Upcycling DIY home decor, woodworking and Crafts
Today at Printable Decor, I shared this Target knock off subway art printable and the display DIY. The Target original cost $24.99. Go see how I created the finished piece for under $2! Submit a printable while you are there, and be sure to follow along on FB and Twitter for daily freebie prints to decorate your surroundings without emptying your wallet.
It is time to clear out the Christmas decor and what better to replace it than love themed prints? These three 11×14 inch frames stay up year round, and I change the prints with the seasons. I stick to black and white, which I have printed at Office Max for $0.20 per 11×14. I spent a whopping $0.64 on these three. I have provided them for you to download over at printable decor. Get your free Valentine’s Day printables now.
these days. My walls are slowly but surely filling up with what appear to be oil paints on canvas, but are actually art prints on MDF, painted over with the Mod Podge. These are 12’x34′ and cost me about $10 each total. I love how they turned out and especially the blue against the wheat colored walls! You may have seen my earlier post featuring this technique using some Valentine’s Day prints I made in photoshop. This is a great way to have awesome art for cheap. You can use old photos, posters, thrifty store finds or any image to create a canvas painting.
, lined up the print with the board and pressed them together, using my hand to flatten the print down and make sure there were no air bubbles. This stuff is crazy sticky, so make sure you are lined up before laying the print on the board. No redo is going to happen without ripping the print.
I am so excited about the way this project went! As mentioned in the prior post, here, I created these prints in Photoshop with the idea in mind that I would try something similar to the project over at Infarrantly Creative (see this post).
Once the gorilla glue was dry, I was ready to adhere the prints to the wood. Super 77 has minimal overspray, but make sure you cover your work surface, cause this stuff is sti-iii-cky, for real. Spray a thin coat on both the back of the print and on the wood surface and lay the print in place, smoothing flat with your hand. This holds big time and bonds immediately, so make sure you have the pic lined up before placing it. I turned the piece over on a flat surface and applied pressure to the back to ensure I hadn’t missed any air bubbles. This part was really much easier than I thought it would be. I had no problem with air bubbles.
Next, the fun step using Mod Podge Brushstrokes. I just recently ran across a post using this medium and I am in love. I used a 1 inch foam bruse and small texturizing brush. I read that if you are painting the Mod Podge onto photo paper, you should use an acrylic sealer before applying. This was just glossy stock, and I had no problem with ink bleeding. You may want to test a small area before painting your entire work. I just applied strokes randomly. There wasn’t a lot of strategy. The prints themselves I made with a painted effect in photoshop, so I kinda followed along the strokes in the images, but mostly it was just random. Look how cool they are. They look like for real oil paintings!
After the Mod Podge dried for about 30 mintues, I applied gesso to the sides of the wood (you could also use primer), then painted with white acrylic over that.
I used thick tacks (U-shaped) and wire for the hanging mechanism.
You can do this with your own images, posters or garage sale finds. The Mod Podge brushstroke effect looks particularly impressive with photos that have been digitally altered using paint effects. That is a photoshop lesson for another day.
It has been a rewarding first year of blogging. I have been exposed to such talented and generous fellow artsy bloggers. It would take me two lifetimes to do all the wonderful projects I have bookmarked. I love how supportive the blogosphere can be. As a thank you to all I have met, and all of my loyal followers, I have provided these prints I created for Valentine’s day.
