2.28.2011

DIY Art for the Kitchen

I helped a client with the space above her kitchen cabinets over the weekend. This is a tricky space, and brings visions of dusty fake ivy plants to many of us I am sure. We wanted to avoid that.

Here is the end result.


This particular kitchen has quite a bit of height above the cabinets so I wanted to put some artwork up there. I wanted something graphic and modern that would bring in some color; so I came up with this "EAT" sign. This is a quick and cheap project and I loved how it turned out.

Start with a piece of plywood. You can pick it up at Home Depot or Lowes, and they'll cut it to any size you want. This one is about 20x35 and I had it left over from another project.
melissa 001

You'll also need to print out whatever image you want to transfer onto the plywood. I typed "EAT" in a Word document in font size 600; each letter took up a full page. The font is "Fiesta" and you can download it free here. I also printed out the fork and spoon image which you can download here.

Next prime your plywood with white paint primer using a roller. This step isn't completely necessary, but I did it to make sure my green paint would be saturated enough.
melissa 003

Confession: I was going to have a nice styled picture for each of the remaining steps like a good blogger - but I ended up frantically finishing it at about 11:00 at night with no time or patience for pictures. This is how I do most of my projects. Whoops.

After your primer dries, apply two coates with a roller of your desired color. I used Olive Marinade by Valspar.

Allow paint to dry. Then, using graphite paper - trace your printed image onto the wood with a pencil. Lay the graphite paper, graphite side down, on the wood. Line up your printed images and place over the graphite paper. Trace the outline of each letter, and the fork and spoon, with a pencil.
graphite

Finally, fill in your traced outline with a paint pen. This is the easiest part. I'm not too steady with a paint brush, and so paint pens to the rescue. I picked mine up at Michael's.
sharpie paint

And you're done! Really cheap, pretty easy.
melissa 020

12 comments:

  1. Looks great! I love how you put everything together.

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  2. Just the post I needed to see. I have no idea of what to put above my kitchen cabinets. This will help get me started. Thanks!

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  3. Love it! I've been trying to figure out what to do with that awkward upper cabinet spaces as well so thanks for the the idea!

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  4. so cool!! Loving the blue vase too, is it vintage?

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  5. What a fabulous idea! And,yes, it's much more chic than green faux ivy... Chic Rooms

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  6. Oh my gosh! That is so00 cute! Seriously! Hi, this is my first time visiting your blog, I will have to visit again!

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  7. This blog needs to be updated asap. Where have you gone?

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  8. Oh, and I LOVE how cute and simple this sign is, your creativity amazes me!

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  9. Wow!!! Your site is beautiful!! I love the artwork.

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  10. This is a really cool post. I love this kitchen. It is completely the style that would fit me.lg refrigerator t cooling

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