I have to tell you... I wrote my first blog this weekend to share the massive makeover the gold beast armoire got. It was my first post in a while, and I use page views to gauge interest. The number of readers has always amazed me but that particular post only got about 25% of the usual viewers. Where have you all gone? *taps mic... this thing on??
So I'm giving it another shot with this post, though it's not office-makeover-related, there is a peek at an office project.
The nugget started pre-K a few weeks ago, and he's taken an interest in hanging his artistic masterpieces on the wall. He came home one day, looked up at an entirely bare navy blue wall in his bedroom, and said "Mama, I'd like to put pretty art on the wall." It was like a choir of angels singing heavenly music for my little man to be speaking my language suddenly. :)
When I was planning his room I'd fully intended to create some giant art for the big empty wall, but everything seemed to take longer (and more energy) than one anticipates moving into a new house and simultaneously decorating. As usual, at the time, I'd second guessed my art plans to death, but the time in between where I gave it no conscious thought whatsoever brought my confidence back. Well, that and the fact that in casually suggesting maybe hanging a fire truck, police car, train, and plane on his wall would be a good idea resulted in nugget jumping up and down with excitement, so turning back or changing the plan wasn't an option.
His room has dark navy walls, lots of white trim, white doors, white headboard and nightstands... a bold geometric kelly green pattern on the window treatments and a bright yellow geometric pattern on his oversized chair.
As a reminder:
It's the left wall in this last picture that needed some love. There wasn't a thing on it once we moved the black dresser out. It's 14' wide and 10' tall which is a LOT of navy blue.
I promised him some pictures of things he loves like fire trucks, trains etc but I wanted to do it in an artistic, visually appealing addition to the room as opposed to slapping some kiddie art on the walls. Duh!
I decided to try my hand at photo transfers to wood, which I'd never attempted before though I've seen lots of tutorials online and pins on pinterest. Nugget and I went to Lowes and picked up 4 pre-cut craft size 2'x2' plywood panels. We lightly sanded the edges and then painted each a different color. We did one each in white, gray, yellow, and green. Nugget was VERY excited to help paint, and it was so nice having such great energy in the workshop and to bond with a boy I love over a hobby I love. :)
So I'm almost positive I took photos of all the steps, but either accidentally deleted them or hallucinated taking them in the first place - really must check the ventilation in that room with all the painting going on. :) Instead, I've got photos of the same type of wood transfer project I did in the office a week later.
Anyway, the first thing you need to do is get a photo (or 4) printed in black and white at the full size you want it, and it's important to note that if there are letters or numbers, or if the image is something you wouldn't want to see in its mirror form, then you should have it printed as a mirror image so when you transfer it reverts back. Staples (and other printing places I believe) offer engineering prints up to 36"x48" which is huge! and they're super cheap. For nugget's art, the boards were 2'x2' so we went with 24"x36" prints and just made sure the photo part itself was sized to 2'x2'. I found random images online of kind of vintage looking cars, trucks etc and then edited them in my photo editing software to pump up the contrast and add some graininess to them to make them look even more vintage. I uploaded those 4 pictures and picked up the prints at Staples and they were like $3 each I think.
I chose to cut out the objects in the photos to get rid of the white background, and I'm glad I did because the white paper will transfer as a lighter haze. It also cuts down on the amount of paper you're removing later!
So in the photo below you see the magic potion. It's acrylic gel medium. Supposedly you can buy any sort of liquid acrylic anything and it'll transfer, but I followed the tutorials and went with artist medium. I tried both a thick gel in a pot as well as the liquid shown below. I preferred the liquid because it's easier to spread, and for this second project in this photo it was a GIANT board I was covering.
What tutorials describe next as the "fun part" where you wet the paper and scrub away all traces of paper that your print was on to reveal the image you transferred over to the wood was the least fun in my opinion. Yes, you get to start seeing your image emerge, which is cool. But that paper doesn't come up easily. I wet it and let the water soak in for a few minutes then used a sponge to slowly wear aware the layers of paper. I tried a putty knife and paint scraper and there wasn't really one method that was better than another. It's just a lot of tedious elbow grease.
Here it is getting started. While it's wet you'll think you've got all the paper off a section and then as it dries the paper cures again and you realize you have to go back at that section again.
