When we found out we were purchasing a home with an outdoor wood furnace to heat our house, Kevin was excited to say the least. He could finally justify buying a chainsaw and even bought  us matching "chop wood" t-shirts (see left). Yes, I wear the t-shirt… no, usually not while chopping wood. 

Henry Ford did not tell a lie (about the wood thing at least, I didn't know the man). Hauling, chopping, splitting and stacking wood is hard and you will sweat. 

Truth be told, I am no good at it. I desperately want to be but my little arms just aren't strong enough to split :( Sadly, Kevin does most of that work solo. Nevertheless, this saying became our mantra for this new house. 

Kevin had mentioned wanting a poster with the saying on it. I looked around on Etsy and the internet and tried to get away with the "easy route". I didn't want an exact print replica of the shirts, so I opted to craft it. 

I am really into the chalkboard style lettering, and wanted to incorporate that into the project. There is also a lot of wood here, so I used small rounds we had laying around as well. This was the finished result [scroll below the image for the tutorial]:

The first step was to cut and collect varying sizes of wood pieces. I had been sawing slices for a couple days… I had wanted to make a fireplace cover that looked really similar to the picture above. I decided to "borrow" them for this project and haven't had time yet to start the other :) That is life. Knowing the wood slices were varying heights, I opted for a 2" shadowbox that I picked up at Michael's on super sale with a coupon. This whole project cost me under $15 to make. 

Like I said above, I really didn't like any of the posters I saw online. Sketching, I created the composition and then took it into Photoshop to see if I could replicate it. I knew it would be easier to move it around on the screen (and to get the fonts right) if I did it on the computer. Long story short, the bottom half was perfect, but I still had to do the "chop your own wood" portion by hand. Before printing, I flipped the design so it was a mirror image. To flip the handwritten top portion, I traced the front text, to the backside of the paper. That is a concept that is VERY hard to put into words, I hope you can follow.

I taped the design to the outside pane of glass, so I could have the paint on the inside of the frame. I was worried that the paint might get scratched up during hanging, or inevitably during another move. Using my smallest brush, I painted the white glass paint over the letters the best I could. I wanted it to look like a white vinyl from far away, and I think it does :) 

To secure the wood slices to the frame backing (which was a black velvet material) I used a dab of hot glue. The wood actually stayed in place without it. The roughness of the wood clung onto the material, but I knew I wanted an assurance that it wouldn't crash down after a week of hanging. 

The rest is cake, I just assembled the parts and wrapped it up. Kevin loved it and I am super happy with the end result. 

[ This can be our little secret: I had no idea this would be a tutorial, so there were iPhone images I kept sending to Nadine while crafting to show her my progress! ]

I have built up to this blog post over the last couple weeks with my tutorials on how to creatively display your images. How you display them, is completely up to you. I like to mix and match styles all throughout my home… lots of bright colors, a mix of styles in furniture, and my wall art is no different. 

On the wall I displayed wrapped canvases, repurposed windows turned into frames, a shadowbox art project, watercolor prints, and some regular framed prints as well. Typically, in every other place I have rented/lived, I like to make a staggered, more random arrangement on the wall. It just wasn't working with this space. I can adapt, so I arranged these the best way they fit together. It took hours, I am not going to lie. 

The regular old framed prints are pretty standard…. I printed via mpix.com and framed them with what I had already. 

The top left canvas was ordered through my wedding photographer, and was a gift from a couple generous wedding guests that purchases gift certificates for photo products. 

The canvas near the bottom right was ordered through CG Pro Prints, which I got a crazy good deal on: a 16x20" canvas for only $17.99. That price is good for new customers until 2/28 using coupon code PPAJAN14 if you want one for yourself! 

Another neat feature on the wall are some watercolor-style prints. Using the Waterlogue app on my iPhone/iPad, I transformed images I already took into watercolors. I printed them via mpix.com and framed them as I would any other print. I would love to have them printed on textured paper in the future, for other projects but since these were being popped into a frame it didn't matter much. 

If you are thinking, "lady, you are nuts- I don't have a creative bone in my body" I have to ensure you that it really is easy! If you would like some inspiration on how to creatively display your own prints and canvases, explore these links below! 

[links were found via Pinterest / click on the thumbnail to view the original site]

As promised in my last post, I am showing you another way to get those jpegs off your hard drive and onto the wall while thinking outside the frame. Large framed prints and beautiful canvases are great, trust me, I have plenty… but sometimes you need a WOW. 

For lack of a better name (and you are welcome to make suggestions) I have been calling this the "wood art print" or "wood plaque print". Frankly, I don't really know what to call it. 

Step 1: I bought an unfinished wood plaque from Michael's and measured it roughly to decide which size print to order. This piece was approximately an 8x12", though I knew the edges would be trimmed significantly to fit the odd shape. Tip: Pick a picture that has "room" along the edges, keeping the subject small and center if possible. 

Step 2: For me, I chose to stain and poly the wood to give it a natural and trophy-like appearance. Other options include painting, distressing, or using chalkboard paints. To each their own, and choose what works best with your interiors and decor. 

Step 3: Trace the shape of the frame onto the back of the image. This gives you an guideline for cutting. I knew since there was an edge on my plaque, that I would have to trim in about a half inch, so I freehanded that adjustment. (Sorry, this is not pictured. I completed this step before I knew I would make a tutorial out of it.)

Step 4 and 5: Using scissors or an Exacto knife, cut out the shape. Use an adhesive to attach the print to the wood. If I were to do it again, I would try spray adhesive for more even coverage, but I had this stuff available instead. I made sure to paint it on thin, right to the edge, to ensure coverage. 

Step 6: Let dry overnight under a stack of heavy books. This ensures the print will dry flat and provides a proper bond. 

Step 7: I could've stopped after Step 6, and you are welcome to. I decided that I wanted it to be even smoother (and I had leftover poly already) so I decided to add one more step. I added a coat of polyurethane over the entire print and wood to give it a final, glossy layer.