Subway Art has been all the rage these days and I have to admit that I'm basically obsessed with it. I wanted to make on that was personal to me and my husband. Each of the locations on this canvas has a fun story or great meaning to it.
For example, Moe & Johnny's was the bar where we had drinks after work one night and no one else from work showed up - it was that night that we both realized we liked each other and wanted to start dating :)
Key West is where we fell back into love on a group vacation - and where we traveled back to and got married on 5-21-11. Each location has a smile-inducing memory, personal to the two of us.
This is really easy to make, especially if you have a Silhouette, Cricut, or a similar cutting machine. It can be done with an exacto knife or a pair of scissors - just might take a little longer!
I started with a 16"x20" canvas. I find these for really cheap at Michaels. They usually have a "value pack" that's on sale (or use a coupon if it's not on sale!) making them a few bucks per canvas.
I mixed together some white and black paint for the base color. Remember, this will be the color of the letters, not the background. I almost messed that up when I did it! I purposely didn't mix the paint all the way together since I wanted it to be a little "streaky." Save some of this mixed paint to use later - you'll see why.
I designed the layout of the words with Photoshop Elements (a cheaper, scaled-back version of Photoshop). You could easily use a word processor for this if you don't have Photoshop.
I saved the layout as a PDF and moved it into the Silhouette program. Doing it this way made sure the words would print out the right size. Keep in mind the Silhouette only cuts paper 12" wide, so you'll have to move the words around in the program so they all fit if you're using a canvas larger than 12"! Once you've figured out the spacing, then you can begin cutting!
Once everything's cut, you'll want to cut out each word and remove the excess vinyl from around the letters.
I then placed each of the words on the canvas to make sure everything fit and looked good in it's place. Feel free to adjust your layout at this time (I did!).
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Once all the letters are transferred to the canvas, I paint a layer of the reserved light colored paint over the letters. This step isn't 100% necessary, but I think it helps give the edges a nice crisp layer by filling in any gaps between the vinyl letters and the canvas.
After that layer is dry, paint your background layer. I like to use spray paint for two reasons:
~ There is less likelihood that the paint will bleed under the letters (making nice crisp lines)
~ You can leave the spray painted layers a little uneven for a more weathered look
Just make sure to keep the layers really light (too thick and it will pool, drip, or bleed under the letters). I ended up doing 3 light layers - leaving it a little uneven.
Give the spray paint plenty of time to dry (overnight if possible). Then comes the arduous task of removing the vinyl letters... this is the worst part of the project! I used a pair of old tweezers to pull up the letters and it worked wonders!
When all the vinyl letters have been removed, sit back and enjoy your creation! You can sort of see how the spray paint is a little uneven - I personally like this look, but you can spray on even layers if you want a more polished look.
Mine is hanging over our fireplace and looks absolutely fantastic! It is always a conversation piece when people come over.
I made one for a friend who just had a birthday and she about DIED when I gave it to her (in a good way, of course!). I am making another one for a friend who is getting married in a few months. This project is a little time-consuming, but very well worth it.
Love the idea, but don't want to make it yourself?? Buy a personalized piece at my Etsy shop!
Good luck and happy creating, friends!
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