Moss That Inspires...Through Words

I was serious in my first moss blog when I said that I had intentions to moss anything and everything.  I absolutely LOVE these sheets of moss.  I have spent some weeks looking at my mantel...which always looks so bare and empty after I take Christmas down.  I've been thinking spring as I decide what to do next around the house and my obsession with moss keeps kicking in.

I decided to do something different with the mantel and went to Hobby Lobby and purchased a bunch of the large chip board letters.  I got letters to spell a few different words so I had options to choose from.  The word that won (for the time being at least) was FAMILY.  I have a large family picture on the mantel that helped me choose my word.

Other great word possibilities...faith, laugh, love, grin, hope, dream, smile, believe,

Supplies
Chip board letters
Moss
Glue
Ruler or straight edge
Scissors and utility knife
Paint
Paint brush

Instructions

• Paint the edges of your letters so that they match the covering you are putting on the front.  I made sure that I also painted a small part of the front edge of the letter so that it blended in just in case the moss didn't cover exactly.

• I took a yard stick and precut strips from my moss sheet.  There were only two different widths with the letters I had chosen for my word.  I took those strips and started applying them to my letters with regular white glue.

• After gluing on one piece, I'd flip the letter upside down and trim off any excess moss with my craft knife.
• Repeat the same steps for the next uncovered spot on your letter.  This sheeting is so pliable.  You can easily lay one piece next to another and manipulate it with your fingers to hide any seem marks.

• Seam spots with tricky angles were easy.  I simply glued the newest strip of moss into place and then used my ruler as a guide to make a clean cut where the pieces overlapped and a seam should be.  Your craft knife will be very helpful for this trimming.

• Flip your letters upside down and do any necessary trimming with your craft knife. 

If you have any bare spots, just grab some of the pieces of moss laying around on your workstation and glue them in.  This material is very forgiving and is easy to work with.  Messy...but easy.  LOL

I still have some things I'd like to do to finish dressing up the mantel for spring but here's a peek at what I've got going right now...along with my new moss letters.