I was in Goodwill last week and I spotted this hot chick:
I loved the inlay and the frame color plus it was $3.99 and I thought I could make it into something much better.
Let it live its best life ala, Oprah.
Here’s the plan:
A little paint tape and chalkboard spray paint.
Sprayed just the center inlay part with three coats of the paint.
I got out these stencils that I bought last fall at the craft store that I was hoping to use.
My inspiration?
Restoration Hardware’s subway art (see the picture above) that I knew I could somehow re-create.
I also wrote the names I wanted on this piece.
To make it personal to us, I used street names that meant something.
For the numbers, I used the day we had our first date (4), our wedding day (27), and the month we started dating (10).
Then I just added the words ST. or AV. behind them.
Ours is very Chicago inspired and I love that because you can’t find Chicago subway art anywhere.
Probably because there aren’t any subways in Chicago.
My partner in crime?
This guy.
I love my chalk pen.
Then I took the chalk ink and drew within the stencils freehand.
And we know how bad my freehand is.
So I ended up with this kind of mess.
Eww.
Not that the letters weren’t completely even that bothered me. It was that the chalk ink mistakes I was making all over the place were giving me away.
So I got out the baby wipes and erased the mistakes.
And here is the result…..
Not perfect or even Restoration Hardware-ish by any means, but definitely special.
Here is the cost breakdown:
1- a sign from Goodwill– $3.99. You could use any old plank of wood. You probably even have one lying around your house right now. Maybe it is an old art piece that you are thinking of donating yourself. It’s fun to find new ideas for something old.
2- chalkboard paint– I already had this, but this would be $6 at any home improvement store.
3- chalk ink– again, already had this, but these will lay you out $12 at a craft store. I got mine at Michael’s back in April and with the two projects I created with them; they have definitely paid for themselves already.
4- stencils- I got mine back in September on the clearance shelf at Hobby Lobby for $1.65. Stencils are tricky as some places charge big bucks for these. If you have a Silhouette or Cricut machine, skip this entire process; print out the words you want to use, and stick them onto the chalkboard or black spray paint. I swear I am starting a Silhouette fund for myself.
Total cost for me- $5.64 for personalized subway art!
Total cost for you- under 20 bucks!
A Grace Full Life 
Love your DIY project! I am a BIG fan of chalkboard paint and spray paint! Good job! 🙂
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Thanks Suzanne! I just visited your blog today and became a follower- love your site!! Kari 🙂
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This caught my eye b/c I am in Chicago as well…gotta love the 80s paintings…they're great real estate for upcycles.:)
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Thanks Nicolette! And yes, what would we do without 80's artwork, or 70's for that matter. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!Kari
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Very craftY. I have been seeing these all over and you did yours for a steal!! I saw Grant Park from a link party pic and knew you were from Chi-town. Me too! Born and raised!
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Woo hoo…Chi Town in the house! I have lived here for over 20 years now and I love it here. My hubs was born and raised here. Thanks so much for stopping by! Kari
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You are so dang cute! I love that you called it "Brady Bunch" art. Ha ha! Your project turned out fantastic . . . you are so creative to just look at something and see a vision of what you want! I am so impressed! Thank you so much for linking up to Strut Your Stuff Saturday- we would LOVE to have you come back tomorrow and link up more of your great posts!-The Six Sistershttp://sixsistersstuff.blogspot.com
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Aww. thanks so much! I love me my six sisters! 🙂 I will be back today to link up to your awesome party!!! 🙂
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Thank you Kari, for your sweet comment on my blog & for linking up again. I love this project & I'm sure my readers did too.Warmly, Michelle
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Thanks for stopping by Michelle! I love your blog so I am honored to share my ideas at your link parties. 🙂
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Featuring YOU over on my blog today. Love this! 🙂 Feel free to drop by & grab a button. :)Gingergingersnapcrafts.blogspot.comhttp://gingersnapcrafts.blogspot.com/2011/08/take-look-you-simple-messages.html
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Yippeee!!! I love being featured! I am headin' over there right now! Thanks so much!!!
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I love this and I would love to see you link it up to Upcycled Awesome (we are also doing stashbusting projects :)http://tinyurl.com/upcycled59
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This is such a fun transformation! Great job! Thank you for sharing this at Show & Share! I really appreciate it!
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Robin- thanks!Lindsay- I am glad to share it at your party! Thanks for having me. 🙂
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Love it! Great job!I would love it if you would share this and/or any other projects you have been up to at Tuesday Talent Show at Chef In Training Tomorrow! Plus there is going to be a fun giveaway too! Thanks so much and I hope to see you there!-Nikkihttp://chef-n-training.blogspot.com/
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This is a great idea to make it so meaningful the way you did with streets and dates that have significance to you.
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Thank you!
We still have it in our room and I smile whenever I walk by it.
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This is a great idea! I love that you personalized the street names, it makes it so much more special. And what an improvement from the original picture! Very creative!
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Thank you! 🙂
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Very creative use of your thrift find. I love that you used numbers that meant something to you for the addresses!
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Thank you! I made this long ago and it still sits on the wall in our room. It’s a great reminder of where we came from. 🙂
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