How To: DIY Subway Sign

In order to do this project you need:

- canvas

- acrylic paint

- sponge brush

- 8.5x11" label paper

- basics: ruler, pencil, scissors

I purchased my supplies from Michaels. The canvas was $29.99, plus I had a 40% off coupon = $18.00. The acrylic paints were on sale from $3.99 to $1.99. I purchased two, although I ended up only needing one tube. I also grabbed two brushes for $.79 each (but again only used one). I already owned the label paper from a previous project so that didn't cost me anything.

As I mentioned before, I let Jordan choose the train stops for the sign. Since he's such a huge Red Sox fan and we've taken a number of trips to Boston over the years, he chose the Region Rail like that runs from Union Station in DC to South Station in Boston.

I played around with my layout on Photoshop. I knew I wanted to mix and match the sizes of each line, depending on the length and number of words. Once I was satisfied with how everything looked, I took note of the fonts from each line and moved everything into Microsoft Word so I could print sheets of letters on white label paper. (Font I used was "Milford Condensed Bold.")

I played around with my layout to make sure things fit how I wanted. Once I was satisfied, I proceeded to cut out each letter. I'm quickly learning that I have a tendency to take on projects that contain a lot of tedious detailed work like this. But I honestly don't mind plopping on the couch and cutting out letters or fabric circles while I watch a movie. 

Using a level I made guide lines for each train stop and began the long peel and stick process. Even with the pencil lines I had a hard time keeping all of the letters straight. 

Since I used a basic sticky paper that would be easy to peel back off, we placed the canvas face down over night and put some heavy books on the back to secure the letters for painting. 

After the letters set overnight, it was time to paint the canvas. One tube and two coats of black acrylic paint did the trick.

I got a little nervous when my first paint stroke resulted in a letter peeling off. I had to switch my paint technique and go very slowly in order to avoid this happening on the rest of the sign.

After a few hours of drying, the last step was peeling off the letters and hanging the sign.

Below you can see a part of the sign where the paint bled underneath the letter decal. Jordan and I both agreed we liked the imperfections on the sign.

In the end, I spent half as much money to create this sign as the Homegoods version I saw. I spent about $26 and didn't even use all the supplies I purchased. I'm even happier with my sign than the store-bought version. Because Jordan chose the train stops that represented our trips to Boston, this version has more of a sentimental value to us. 

 

EDIT: I made a second sign. Check it out here.

Sitting Pretty

Look what arrived! I mentioned in my window sill post that I was looking for an ottoman to put in this corner.

I decided on the Estelle Ottoman from Urban Outfitters in Robin's Egg Blue. Funny enough when I went to link to the product, UO's website said it is no longer available. Good thing I snagged it when I did!

I love, love the color and the fabric is so soft and comfy. The ottoman is actually much prettier in person than UO's website shows. It's the perfect pop of color that we need in the master bedroom. (Please ignore the eyesore of an outlet behind it.)

We haven't decided if this is the permanent spot for the ottoman, but it's doing the trick for now. 

Next Stop: Wall Art

I have loved the look of subway art for quite some time now and even considered incorporating it into the nursery. I was constantly coming across images like these online. Some signs are bought (and very expensive!) and some DIY. 

Life Abundant

The Splurge or the Steal

Homemade

Young House Love

Restoration Hardware

I decided a few months ago that I wanted to take down the Audrey picture in our living room and replace it with another piece of wall art. The picture was a housewarming gift from my parents three years ago and although I adore the artwork, I have to admit it's a little feminine for Jordan. Plus we are making some other changes in the living room over the next few weeks and need some fresh artwork.

Last week while perusing Marshalls for some nursery goodies, I found this sign in the wall art section.

Excited that I had found something I had been wanting at a place like Marshalls, I snapped a quick picture and sent it to Jordan for his opinion. I was sure to include the price ($50) in the text. More than I would want to spend, but far less than subway signs are retailing for online. 

His response?

"You could make that."

Is that a challenge? That was all I needed. I decided at that moment that I was going to make my own.

It took two evenings of hard work and only $26 (half the price of the Marshalls sign) and we now have our own DIY subway sign. Here is how the wall looked with the Audrey picture:

And here is how it looked after we hung our subway sign this weekend.

I love how clean the wall looks. These aren't actually subway stops. It's the Regional Rail line that runs from DC to Boston - the train we used to take when we would go to Boston for the weekend. I had Jordan pick the stops for the sign.

As I mentioned we have other plans for the living room that include replacing the old berber carpet with hardwood and a bright area rug, removing the bookcase, and replacing the IKEA curtains with a pair of plain white ones so brighten up the space. 

If you want to learn how to make your own subway wall art, I will post a tutorial later this week.

Grandmother's Jewels

As promised, a look through some of the gorgeous vintage jewelry passed onto me by my grandmother (known by her grandkids as "Beebah").

The above necklace actually belonged to Jordan's grandmother, not mine. 

His aunt gave it to me as a gift last Christmas.

I wear this gold bracelet the most. It was one of the first pieces my grandmother gave to me. If you look carefully you can see something written on the bag.

"1907 Gold Bracelet"

There is also an inscription inside that says "Pat Oct. 22 07"

My heart broke when I came home from work after wearing this one day and found one of the roses missing. Part of me hopes I can somehow fix it.

Most of the necklace and bracelet sets I have come with a matching set of clip-on earrings. 

To this day Beebah has never had her ears pierced. 

Picture Perfect

This will be one of the last nursery related posts for a while. Now that we have the main elements set in the room, I just need to add a few details and accents pieces before it is complete. Rather than update you with each knick-nack I add to the room, I decided I would rather halt all updates until I can do a final reveal of the finished room.

That being said, this past weekend, one of the mini projects I squeezed in between our very relaxing weekend is adding a gallery wall to the nursery. A mix of IKEA frames and my bargain Pottery Barn frame with a few thrift store mirrors I've collected (including one of the mirrors I scored on Friday). 

I was very specific in the way I wanted these hung on the wall. I arranged them on the floor and played with the design a few times before coming up with this final set-up. 

In order to replicate it on the wall, I laid a piece of Frog Tape across the length of the middle of my frame collage. 

I duplicated a piece of tape of the same length on the wall in the space I wanted to hang everything.

I made markers along the tape according to where each frame/mirror would be spaced out. After that I simply used the above picture of the frames and tape as a reference and hung the pieces on the wall according to the layout and markers on the tape.

I know it seems like a weird way to space things out, but it truly worked. In the end the layout was an exact replica of what I had planned on the carpet.  

I still need to decide what I want to put in all the frames since I only have one lowly sonogram in there for now. I plan to use the small square shadowbox from IKEA to hold either her hospital bracelet or some other memorabilia from the day our little one was born. Of course her first picture will end up in one of these frames, too. Other than that I may mix some personal and family shots or maybe even one of me pregnant when my belly gets bigger. 

Hope this keeps you satisfied on the nursery updates for a while :)