DIY Twig Monogram – Gift Your Valentine Their Initial
The most perfect gifts in the world are those created with love. Especially around Valentine’s Day, we have to think outside the box and try to find things that will make our loved ones feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. Of course, this particular twig monogram that we have in mind is going to be a great gift, regardless of the season.
We went with “L” for Love, but you can go with your loved one’s initials. You’ll have to be creative to adjust the design accordingly, but we’re sure you can make it work. You’ll need the same materials, but you’ll just have to arrange the twigs differently. Anyway, let’s proceed.
Materials for twig monogram
- branches
- glue gun
- pencil
- scissors
- paintbrush
- beige acrylic paint
- hemp twine
- lace ribbon
- pompons
- pink and green felt
How to make twig monogram
Creating your very own twig monogram is going to be an interesting journey, and you’ll have to make adjustments as you go, but we’re sure you’ll pull it off. Let’s get to work! Make sure you have all the materials on hand so you don’t go running around trying to find something right when you’ve reached a rhythm.
Step 1: Paint the twigs
We’re going to start by painting the twigs. So, get the twigs prepared and the beige acrylic paint, as well as the paintbrush, and get to work. Make sure you turn the twig on all sides and paint it all over, including the ends.
Set each twig aside on a piece of paper, so you don’t get paint all over your table. The acrylic paint should dry up pretty fast, so you can add extra layers if you feel the need for more color.
Step 2: Cut the petal and leaf patters
Now that the twigs are drying, you can go on to the next step. Take a piece of paper and draw the shape of a petal and another shape for the leaf. You’ll want the bottom area of both of these to be straight. Take the scissors and cut out the paper patterns.
Step 3: Draw and cut the petals
Get the patterns and the pencil and start drawing them up on a piece of felt. We started with the petals, so we chose the pink felt.
Draw up over twenty of these petals. You’ll use four per flower, so make sure you have a multiple of four done up. You can always cut out more later on if you decide you need more flowers.
Once you’re done drawing the petals, get the scissors and start cutting them out.
Look how cute they look!
Step 4: Build the petals
Now, with the petals all done, take the scissors once more and make an incision in the lower area of the felt piece.
Fold the material just a tiny bit so you give it a bit of a shape.
Get the glue gun and add a bit of hot glue to one of the sides where you made the cut. Fold the petal so the two sides are glued together. You want them joined just a tiny bit and the hot glue will give the petal the curved shape you need.
Repeat the process for all the petals you’ve cut earlier.
Step 5: Build the flower
Now that all your petals are done, proceed to the next step. Keep using the glue gun and add more hot glue to the bottom center area of the petal. Add a yellow pompon to the glue and hold it for a second so the glue sets.
Then, get another petal, add hot glue to the little curved area and stick it to the flower, placing it on the pompon too.
Keep adding petals until your flower is done.
Now that all your flowers are done, we can move on to the next step.
Step 6: Draw and cut the leaves
Get the leaf pattern and draw some to the green felt. Keep drawing more and more leafs to the felt, depending on how many you want to add to your design.
Get the scissors and cut out the leaves. Make sure to follow the drawn pattern as much as possible so the crayon is not visible later on.
Step 7: Build the monogram
With the leaves done too, we can go ahead and build the actual twig monogram. You’ll want to get your painted twigs and the hemp twine.
Gather up a bunch of twigs and start wrapping twine around one of the ends. You want to make several passes here – it looks better with the twine and it also makes the twine bunch more secure.
Tie a few knots with the twine, to secure them all.
Cut off any excess twine.
Turn the twigs around and tie up the other end as well. Similarly, do the same for any other bunches of twigs you need for the monogram. Since we’re doing on L, we only need two of them, but you’ll need more for other letters.
Once each of the twig bunches is done, you can go ahead and tie them together. We placed the shorter twigs over the longer ones, got more hemp twine and started going over the two, changing directions in order to better secure them.
Once you’re done, tie a knot and cut off the excess twine.
Step 8: Build the leaves
Next, let’s start building the leaves. Get the glue gun and place some hot glue to the lower middle of a leaf. Then, fold the material in two and allow the hot glue to set.
Try to only glue together the bottom area in order to give the felt the nice shape of an actual leaf.
Step 9: Decorate the monogram with flowers and leaves
Now that all the elements are prepared, let’s add them up. The area where the branches are tied together looks a little rough, so let’s add some flowers to the area. Get the glue gun and add hot glue over the twine and place a flower.
Hold it for a few seconds so the glue sets, especially since you don’t want it to fall later on.
Add more flowers and a few leaves too. Make your own design!
We went with three flowers gathered close and a few leaves, in order to better cover the big area with hemp twine.
Since we have lots of leaves, let’s add more to the twigs as well. Add hot glue to the twigs directly, or just put some on the back of the leaf before placing it.
Step 10: Make a bow
Just a few more steps and we’re done! Cut a length of twine and get the lace ribbon too.
Fold the piece of ribbon in the shape of a bow and then get the piece of twine and tie it around the middle.
Tie a knot in the back and cut off the excess material.
Then, turn it around and add some hot glue to the bow. Place it on the monogram, right at the top of the branches.
Keep it pressed for a few seconds and wait for the glue to set. Given the difference in level, you’ll want to make sure there’s enough glue to keep the bow in place.
And there you go! Here’s our twig monogram! The pink, yellow and green look so nice with the beige twigs! If you want to create a different letter, take into consideration any extra materials you’ll need, extra flowers you can make to ‘hide’ junction areas, and how you can build the design you want.
Drop us a comment and show off your creations! We’re sure they’re just as lovely if not more so!
