NOTE: (The images below have had the name and words scrambled and/or removed to protect an identity.)
Please forgive the crookedness of the photo :).
My daughter is athletic, and has a cluster of medals hanging from her wall in her room. I was so tired of seeing them hang there on push pens, etc across her wall, so I decided to make something to hang them on that would like more decent.
I had been surfing the net and found the subway signs on canvas, but I thought "why not plywood and instead of addresses we can put a sports history"? It's cheap, I can get it local, and we can make it whatever size we want. So that is what I did!
I made the actual print in MS Publisher. I used the banner format and chose my size. We started the top with "The Story Of Me..." and then her name below it. I have blurred her name, school name, etc. where you see parts missing. I left off dates where she can use a paint pen and complete the year she stops doing that sport so you will see "20" under 2011, etc. in places.
Then I emailed it to Staples. They notified me when it was done, and picked it up later. :) It cost about $3.50 because I had left it in black and white. They can go as tall as you want, but not over 3' wide. So EASY!
I first started with a 1/4"x2'x4' piece of plywood I picked up precut at Lowes. I lightly sanded the sides and edges to get rid of any roughness. I wiped it clean.
I used the board in the back :).
Next I painted the board with satin house paint I had on hand. I covered all sides and edges.
I covered the board's front side with a layer of Collage Pauge - Matte, which is like Mod Podge.
Once the Collage Pauge was on the board, I rolled out the print onto the top of it. I pressed the paper down as best as I could pressing out as many wrinkles as possible, but wrinkles are okay as long as they are not too big. I started drizzling Collage Pauge over it.
I spread the Collage Pauge over the top of the print and let it dry.
It looks like glue on it, but no worries, it does dry clear. This is the Matte version of the Collage Pauge.
I then added some black paint to a paper towel and smeared it around to distress it a little more. Make sure it is completely dry first. I was in a hurry and disregarded the drying process completely, so I tore my paper in a few places. This gives some of the words an older distressed look.
Where I had broken the paper during the distressing, I added a little paint to cover up the torn areas. You can't even tell where...
Once it dried, I gave it a sanding and wiped it down. It's really looking old now. :)
I am liking it already!
I kind of wanted a shiny look instead of Matte, so I put Collage Pauge Glossy over the top and let it dry.
Once it was done I really liked it without the medals, so I am going to make a separate board to hang just the medals. Plus the medals are on long ribbons and it could become cluttered.
I added a hook on the back and hung it up :). We love it!!
Our walls are really tall (10'). The wall height makes the subway sport sign seem smaller than it is. It really fits well on the wall!
