I’ve been getting a lot of questions about where we bought the canvas in Rooney’s nursery.
I’m always a little sorry (and a little proud!) to tell them that we made it. I don’t consider myself a DIY-er, but paint and stenciling I can do!
Here’s a little tutorial so you can make one yourself!
What You’ll Need
- 3′ x 4′ canvas from art store
- acryllic paint (we used two colors of gray)
- paint brushes
- two maps (I used Iowa and Minnesota…the states in which we were born)
- ruler or yard stick
- 2″ and 6″ stencils
- scissors
- mod podge
- pencil
Make Your Own!
1. PAINT the canvas. Eric painted the canvas for me and then I decided it was too dark, so he went over it with a lighter shade. I love that it’s not perfect and you can see the dark gray through the light gray in many spots.
2. TRACE and CUT out the letters from your maps. I paid special attention to the cities and included all the ones we have lived in, vacationed at or were born in. I love that it has that hidden meaning. I also tried to avoid the folds as much as possible. The small letters were made using 2″ stencils, and the large ones were made by printing off large (almost 6″) letters (Arial font) from the computer and making my own stencils for that, because I couldn’t find what I wanted at the craft store.
3. MOD PODGE the letters onto the canvas. This is where the ruler or yard stick comes in handy, to keep the letters straight. I used the mod podge to glue down each letter, and then Eric put a coat of mod podge over the entire thing. This adds some gloss and texture to the project.
Let me know if you try this! Or if you come up with a better way! I bet you could also put down the map and then paint over it, but I wanted more control over which cities on the map were showing. Good luck!
I have been thinking about doing something similar for our baby girl’s nursery. I will let you know how it goes!
I’ve seen people do it where they put the map (or collage, or old music etc) underneath, put vinyl letters on top, paint the whole thing, and peel the letters off. Again, you have to deal with the size of the letters that are available at the craft store then. But its a really neat idea, I’m making one for my dorm room next year!
I’ve seen the same thing! It seems easier that way, and although I haven’t done it, a bunch of friends have and said it was the easiest DIY project they’ve done!
Here’s a blog post about it: http://abeautifulmess.typepad.com/my_weblog/2011/08/song-lyric-wall-art-diy-project.html
Totally. I’ve seen that, too, although I wanted to have more control about which cities were represented in the letters
This looks awesome! Well done.
Thanks, Emily! It’s especially nice to hear that from artistic people like yourself
Thank you for posting the tutorial! I saw your finished canvas on Pinterest a few weeks ago and loved it, but just found your blog today. I was trying to figure out how to make it myself! My four year old is autistic and I want this sign in her room. I think it’s just the type on inspiration and encouragement she needs! So thank you! I’m heading to the craft store today!
Looks awesome! I will have to try it with a different quote and maps of Michigan and Alaska. Have you noticed that the ‘S’ in ‘sleep’ is upside-down? Gives it character
I did notice that in the photo! Ha. I must have had the stencil wrong because the map is right-side up
I’m in the process of making this right now for my daughter’s (due in early March) room. I’m hanging it above her crib. Thanks so much for the idea and tutorial!
LOVE LOVE LOVE this! My sister just had her first, a baby girl, and she is in need of something like this for her room. Came over from YHL
I am dying to try this for our little girl! She’s 2 and a half, but has been battling Leukemia (and doing great) for 7 months now. I’m always so impressed with her strength. I found this on pinterest, so glad I tracked down how to do it, and thank you so much for sharing!