a little weekend project

here’s a quick little project for you…

as in…

can be done in a day if you really wanted! (and for less than $10.00…can’t beat that!)

i was checking in on the blog of my friend who spent the last year in Haiti, and came across this picture she found:

i was instantly smitten, and bookmarked that bad boy with a big “DO THIS!!!!” as the label. i decided that this could be a quick and simple project, and i had the perfect blank wall, so i got started right away.

i found this old picture and frame at the Good Will for $4.99. it was the perfect size for my project, so my partner in crime for the day (thanks, Beth!) and i drug that thing all throughout the store for a few hours until we were sure we weren’t leaving any other treasures behind.

i used $1.00 spray paint from Walmart to spiff it up a tad:
then i headed on over to my computer and my handy dandy Photoshop to create my own personalized subway art:

i created it by using different text boxes and moving them around until everything looked the way i wanted it to.

i used 3 different fonts in different sizes and boldness:

League Gothic, Papyrus, and Times New Roman…in case you are interested! i’m a font girl and love to know what people are using! (all those are free over the www)

make sure to size your document to your exact frame size. mine needed to fit in a 34 inch by 19 inch opening.

(i’m sure you could do this in Word as well…or some other program. it doesn’t have to be Photoshop.)

when it was finished, i sent it online to my local FedEx Printer, and picked it up later that day. i paid a whopping $3.21! i just had it printed on cheap computer paper in black ink. i figured i didn’t need anything fancy!

and for around $9.00, you’ve got yourself a personalized piece of art! not only that, but this is a great daily reminder for our family of what is most important to us.

and speaking of projects…

presently, my back room looks a little bit like this:

just the thought of it makes my skin crawl. but i better get used to it for awhile, cause i’m in the middle of a big project…one that will last all week…

or longer, if this little one continues to run a fever like she’s done today

but she’s not complaining…she got to lay on the couch with her BFF Lanie, drink her green smoothie, and watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for the better part of the day.

be dear friends, okay, and please remind me to NEVER EVER EVER AGAIN attempt to strip paint off of a piece of furniture:

its a big job, i’ll tell you, and all i had to do was the top of the crazies’ little table.

i’m done for the night. i’m still covered in paint, even after a shower, so i might need to attempt that again.

i’ll show you what i’m up to when its all done. just can’t promise when that’ll be!

btw: i need some kind of cheap grasscloth, grasscloth fabric, grasscloth contact paper, grasscloth wrapping paper, grasscloth wallpaper…you get the gist…

i figured you were the perfect kind of people to ask. anyone know where i can get some…key word: CHEAP?

update:

oh my…well…we really do “DO REAL” around here!

just got a sweet comment on this post pointing out to me that i actually misspelled the word “laughter” on my subway art! the hubs and i are getting quite the kick out of that! and even more than that…we’ve looked at that thing about 100 times now since its been up, and we’ve both missed it everytime!

truly debating whether to change it or not, or to just keep it REAL! i’m telling you friends…you’re really dealing with a crazy person over here that’s really REAL LIFE!