Monogram Banners Part II: Decoration

In my last post, I showed how to sew the banners and paint the dowels. Now comes the fun part: creating the initials and decorating the banners on a budget!

I began by printing out our initials on the computer. This required a trial and error period during which I messed around with fonts and sizes. I wanted a simple font in order to allow for easy decorating and readability.

Martha's banner showed the letters spelled out in silk flowers. Considering I had ten mini and three large banners to make, silk flowers were going to be way too expensive. What could I use that would be inexpensive, and yet provide a three-dimensional aspect to add interest? Ah-ha! Buttons! And what better place to find buttons than that virtual superstore eBay? I purchased 575 half-inch (13 mm), plain white, two-hole buttons for the mini banners from eBay seller good*folk from Mason, NC, for $13.20 (including s/h). I then purchased 120 one-inch (25 mm), plain white, four-hole jacket buttons from eBay seller sweeting_hk for $33.20 (including s/h). (Fun fact: sweeting_hk is from Hong Kong!) I then arranged the buttons to determine the pattern and number.

I glued the buttons on one at a time using hot glue. And because I'm slightly particular, I made sure the holes on the small buttons lined up in the direction of the lines on the letters.




Once all the buttons had been glued on (and seriously, this took a while - I listened to many movies in the background), I realized the banners looked a little too plain. Future hubby suggested flowers. Martha's banner had little flowers in each corner. Considering scale would be an important factor to balance the letters, I decided on larger flowers or clumps of flowers. Michaels, here I come!

After an hour of perusing aisles of silk flowers and debating colors and styles, I decided on some ecru and light yellow flowers and some green plant (I'm such the botanist, aren't I?). As I was walking to the register, I noticed flowers in the scrapbooking aisle that came in fantastic colors with bejeweled centers. Also, they would be easy to glue onto the banners - perfect! I quickly dropped my silk flower "bouquet" and snatched up several packages of scrapbooking flowers in various shades of white, pale yellow, and vibrant green.

Making Memories Jumbo Blossoms White Daisy w/ Crystal Brad

Prima Daisy Doodles in Apple Green

Making Memories Blossoms Spotlight Daisy w/ Yellow Brads

Making Memories Mini Blossoms White w/ Silver Brads

When I arrived at home, I spread out a mini and a large banner on the floor and began experimenting with various possibilities. There weren't even numbers of each type of flower, so I designed some options that provided balance while allowing for slight variation among the banners. Once I had determined the patterns I liked, I arranged the flowers into groups to later be glued on each banner. It was like a garden in my apartment!

I used hot glue to attach each flower to its banner. Using white and black ribbon, I quickly sewed a handle on each banner to allow it to hang from the center aisle chairs during the ceremony. I think they came out splendid! What do you think?

9" x 12" banner to decorate the center aisle

18" x 24" banner to decorate the sweetheart table and counter in the reception hall

COST FOR BANNER PROJECT (10 mini and 3 large):
4 yards of fabric: $15.96
7/16" dowel ($1.29x5): $6.49
1/2" dowel (1.49x 2): $2.98
Thread: $5.00 (approx.)
White spray paint: $2.09
White/black ribbon (2.49x2): $4.98
1/2" buttons: $13.20
1" buttons: $33.20
Making Memories Jumbo Blossoms White Daisies ($3.99x3): $11.97
Making Memories Blossoms Spotlight Daisies ($2.99x2): $5.98
Daisy Doodles in Green Apple: $4.99
TOTAL COST: $106.84 (plus tax for items purchased in-store)