DIY monogram laurel wreath for under $10

My daughter's nursery is a lovely soft floral theme.  The walls are "peach parfait" (a light pink with some peach undertones) and it is decorated with flowers and signs that have encouraging messages and you guessed it... more florals.


I wanted something to go above her changing station that was large but simple. An eye catching design that didn't take away from the simple beauty of the room.  Then I stumbled upon those lovely laurel wreaths.  Paired with a large monogrammed letter and we have reached perfection.  I'm a frugal shopper and we don't have a lot of extra money for things like home decor so I saught out to make my own.

[I realize that wall doesn't look peach parfait.  As always, terrible lighting in our house for photos!]

I purchased all the greenery and made the vinyl letter all for under $10 (and it was easy too!).  I'll show you how:

[Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. Purchasing through these links earns me a small commission at no extra charge to you. These are products you can use in this project 


Materials:
- floral stems from Hobby Lobby (or any craft store with a floral section)
- green floral tape
- adhesive vinyl (this is the brand I like) + cutting machine (or by hand if you can do it!)


Depending on how full/large you want it, you will need between 4-6 stems.  They are often on sale at Hobby Lobby for 50% off but they also have 40% off coupons available for you to use. Regular price (which I didn't pay), mine were $3.99/piece and I used 4 stems.



Step 1:
Trim down the stems. To get a more smooth curve on the laurel (and to make the stems go farther!) cut off all the "branches" at the base. Trust me: Use wire cutters. The stems have a metal base and although it's skinny, you wont be able to do it very easily with regular scissors.

Step 2:
Reattach the "branch" pieces onto the bare part of the stem, switching from left to right to keep it looking 'even'. I used green floral tape because it's a little stretchy and it blends in with the stems.

Set these aside and move onto your vinyl letter for now.

Step 3:
For the vinyl letter, simply cut by hand, or if you have a cutting machine (I love my silhouette cameo) it only takes a moment. I had to split my letter because it was larger than my cutting mat but with transfer paper it was easy to apply!

...and once it's on the wall. Tip: If you pick a curvy font like I did, it allows a little "wiggle room" in sticking it on the wall straight since there's not a definite straight center.



Step 4: 
Attach the large stems together to create an even larger piece (I used 2 for each side of my laurel)

For a non-permanent but sturdy way to attach these stems, buy a package of 3M hooks  and adhere them to your wall, snapping the stems into the 3M tabs.  I actually snapped them into the 3M's before sticking them to the wall to help me figure out where I want them.  Good news?  If you decide it's just a little off, the stems can be snapped out and rearranged (I may or may not have moved mine around after the 3Ms were stuck to the wall 1 or 2 (or 3 or 4) times.

[Here's the 3M pieces- as you can see, they hide themselves pretty well]

Oh, I'm in love...

That's it!
This project is so easy that even I (with zero experience using floral stems) had no problem completing it! Even better? it only costs a few bucks- less than a quick breakfast and coffee! Totally worth it.