Giant Monogram Prop Made With Duct Tape and Cardboard!

Brought to you by the letter "S"!


This is a tutorial for a fabulous monogram made
from cardboard and duct tape!
This cost me $5 for supplies...and it's nearly 3 feet tall!


I did an "s", you could do any letter, shape or thing you can think of!
Would be an easy way to make pinata's too!

You'll need cardboard.  For the large front and side of the S,
I used 2 sheets of foam board from the dollar store. 
(you might have access to large pieces of cardboard)

And tools.  I used a cutting mat (I could use a bigger one...)
and a razor knife.

You'll also need hot glue and duct tape.

I sketched out an s that I liked.
Sometimes S's can be so boring!  I did a Carnival style s
that I thought would be perfect...and I was right!

I used a razor knife and cut out the shape.

Then I traced the s I cut onto the other foam
board and cut that out too!
It doesn't have to be in the reverse...unless you are using
a cardboard that you are trying to keep the pattern from.

Now you should be seeing doubles.

Next, cut strips of cardboard...these egg boxes were
perfect for me, and I had 3 in the garage waiting for recycling!
My strips are 5 inches wide

Now start hot gluing your cardboard onto the foam board...the
cardboard rolls and bends perfectly around any bend or corner.

Once you get to the end of the strip, just hot glue on
another one, overlapping slightly.

Until you finish the entire shape.  If your monogram letter
had a hole in it...like an A,B, or D, etc...
just glue cardboard right around the centers too!

Now you can set your top piece on and see how
cool it will look in a few minutes.

Just lift up an edge of the foam board.  Run hot glue along
the cardboard and press the foam board onto it.

Then gently lift up the next section and continue all the way around the letter!

Awesome right!??
Now you can decorate!  You could paint, modpodge, cover with
fluffy tissue paper for a pinata, or do what I did...use Duct Tape!

I started on one side with the remaining roll
of teal duct tape that I had...
I tape the full top first, then the back, and finished off with the edges

And I got part way finished across the top and ran out of tape. 
I bought some more...
same place I got the first roll (lowe's) and began doing more...

And it was a different color.  Different dye lot I guess,
who knew?  So, luckily I planned well
and it ended up looking ombre.

I knew I would run out of teal if I did the back...so
I used some purple duct tape I had to cover the back.
If you had a reversible letter like I, A, M...you could make
both sides different for fun variety!

When duct taping around curves, you may need to slit the tape a little
to get it to lay flat without creasing, curling or bubbling up!

Then I used the roll of teal again and covered all the sides.
I just needed 3 rows of duct tape to finish off the edges!

Complete!

Easy to make your own photography prop,
home decor or whatever you like!
Simple and fun!

Hope you liked this simple tutorial!
I'd super love it if you voted for me in the Duct Tape and Cardboard contest!


Check out more of my projects at doodlecraft