In the June Lettering Lesson, Alexandra Snowdon shows how she creates decorated monograms. Alexandra had some great tips for making the monogram even more personal, many of which I incorporated in my piece. Her extra art includes some of her more whimsical creations that are just perfect for gift giving . . .
I loved the idea of making a unique monogram, and what better event than a birthday. I chose the letter C for Caroline, one of my granddaughters, and got to work.
I drew the letter in pencil, using graph paper underneath, as Alexandra suggests, to keep the letter level and spaced the way I wanted. I had it closer on the left, because I planned to add drawing outside the letter on that side
Next, I added some swirls to the ends of the letter, and drew in balloons and a party hat outside the letter.
The inside of the letter needed some dressing up, so, using pencil, I added stars in a variety of sizes, drawing one larger star at the bottom, lying over the top of the letter.
Alexandra used black to color in her letter, but in the lesson she suggests thinking of the person you’re making it for while you make it, so I had to use pink, Caroline’s favorite color. After tracing the stars, outside the pencil lines so as not to make them even smaller, I sketched in lines with a pink gel pen, following the curves of the letter. I left a little white showing, but I preferred to color in most of the letter.
Once the letter itself was filled in, I colored the stars, adding even more color with bright orange and lime green gel pens, and then added dark blue for some contrast.
I used the same colors in the balloons and the party hat.
This is a great way to create a special card, gift topper, or even to frame for a special gift. I know I’ll be making more!
~ Barb