PitterAndGlink: Easy DIY Monogram Ornament

This sponsored post contains affiliate links. Thanks for supporting Pitter & Glink! Hey, y'all! If you've followed my blog for a while, you know that I LOVE making Christmas decor, especially inexpensive, easy-to-make Christmas decor. Today I have a DIY ornament tutorial for you that falls into both of those categories. This ornament is part of a fun Ornament Challenge hosted by Expressions Vinyl. Lots of talented bloggers have made ornaments using the Christmas Vinyl Theme Pack from Expressions Vinyl, and you get to vote for your favorite one over on the EV blog. And while you're there, you can enter to win a $100 credit to Expressions Vinyl. How cool is that? Let me show you my ornaments so that you'll want to vote for me. *wink wink*

Using some painted wooden disks, vinyl, and your Silhouette Cameo, you can create these beautiful monogram ornaments so easily. The ornaments can even double as gift tags. Let me show you how to make these.

Supplies for making DIY Monogram Ornaments

To make these ornaments, you'll need a few supplies. I'm going to list them below, along with affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase something via one of my links, a small part of the purchase price goes toward supporting my blog at no extra charge to you. (Thanks!) Supplies:

Unfinished Wooden Disks
Paint
Paint Brush
Christmas Themed Vinyl Pack from Expressions Vinyl
Transfer Tape
Weeding Tool
Twine
Hot Glue Gun & Hot Glue
Silhouette Cameo

Step One:

Paint your wooden disks. I chose to paint mine white, but of course you can use any color you'd like.

Sand wooden disks for a smooth surface to apply vinyl

Step Two:

Sand the painted disks. Whenever you paint unfinished wood, the paint inevitably brings out some of the grain of the wood, causing a rough surface. Sanding the discs will remedy this. You can also distress the edges a bit. Make sure to remove all the dust from the disk when you're done; otherwise, your vinyl won't stick. Next it's time to create your vinyl design.

Creating a Monogram Design in Silhouette Studio

Step Three:

Create your vinyl monogram in Silhouette Studio. My final design may look complicated, but it's really not. First, type your monogram. You can see that I used the font Superclarendon. (Also, I filled the letter with color so that you could see it better.)

Using Internal Offset to Create a Monogram Design in Silhouette Studio

After typing your monogram, use the offset tool for the inner layer. Simply select the letter and click "Internal Offset." Once you've done this, you can add color to the letter's offset to help it show up better. (Also, sometimes when designing, I will add a shape the size of the object I'm working on to help me with sizing my design. That's why the white circle is in the background.)

Creating a Layered Monogram in Silhouette Studio

Next, add some small shapes to your monogram. I simply added triangles, a circle, and some squares. I colored the shapes I added red, but they will actually be cut from the green layers so that the red underneath will show through. Also, find a wreath that you like to add to the design. I used the greenery from a Christmas wreath from the Silhouette store (Design #71445).

Cutting a Layered Vinyl Design with the Silhouette Cameo

Step Four:

Cut your designs from vinyl. I cut my design from three colors from the Christmas Theme Series 31 Pack. I'm sure you notice the little shapes over my letters. If you add these little shapes in the exact same spot when your letters are layered, it makes layering your cut vinyl soooo much easier! Also, putting a weeding box around your designs saves vinyl.

Step Five:

Weed your designs. It helps to use a straight pin or a weeding tool.

Step Six:

Cover your designs with transfer tape for easy application. Only cover the wreaths and the internal offset letter (the green ones).

Applying a Vinyl Wreath to a Painted Wooden Disk

Step Seven:

Apply the wreath to the painted disks. The easiest way to do this is to peel back a small portion of the paper underneath the design and fold the paper back. Line up the wreath with the edge of the disk and press the transfer tape down. Peel back the paper underneath slowly while smoothing the transfer tape down. Rub the transfer tape really well to ensure that your design sticks; then remove the transfer tape.

Step Eight:

Layer your monogram. At this point, you should have transfer tape on the green monogram. Peel a bit of the paper from the back of the design just like in the above step. Line up the rectangles at the top of your letters. Smooth the transfer tape down. Peel the paper backing slowly from the design and smooth down the transfer paper. Once your design is layered, cut the rectangles off.

Applying a Layered Vinyl Monogram to a Painted Wooden Disk

Step Nine:

Apply the monogram to the wooden disks the same way you applied the wreath.

Adding Twine Hooks to DIY Monogram Ornaments

Step Ten:

To finish your ornaments, add twine loops to the back using hot glue.

Make these beautiful DIY Layered Vinyl Monogram Ornaments easily using your Silhouette Cameo

And just like that you have some fancy new monogram ornaments that look good enough to have come from Anthro!

I love that you can make these ornaments fit any color scheme by simply switching up the vinyl colors. I think a glitter vinyl monogram would be STUNNING! (But y'all know I'm a bit obsessed with all things sparkly...)