4 techniques on how to decorate monogram letters. Ombre, polka dot, mod podge and hand drawn doodles. Fun DIY ideas for home decor or party decor.

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Do you like to DIY your own home decor? I have been on a huge decorating kick and have had so much giving my home a little personality and style. Recently I created a Monogram Photo Gallery Wall, and several of the monogram letters were designed and painted by your’s truly. You can read all about it in my post, Monogram Photo Gallery Wall.

In this post, I am going to focus on just the monogram letters and share how I created each one. I’ll give the supplies used broken out into the different tutorials as well. I used a mixture of wood and chipboard letters, but these tutorials should work on most type of craft surfaces.

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How to Polka Dot a Monogram Letter

Supplies Used: Some affiliate links are to similar items when exact items couldn’t be found online.  

• Cadmium Yellow Americana Acrylic Paint
• Ultra Blue Deep American Acrylic Paint
• Glorious Gold Dazzling Metallics Acrylic Paint
• Round Paint Sponge Daubers
• Foam Brushes
• Paper Plate to be used as a paint pallet

Begin by putting a good blob of paint onto the paper plate pallet and paint the edges of the letter with a foam brush.

Then paint the front of the letter. You don’t need to worry about painting the back side because no one will see it. I applied two coats to this letter but the number of coats depends on the look you are going for and the paint that you use.

Make sure to let the paint dry before moving on to the polka dot step. The dots are really quite easy so don’t let them intimidate you. Using the round paint sponge daubers pick up a little of the gold paint. I like to dab a little of the paint off because I found if there was too much paint on the sponge it was harder to get a nice round shape.

Apply the sponge to the surface of your letter with a light circular motion and lift straight up. You can apply the dots in a unified fashion or apply at random. I went for the random method.

The gold paint dries shimmery and looks awesome once it is dry.

How to Mod Podge a Monogram Letter

Supplies Used: Some affiliate links are to similar items when exact items couldn’t be found online.

• 3.5″ Chipboard Letter
• Ultra Blue Deep American Acrylic Paint
• Printed Cardstock
• Mod Podge
• Foam Brushes
• Scissors
• Paper Plate to be used as a paint pallet
• Pencil

The first step is to paint the sides of the chipboard letter with a foam brush. I always seem to forget the sides so I make them first so I don’t forget them. 🙂

For me, the fun part is picking out the pattern paper that I am going to use. The sheet I used came from a 6×6 paper stack made by DCWV, called Winter Basics. Sadly, it’s not available on Amazon, so I can’t directly link to it.

The paper I am using is double sided, so I placed the sheet with side I wanted face down. With the letter face down on the paper, trace around the letter.

Carefully cut inside the traced line.  You want the letter to be just a tiny bit smaller than the actual letter. You may need to trim the letter a little bit more if needed.

To adhere the cutout letter to the chipboard letter, apply a layer of mod podge to the chipboard letter with a foam brush.

Lay the paper onto the chipboard letter and press down to make sure it is good and secure and there are no air bubbles. Then apply a top layer of mod podge.

The mod podge goes on white but will dry clear. Make sure to clean up the edges if any of it drips down the sides.

How to Doodle a Monogram Letter

Supplies Used: Some affiliate links are to similar items when exact items couldn’t be found online.

• 3″ Wood Letter
• Dark Blue Sharpie Marker
• Ruler

This is the most simple tutorial that I am sharing but I absolutely love the look of hand-drawn! The letter I used is wood but already had a white primer. If the wood letter is natural you may want to apply a coat or two of paint before using the marker.

For my design, I started drawing two lines at the bottom of the A.

Then a line up the side.

Can you see that I am basically outlining the letter?

On the thicker side, I hand draw a bun of little lines to fill the space.

Wasn’t that easy?!

How to Ombre a Monogram Letter

Supplies Used: Some affiliate links are to similar items when exact items couldn’t be found online.

• 8″ wood letter
• White Gesso
• Cadmium Yellow Americana Acrylic Paint
• Foam Brushes
• Plastic Spoon
• Paper Plate to be used as a paint pallet

The goal of ombre is to start with one color and end with another. For my A, I wanted to start with white and end with yellow. I had originally planned on using white acrylic paint but I didn’t have any and that is how I ended up using the gesso. Gesso is thicker than acrylic so leaves a deeper texture. If you prefer a lighter texture I would recommend acrylic paint.

Take a spoonful of gesso and tap it onto a paper plate. The first strip of paint that is applied to the letter is just the gesso. Paint it on with a foam brush.

Now we want to begin the slow progression of yellow. Add a couple drops of the yellow paint to the gesso on the paper plate.

Stir with a spoon until well blended. Using the same foam brush apply a thin strip of paint to the letter about 1/2 inch down from the top, blending the two shades, but making sure not to cover the entire first section with this new color.

Between each strip of paint add a couple more drops of the yellow paint, stir and apply the new color. As you can see below, when I got to the bottom of my letter the yellow was much stronger and vibrant.

I think all of the letters turned out great! I would have to say my very favorite is the yellow ombre. That one is just cool and I love the texture from the gesso.

What was your favorite way of decorating monogram letters? Do you have a different technique you would like to share? Leave a comment below and tell us all about it!