floral initial DIY | valentine’s decor

This DIY project originally started out as something I was making for Valentine’s Day. I was going for a subtle, pretty flower initial that was feminine and funky at the same time. I thought I’d use all white, pink and red flowers to fill the shape of the initial – perfect for Valentine’s Day, right? Then I thought, that color combination might be a little limiting and I really wanted something that could last through any season or holiday, including Valentine’s Day. These floral initials could also be used as a beautiful wedding decoration done in the couple’s initial. Or look so chic in a girl’s bedroom. Whatever it’s purpose, this DIY is a super easy and super cute project you should try!

Here are the materials needed to do this project:

A piece of cardboard
scissors or an x-acto knife
glue gun
faux flowers {I bought 8 flower bunches at Michael’s which cost about $12. I just sort of eyeballed how many flowers I needed and got all different sizes and shapes. Tiny flowers are good to fill in the gaps at the end}

Steps:

1. Draw your initial on the piece of cardboard {you can even take a box apart for the cardboard}. I printed out our initial from my computer and drew it freehand onto the cardboard. I thought it was best not to use any fancy fonts – just good old Arial bold. You can cut the initial out of the paper and use that as a template too. You don’t need to be too fussy – the flowers will extend slightly beyond the edges of the form so it’s very forgiving. My initial is about 12 x 15″.

2. Cut the initial out of the cardboard using scissors or an x-acto knife. I found the knife to work better on the cardboard.

3. Next, cut all the flowers off the stems leaving very little of the stem on them.

4. Arrange the flowers on your initial to get a rough idea how they should look. I used my faux hydrangeas as the main flowers and then spread out the more colorful flowers. Glue them down when you like how they look.

5. Keep holding your initial up as you go so you can see how it looks and make any changes as needed.

6. Be sure to cover all the cardboard – even around to the edges and any bare spots. This is best done with the smaller flowers. I added a few of the leaves too.

Once you get it to how you like it, hang it with a ribbon – or on it’s own if the initial allows – on any hook, knob, etc. Or lean it on a shelf. I love it hung on my black doors but I’m also loving it on my bar shelf. Oh what to do.

As I was writing this post, I thought these floral initials could be done in smaller sizes and spell out the word LOVE or XOXO for a true Valentine’s decoration. I hope you enjoyed my Valentine’s – or anytime – floral initial DIY!