  This only took a few hours to do and was not difficult at all.  So, anyone up for creating their own button-monogram art?  Here’s what you need…

-1 sheet embroidery canvas (16″ x 16″ ought to do it)
-pencil
-1 embroidery hoop
-1 package medium mixed-size buttons in color of your choice
-1 package mini buttons in color of your choice
-embroidery floss to match button color
-needle
-8″ x 8″ artist’s canvas (available at Michael’s)
-flat-topped tacks
-hammer

Here’s what you do…

First, draw the letter you are monogramming in freehand onto the embroidery fabric in pencil.  Be neat.  This will be your general guideline.  Fit the embroidery fabric into the hoop and thread your needle.  Working your way around the letter, sew on the buttons in a straight, staggered, or double row (as appropriate for your letter – I was doing a lowercase “h” so I did a staggered row and a double row in different spots on the letter, because I wanted it to be thick in some areas and thin in others).

Continue working your way around the letter button by button.  There is no need to tie off the embroidery floss after each button; just work continuously.  Using buttons of varying sizes, fill in and layer until you have achieved the effect you want.  (Sorry for being vague, but apparently button monograms are very personal and individual.  Who knew?)

Once you have finished sewing the monogram, stretch the embroidery fabric over the artist’s canvas and secure at the four corners with tacks (you may need to hammer them in).  Working your way around the canvas, stretch the embroidery fabric as tight as humanly possible and place tacks about a half inch apart, hammering them in, on all four sides.  Trim excess fabric.  Turn over and admire your work.  Voila!

This challenge was so much fun – and such a great excuse to spend time on Pinterest, which I am completely obsessed with.  I haven’t done a craft in a long time and I never really had the confidence to actually DIY something for my house.  Now that I’ve successfully made one project, I’m looking for the next opportunity to create some more unique and personal art for my house.  Hurray for DIY challenges!

Update: Want to see the four challengers and their projects?  Here they are – so inspiring!

Sherry @ Young House Love: Clothespin light fixture
Katie @ Bower Power: Crosshatch mirror
Emily @ Style by Emily Henderson: Embellished closet door
Lana @ Making a House a Home: Chalkboard fridge