Jeweled Monograms

I like to browse through the clearance aisles at places like Michaels, Target and Walmart. Nine times out of ten I don't find anything, but every once in a while I find a craft treasure. I recently discovered a bin of $.10 plastic initials, the kind you sprinkle plastic bits into and bake to create faux stained glass art. I bought a C, S and T. Even though I had no plan (and no melty plastic bits), for thirty cents I really couldn't go wrong. Unfortunately, I had to spend at least a dollar's worth of un-du to remove the stupid price tags that wouldn't come off. 

Once the initials were all sparkly clean (I really do love un-du), Trevor and I filled each initial with plastic gems, rhinestones, and sequins. We made an effort to fill in as much of the space as possible, putting the largest gems in first and filling in with smaller items. We used our family colors: red for me, green for Steve and blue for Trevor. (Does everyone have family colors, or is it just us?) Once we had the gems just the way we wanted them, we flooded the initials with Diamond Glaze and left them alone overnight to dry completely.

I love how they turned out. My plan is to string them together and hang them, though I'm not sure where yet. Because they are transparent, they look best against a white surface. With the exception of the master bedroom, we don't have any white walls in the house. That might be where they end up, though I'm going to try some other options first.