A Crafty Piece of Art

I first saw the Family Rules project on The Pleated Poppy months ago and immediately loved the idea. We have about a 20 inch wide space in our kitchen that needed "something." Since we have four framed John Golden prints (No Dinner No Dessert, Eat Your Vegetables, Always Say Please and Thank You, and Wash Your Hands), I thought something that played off on the rules idea would be perfect. I then proceeded to work at a snails pace for months. I cut letters, I printed, I used stickers, I changed my mind on each rule, I measured, remeasured...it was insane. I was finally ready to glue everything down when I saw this from Viv via Jen:Oh my. That is us. It was the perfect style, the perfect take. But, ugh... all that work for nothing.
Well, I decided to trash the original rules (above) and start over. I love the look of subway art and think they fit in perfectly.

(Yes, slightly off-kilter, but hanging the thing was almost as hard as making it).

I adapted the project slightly from Viv's art since I already has a canvas for the Family Rules project. Viv's tutorial, and Lil Blue Boo's are dead on, so I am just going to add a few things I learned: 1) Live by the Nester's advice "It Doesn't Have to Be Perfect To Be Beautiful," that will make it much easier. I stressed out way too much on centering, lettering, etc. I finally just gave in and let it be. 2) If you can find vinyl lettering/stickers in a close enough style, I would go that way. The contact paper works, but it is pretty frustrating to try to separate the layers on that many letters.

3) Simplify! I included WAY too many thoughts/rules and it resulted in my peeling letters for hours more than I probably needed to. 4) If you make your own letters (like I did), make them as large as possible. The larger letters were easier to paint and easier to peel. 5) Consider painting the entire canvas and then tracing the letters on top with a paint pen. I had a lot of touch-ups to do. Our Rules: Live Boldly; Dream Bigger; Love God, Love Others; Obey Your Parents; Forgiveness is Mandatory; Keep Your Promises; Use Manners; Be Yourself; Ask First; Know You Are Loved; Make a Difference; Try Your Best; Find Joy & Share It; Be Patient and Kind; and Imagine & Create.
Even though this wasn't my idea, I am posting it because I am incredibly proud that I finished the darn thing...it only took 5 months from idea to completion! Even though it took forever, I am happy with the way it turned out.


Updated* At your request, here is a wider picture so you can better see the area.

I'm updating to link to the CSI Project page for Wall Decor projects because I'm just so darn happy with how this turned out!

Visit thecsiproject.com

Updating to join Jen's Subway Art party

Visit tatertotsandjello.com

12 comments:

  1. This turned out so great! Thank you for letting me know that you finished it. I can tell from the photo that has a little slice of your other art pieces that these colors work together beautifully. It's always so satisfying to 1) actually finish a project; and, 2) be really happy with it. Congrats on doing both!
    :)

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  2. This is AWESOME! Great work! You must be so excited. I absolutely love it.

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  3. I think it turned out great!! I really want something like this in my home now that my son is getting to the age of understanding rules..well sorta :) I think the paint pen would work really well! Thank you for sharing.

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  4. Well, it turned out great..no, awesome. I have been working on my girls' room re-do for 9 MONTHS. It is seriously giving me cancer I think. That or it's gonna give me a nervous breakdown.

    I really love this idea and dare I even attempt it...why not?

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  5. Awesome! Can you post a pic of the 4 art pieces next to it - it sounds awesome, an idea I might try to steal for our new kitchen area...

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  6. Great job!! I love the red you used too. So different and awesome!

    XOOX
    Jen

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  7. I agree that I like that much better. Very nice job!

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  8. Your hard work paid off because it looks great! I too wanted to make a subway sign but didn't have the patience to use the contact paper or stencil pen paint methods. I went with an electronic file printed for me at Kinkos. Probably a bit more expensive but a big time saver. Definitely doesn't look homemade like yours though!

    -Desiree

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  9. I still love your take on the Subway Art craze. You did a wonderful job. Thanks so much for linking up to my party. You are the best!!

    XOXO
    Jen

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  10. so cute! I would love something like this in my home! i'm featuring your project in a subway art themed post tomorrow on crazydomestic.com! feel free to grab our "I was featured" button!

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  11. Really a great piece of work. It's awesome to see the creativity you have done with your decorations.

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