D.I.Y Wall Art Tutorial

I, like a lot of others, love the idea of wall art but, even more the idea of being able to make it myself. So, I  decided to give it a try. I searched a few places like Pinterest for some inspiration and helpful hints but found that most of the tutorials were a little vague. With all that said I gave it a try, loved it and have put this tutorial together on how I did mine, to help and hopefully inspire someone else!

First, I went on a hunt for some thin timber for my slats.

I found just what I needed ,this old fruit box . I then took it apart, careful not to split any of the wood when taking out the old nails.

After choosing the planks that I wanted to use, 

I  sanded them and got rid of all the loose dust and dirt.

I then grabbed one of the leftover planks, 

measured and drew a line down the centre. ( see pic below ) 

I then used my marked line as a guide for cutting the piece of wood into two. These will be for supporting the wall art and keeping it together.

 (Note: I used a hand saw to cut my wood because it was handy, it would be easier if you cut it with a power saw.)  

I then sanded the newly cut edges to smooth them off. I laid out my planks good side down and made sure my spacing between the planks was even.

With all the planks in place I laid the two supports on top. I made sure I measured and marked where they should go ensuring they ended up looking nice. ( Note: it is important that your back supports are straight and even because you can see them from the front ).

I found some builders glue and glued the supports in place. I used some bricks to weight the support planks down, making sure they bonded well.

Heading into the house, I sat down at my computer and typed up the quote I wanted to have and printed it off. ( Note: I printed it off like you would normally print a document, No special effects of flipping it around ).

With my scalpel in hand I went to work cutting out each of the letters leaving behind a paper stencil.

I then laid out the letters just to check everything was going to work and from there I grabbed my masking tape and stuck all my nice new stencils down and in place.

SUPER COOL HANDY HINT : to get tricky bits to stick down you can use a tiny bit of blue tack, it works great. Just make sure you get it off as soon as the paint is dry so it doesn’t get stuck on.

I then used a small piece of sponge and some leftover ceiling paint and got to work.

When you paint with paper stencils just be careful because they can be a little tricky and fragile. Also, be careful not to paint outside the stencil.

Once the paint was dry, I took all the stencils off. From here I varnished over the top of my painting to make it last longer. You don’t need to varnish, it depends on your preference.

I then attached some hooks onto the back so I could hang it.

And there you have it, Wall art that is just as I wanted it and I got to enjoy the thrill of making it myself =D

By Anita Godzgear