Hello guys!! I made a fun piece of art I wanted to share today. It’s simple, sooo cheap, and fun to do.
Here is how I made it…
You will need a 16×16 MDF board from Home Depot. Lowe’s only sells this in the huge 4×8 sheets so I went to Home Depot and bought the 2×4 piece and used my saw to cut it in half. If you don’t have a saw, just ask one of the nice men at Home Depot to cut it for you:) An $8 2×4 piece of MDF will make 3 16″x16″ pieces… so cheap!
Now you will need some Contact Paper. I bought my huge roll at Target. You need the peel and stick kind.
Now, I used my Cricut personal cutter to make my letters. This really is such a great and fun investment for all you gals! (Valentine’s Day is just around the corner 😉
I used Storybook font for this project. Just cut a piece of the Contact Paper and place it on your cutting mat.
Type in your letters and relax while it does all the work for you… My kind of tool:) This is my first word I cut.
After I cut all my letters I wiped the MDF down with a damp paper towel to get rid of most of the dust. I then peeled my letters from their backing and attached them to the board. I measured off center and then used the piece of Contact Paper I had cut from to help me line my letters up correctly. When I was finished it looked like this.
Now I gave the whole thing a coat of my favorite blue paint. You want to use latex or acrylic, not spray paint for this part because the spray paint will run under the paper. Here is mine drying.
Now the fun part. I just used a pair of tweezers to pull up each letter after the paint dried.
Now I was left with my board and the unfinished letters that looked like this.
Then, I distressed the edges and corners with my sander and added a bit of dark wood stain just to the edges and corners to darken them up a bit.
And finally… Ralph Lauren Smoke Glaze over the entire piece. Just paint it on and wipe it off.
I decided it would look super cute on a great plate holder I found at Hobby Lobby for like $5. It would also be great hanging from the wall or just propped up against something. What do you think?
Tomorrow is the BIG Day!! We are so excited to see what you guys… I mean girls bring to the party:) We will put the post up at 9:00pm central time. Remember… we want to see anything you have created, crafted, or thrown together without the help of your hubby. You must link back to the party with our button. You can get it on our side bar. Thanks so much!!!
We will be linking up here…
~Whitney
Hi. Where do you buy your wood grain contact paper from? thearmstrongs@clear.net.nz
Wal-Mart or Target:))
Sent from my iPad
Great job! I featured this today on my blog – Today's Top 20! Feel free to stop by and grab a button!
Amanda
todaystoptwenty.blogspot.com
So cute! Just one more reason I want a cricut! I've used the same technique (on a smaller scale) just using stickers but I'd go crazy with a cricut! Thanks for sharing your project in the DIY Show & Tell! I love seeing your creative ideas (as you know!).
Roeshel
Ooooo, niiiiiice! Like it!
Incredible!! My son gave me the Cricut for Christmas and I now know what My first project will be! Do you mind my posting your instructions on my blog?
I love this. I think I can use this technique to personalize baby artwork – do ya think?
I can use the Cricut to do letters, place them on canvas, then paint the art over it. Just like you did, only with baby stuff.
Can you tell I'm thinking 'out loud' here? Thanks for the tips!
How cute. I have the Storybook cartridge too, it's one of my favorites.
Really cool, thanks for linking up!
I love it!!! I may have to give this a try. My sis is letting me borrow her Cricut & I just picked up some clear contact paper at the thrift store for a buck. What do I have to lose?
Pretty and cheap — my two fave words! Thanks for sharing!
Really loved your plaque, it came out very well, and looks great on that easel on your fireplace. I just bought an easel similiar to it today, and love it. Am trying out different things on it!
that is so nice you have a cricut,
they looks pretty neat but I have never actually seen how they are used. What a great idea you have
there…….. the possiblilities are endless. Good Job!!
Blessings, Nellie