DIY Custom Wall Art- 10 Easy Steps

Once in a while I get all inspired and form crazy creative ideas of being talented and artistic. To be honest, my siblings are incredibly creative and clever. Me, not so much. However, I'm a pretty quick learner J

 So, I began my Saturday DIY living room photo project. And here begins the start of an ongoing living-room-kitchen-make-over. And isn't that what summer breaks are for?

Step 1-

Go to San Francisco and take too many photos of the Golden Gate Bridge than any person could ever use or want. Ok, you can skip this step, but we were there, so I utilized the opportunity.

Step 2-

Purchase/gather supplies:

Foam Insulation Board from either Lowes or Home Depot

Elmer's Spray Adhesive

Acrylic Paint (I used black) and Paint Brush

Duct Tape and Twine (for hanging)

Step 3-

Choose that perfect photo and turn it black & white. I use Adobe Photoshop Elements. Once you've cropped and edited, go to Staples.com and choose Engineer Prints. (It's important to decide what size you want your finished print to be before the editing process.) My local Staples offers these prints in 18"x24", 24"x36", and 36"x48".  I chose 36"x48", downloaded my print, and picked it up just a few hours later.

Step 4-

Cut your foam board to fit your large print using a utility knife. I cut it slightly smaller than my print so I could wrap the print around the sides of the board, leaving crisp, clean edges.

Step 5-

Remove the sticker from the front of your foam board and spray, spray, spray. Use lots of spray glue to ensure a secure bond.

Step 6-

Now this is the tricky/difficult part. Carefully lay your print on your sticky foam board and press all bubbles and wrinkles out.

Step 7-

Spray the edges of your board and wrap each side, pulling as tightly as possible to get that crisp edge.  I then put Duct Tape around the edges to ensure years of security J

Step 8-

Using your acrylics, paint the edges of your photo. You can paint around the side edges only, or bring the paint to the front as well to give it a fun, less crisp look. I used black, but any color would add character to your photo.

 

Step 9-

After the paint is dry, flip your photo over. Now make your beautiful portrait ready to display by using your twine and duct tape. Use lots of tape so your twine doesn't slip out.

Step 10-

Flaunt your enormous wall hanging for all to enjoy J

This is the first one I made for display in my classroom. You can see I brought the black paint onto the front of the photo, giving it more character. 

These were made by printing color 8½" x 11" photos from my home printer.

This is next on the DIY list! The docks of San Francisco with Alcatraz in the background.

Do you have a DIY project to share? Would you leave your link here for us? Thanks for visiting!

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