All in all, I'm not a fan of this process, but the outcome is cool so I wouldn't rule out more of these in the future. I've heard olive oil or poly will help dissolve the paper too. I didn't put anything on nugget's transfers - I just scrubbed every last bit of paper off.
Also, I wanted to share how I hang thin plywood on the wall. You could obviously screw it directly into studs, but I didn't want anything that permanent. The plywood is too thin to use traditional picture hanging hardware like sawtooth hangers or even hooks with wire as they'd go right through to the front or at least crack the front. I've seen so many people make signs and wall art using thin wall panels but nobody's mentioned how they actually hang it!
Here's what I did. For nugget's 2x2 panels I wasn't too worried about the weight, so I cut 2 pieces of fir strips maybe 5-6" long per panel and used heavy wood glue to attach them. Then I nailed in a sawtooth picture hanger on the top strip. The bottom strip is there just so the panel sits flush against the wall. :)
The big board in the photo above I used the same method except in addition to wood glue I shot a couple brad nails in from the front as well for peace of mind.
Here are his finished pieces hanging on the wall that's no longer lonely. I think they turned out great, and more importantly, he thinks they turned out great. :)
I'm sure you can't tell from this far away, but the fire truck is actually a Boston Fire Department engine, Ladder 15 to be exact, as a nod to home. One of the others is actually a toy or model I think but with all the vintage filters I think it looks great. One thing I messed up on due to a last minute switcheroo is I originally had 2 of the objects facing left and 2 facing right. I noticed at the last minute the plane had letters under the wing so I had to mirror image it to get the letters to transfer properly so I ended up with 3 facing left and the lonesome train facing right. Hoping you didn't even notice until I pointed it out. :) Just lie to me if I ask you!
Until next time...
So I'm giving it another shot with this post, though it's not office-makeover-related, there is a peek at an office project.
The nugget started pre-K a few weeks ago, and he's taken an interest in hanging his artistic masterpieces on the wall. He came home one day, looked up at an entirely bare navy blue wall in his bedroom, and said "Mama, I'd like to put pretty art on the wall." It was like a choir of angels singing heavenly music for my little man to be speaking my language suddenly. :)
When I was planning his room I'd fully intended to create some giant art for the big empty wall, but everything seemed to take longer (and more energy) than one anticipates moving into a new house and simultaneously decorating. As usual, at the time, I'd second guessed my art plans to death, but the time in between where I gave it no conscious thought whatsoever brought my confidence back. Well, that and the fact that in casually suggesting maybe hanging a fire truck, police car, train, and plane on his wall would be a good idea resulted in nugget jumping up and down with excitement, so turning back or changing the plan wasn't an option.
His room has dark navy walls, lots of white trim, white doors, white headboard and nightstands... a bold geometric kelly green pattern on the window treatments and a bright yellow geometric pattern on his oversized chair.
As a reminder:
It's the left wall in this last picture that needed some love. There wasn't a thing on it once we moved the black dresser out. It's 14' wide and 10' tall which is a LOT of navy blue.
I promised him some pictures of things he loves like fire trucks, trains etc but I wanted to do it in an artistic, visually appealing addition to the room as opposed to slapping some kiddie art on the walls. Duh!
I decided to try my hand at photo transfers to wood, which I'd never attempted before though I've seen lots of tutorials online and pins on pinterest. Nugget and I went to Lowes and picked up 4 pre-cut craft size 2'x2' plywood panels. We lightly sanded the edges and then painted each a different color. We did one each in white, gray, yellow, and green. Nugget was VERY excited to help paint, and it was so nice having such great energy in the workshop and to bond with a boy I love over a hobby I love. :)
 |
| He gets the tongue-out-in-concentration from his mammy!! |
So I'm almost positive I took photos of all the steps, but either accidentally deleted them or hallucinated taking them in the first place - really must check the ventilation in that room with all the painting going on. :) Instead, I've got photos of the same type of wood transfer project I did in the office a week later.
