DIY Monogrammed Canvas

Last month, I posted a great tutorial on how to make your own custom canvas.  Quick, easy, and cheap, this project was a win in all ways.  You can use whatever fabric you want, which mans you could create a look for a nursery, living room, as a gift, for the holidays...there are endless options.  For my canvas, I wanted to monogram them with our family initials, A and Z.  I knew I wanted to hang them somewhere around the house.  This is what they started out as:

You can make your own, using this tutorial: DIY Custom Canvas

I found the letters I wanted, made them huge (full page) on Word, and then printed them out.  I cut out the stencil, and then traced around the outside, in pencil, onto the canvas.

After I traced the letters, I used painters tape to tape around the letters.  It was hard to tape inside the curved parts, so I just carefully painted when it came to those edges.  I used black craft paint, and a small paint brush...

Then I peeled off the tape, and let the letters dry.  The paint looked uneven in some places, because of the type of fabric pattern that is behind it.  So I did some touch-ups here and there, because I wanted the paint to look even.

Done!  You could take some sandpaper to the letters and make a weathered look if you are into distressing as well.  I think these would look totally cute over a crib in the nursery or in the entry way.  I made another canvas and then ended up hanging these on top of that.....I will be posting about that very soon!