What's easiest way to add some personal flair to your budoir... or any where else in your home, for that matter?
Word Art.
1. Choose a quote. I chose a line from the film, Lovely Bones. You have to be extremely careful in this because you're going to have to look at it every day. Maybe even wake up to it. So choose wisely. Other quotes I considered were "be gentle with yourself. / You are a child of the universe, / no less than the trees and the stars; / you have a right to be here. / And whether or not it is clear to you, / no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should." a line from one of my favorites, the Desiderata. I also thought about a few lyrics from Peter Gabriel's In Your Eyes.
2. Gather Supplies. You'll need: Canvas (I chose 36" x 48" because I wanted it large. You can purchase canvas at any local craft store. Michael's, Hobby Lobby and Joann's all have great sales on their canvases periodically. Keep your eyes open for 40-60% off!). You'll need paint (I used both house paint and artist's acrylic). You'll also need stick-on vinyl letters. You should determine your size(s) by the length of your quote & the size of your canvas. I used both 2" and 3" letters and my largest letters are 4". I bought mine at Michael's because I like the font that was available. They ran around $5 (give or take) for each pack. About those stick-on vinyl letters... Do your math. So to speak. You want to be extra certain that you have enough letters. Once you've chosen your quote/phrase, write it down carefully on a sheet of paper and count how many of each letter that you'll need. Count 3 times, just to be sure. Seriously. I'm not kidding. Just do it. You'll thank me. (I think you get the picture). You'll find the number of letters per packet on the backside of the packet. If there's only 1 "u" in each packet and you need 10 "u"s, guess how many packets you'll be buying? You got it! 10. And because you'll be painting over them, then peeling them off it does not matter what color they are.
[caption id="attachment_314" align="aligncenter" width="458" caption="see how i made a mistake? lucky i caught it!!!"]
3. What color do you want your letters to be? I wanted my letters to be white, so I painted the entire canvas white. Seems redundant as the canvas itself is white. But I did it because I'm anal like that. I made it easy & economical by using regular house paint and even a roller. Let the base layer dry, then space and place the letters the way you'd like them to layout on the canvas. The best part about the stick-on vinyl letters is you can stick, peel and re-stick as much as you'd like.
4. What color do you want the base to be? I wanted my base to be red. ish. So I painted the entire canvas, over the placed letters red, using regular house paint and a roller - again easy & economical. Let it dry.
5. Peel off the letters and... ta-dah! You're finished! Or, if you want to be a little more creative, leave the letters on and paint whatever you want. I used a mix of reds, black, blue, white & an iridescent and just went bananas on my canvas, using no brushes, just my hands/fingers. After everything is dry, hang on your wall!
And there you go! You just created your very own piece of art! And you're the only person in the world who has one exactly like it. Any questions? Fire away! And if you do make one, I'd love to hear how it goes and what quote or phrase you used and I'd love to see a pic! Happy Word Art making!