Anyway, the first thing you need to do is get a photo (or 4) printed in black and white at the full size you want it, and it's important to note that if there are letters or numbers, or if the image is something you wouldn't want to see in its mirror form, then you should have it printed as a mirror image so when you transfer it reverts back. Staples (and other printing places I believe) offer engineering prints up to 36"x48" which is huge! and they're super cheap. For nugget's art, the boards were 2'x2' so we went with 24"x36" prints and just made sure the photo part itself was sized to 2'x2'. I found random images online of kind of vintage looking cars, trucks etc and then edited them in my photo editing software to pump up the contrast and add some graininess to them to make them look even more vintage. I uploaded those 4 pictures and picked up the prints at Staples and they were like $3 each I think.
I chose to cut out the objects in the photos to get rid of the white background, and I'm glad I did because the white paper will transfer as a lighter haze. It also cuts down on the amount of paper you're removing later!
So in the photo below you see the magic potion. It's acrylic gel medium. Supposedly you can buy any sort of liquid acrylic anything and it'll transfer, but I followed the tutorials and went with artist medium. I tried both a thick gel in a pot as well as the liquid shown below. I preferred the liquid because it's easier to spread, and for this second project in this photo it was a GIANT board I was covering.
The next step is covering either the printed side of the paper OR the board OR both I suppose with the gel medium. I was afraid to drag this thick gel over the print so I put it only on the wood. Then you position your print ink side down into the gel and try not to wiggle it once you place it because you risk blurring the transfer. There are lots of different techniques but I went with the time consuming, but more straightforward method. Place it ink side down, smooth it out and get rid of ALL the bubbles and wrinkles. Where there's an air bubble, you won't transfer the ink. Where there are wrinkles, your image will appear wrinkled on the board. That part is a bit nerve wracking.
Then you let it dry.
Here's what that process looked like on the office transfer project. I definitely had some wrinkles, but on a transfer that large I don't anticipate getting better at it the next time. It's just tricky!
What tutorials describe next as the "fun part" where you wet the paper and scrub away all traces of paper that your print was on to reveal the image you transferred over to the wood was the least fun in my opinion. Yes, you get to start seeing your image emerge, which is cool. But that paper doesn't come up easily. I wet it and let the water soak in for a few minutes then used a sponge to slowly wear aware the layers of paper. I tried a putty knife and paint scraper and there wasn't really one method that was better than another. It's just a lot of tedious elbow grease.
Here it is getting started. While it's wet you'll think you've got all the paper off a section and then as it dries the paper cures again and you realize you have to go back at that section again.
All in all, I'm not a fan of this process, but the outcome is cool so I wouldn't rule out more of these in the future. I've heard olive oil or poly will help dissolve the paper too. I didn't put anything on nugget's transfers - I just scrubbed every last bit of paper off.
 |
| You'll see this finished product in the office reveal later this week hopefully! |
Also, I wanted to share how I hang thin plywood on the wall. You could obviously screw it directly into studs, but I didn't want anything that permanent. The plywood is too thin to use traditional picture hanging hardware like sawtooth hangers or even hooks with wire as they'd go right through to the front or at least crack the front. I've seen so many people make signs and wall art using thin wall panels but nobody's mentioned how they actually hang it!
Here's what I did. For nugget's 2x2 panels I wasn't too worried about the weight, so I cut 2 pieces of fir strips maybe 5-6" long per panel and used heavy wood glue to attach them. Then I nailed in a sawtooth picture hanger on the top strip. The bottom strip is there just so the panel sits flush against the wall. :)
The big board in the photo above I used the same method except in addition to wood glue I shot a couple brad nails in from the front as well for peace of mind.
Here are his finished pieces hanging on the wall that's no longer lonely. I think they turned out great, and more importantly, he thinks they turned out great. :)
I'm sure you can't tell from this far away, but the fire truck is actually a Boston Fire Department engine, Ladder 15 to be exact, as a nod to home. One of the others is actually a toy or model I think but with all the vintage filters I think it looks great. One thing I messed up on due to a last minute switcheroo is I originally had 2 of the objects facing left and 2 facing right. I noticed at the last minute the plane had letters under the wing so I had to mirror image it to get the letters to transfer properly so I ended up with 3 facing left and the lonesome train facing right. Hoping you didn't even notice until I pointed it out. :) Just lie to me if I ask you!
Until next time...
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