DIY Name Wall Art

In a huge departure from the normal posts documenting my struggles with motherhood and challenges to my faith, here's something I made recently for my two daughters.  They hang above each of their cribs right now and will hang above each of their beds once they are sharing a room.  These were super easy (no artistic talent needed) and cheap (I spent $8 total for both).  Would you like to make one for someone you know?

  



Materials:

1. Pre-matted picture frame in the size and style of your choice.  Design tip:  White frame/mat/background paper will look most like "nursery" art if that's what you're going for.  Moneysaving tip: I purchased mine from Goodwill for about $4 each.  They were originally gold frames that had poster art on the inside.  All I cared about was that the frames were approximately the same size and that they came with a mat.  I then primed/painted the frames/mat/background paper to match.  Warning:  If you paint the mat to match the frame/background paper, use a very thin layer of paint.  Some parts of my paint that are bumpy press up against the glass and look like black marks.
2. Scrapbook and solid cardstock paper.  If you cut out all of your letters/icons from one pattern/color, you will only need one sheet of scrapbook paper.  You need one solid cardstock paper as the background if your frame doesn't already have one you can use.  Design tip: Large patterns will not show up properly on the letters/icons.  Stick with small patterns or solids. Moneysaving tip: For the moon in Carla's version, I used cardboard packaging from a packet of sandpaper.  It's a different material from the other papers, but I didn't want to purchase yellow paper just for that tiny amount.  You might be able to make the entire thing out of various cardboard packaging you already have!
3. Mod Podge or Elmer's glue
4. Printer, scissors, and transfer paper or crayons for transferring letters/shapes to scrapbook paper.  Or a Silhouette if you're lucky enough to have one!

Directions:

Print a B&W version on regular paper.

1. Use your printer to print the name using large, simple block letters onto plain paper.  I used size 110 bold Ariel, with small caps.
2. Look around online for a simple clipart graphic for the animal or whatever icon you want.  I picked the animals for my daughters based on the Chinese zodiac year in which they were born (Carla = ox and Rachela = rabbit).  Don't get too fancy here - the simpler the image, the easier it will be to make it look nice.  Print that out onto plain paper also, or freehand draw an outline if you don't find what you want online (I made up the cow for Carla's version).
3. If you have transfer paper, transfer the letters/images onto the scrapbook paper.  I didn't want to spend money on transfer paper, so here's my cheapo way of transferring the images.  Use a crayon to color over the entire back side of the printed images (not the side where the printer printed).  Place the paper on top of the scrapbook paper so that the crayon part is facing the scrapbook paper, and the printed letters/image are facing out.  Now use a pencil to trace the letters/image.  The crayon will transfer to the scrapbook paper.  Trace slightly to the outside of the outline so that you can cut off the tracing lines.  Or you could print the letters/images as a mirror image (requires flipping the image using graphic software before printing).  Then you can trace onto the back of the scrapbook paper and not worry about your tracing lines showing on the front.
4. Cut out letters and images.  I used scissors for most and then an exacto knife for the inner parts of some of the letters.
5. Glue letters/icon onto background paper.  Optional: Cover over entire thing with a layer of Mod Podge or slightly watered down Elmer's Glue to provide a clear coating.

Please let me know if you have any questions, and if you end up making one, please leave me a comment to let me know!  Happy crafting!