Magazine Monograms

Read on to see how I turned some newspaper ads and old magazines into some colorful, fun letters!

You will need the following...

• Magazines, newspaper ads or other paper
• Thin cardboard or thick card-stock (cereal boxes and junk mail work great!)
• Scissors or paper cutter
• Writing utensil
• Computer and printer (optional)

Cut your cardboard to the rough size you would like your letter.

Select your letter and draw it out on your cardboard. I free-handed my "M" but if you have a specific font in mind I would print it out big (I used font size 650 for the S) to cut and trace.

If you are doing a symmetrical letter, you only need to draw on one side. If your letter is not symmetrical you will want to draw it on both sides, one being the letter "normal" and the other side being it backwards so that your lines are in the same place on both sides.

This step can be simplified by printing your letter and tracing on one side, then flipping to trace the "backwards" letter on the other side.

Cut your paper, aim for around 1/4 of an inch. This step can be done with scissors or a paper cutter.

I used a grocery ad and some magazine ads, trying to get colorful strips or ones with large food patterns. I also thought some of the words were fun so I cut a few strips strategically to incorporate those.

The strips don't have to be perfect, none of mine a perfectly straight. You can also mess with differing widths for a little different look with more variation.

If you have a pattern in mind, lay out your strips roughly to what you are aiming for.

I made a couple marks on the edges of my cardboard where I could see my letter touched and then connected them for a rough sketch. This helped me line up some of my pieces better.

Keep in mind where your letter is and what parts will be cut away. I had to keep in mind that more of each strip would be visible on the edges of my "M" than in the middle.

If you laid out a pattern, slide your strips off the cardboard.

Coat your cardboard in glue, I started from the middle and worked my way out. This allowed me to line pieces up on both sides and control my placement a little better. Sometimes starting from one side, the strips will start to slant while gluing and get worse as you go on.

As you are gluing, make sure to slide your strips together so that the edges meet and don’t leave a gap. Working in small sections, only adding glue one or two strips width at a time, works best to keep your glue from drying before you’re able to stick strips.

Once all your strips are glued down, give it a little time to dry.

Flip your cardboard over, to the side with your letter drawn on it.

Trim and spots where your letter touches the edge of your cardboard first.

Once those spots are trimmed, cut out the rest of your shape.

Now you have yourself a snazzy letter. Hang it where you please, or make more to make a whole word!