Easy Subway Art for that someone special!
Granny is really my Aunt. She is my mom’s sister. My mom passed away when my daughter Jamie was just nine years old. That is a very young age to no longer have any grandmas. During all the family gatherings, all the other kids would call Aunt Dot “Granny”. Jamie was the only child that called her Aunt Dot. My Aunt Dot and Uncle Roscoe basically adopted Jamie into their family. They even presented her with a certificate signed by all of the family members.
To personalize this sign, I asked each of those family members to give me a word that they felt described this wonderful woman, their mom, mother-in-law, granny and aunt.
Materials for DIY Subway Art
- Scrap sheet of Luan
- Scrap 1,x 4
- Gorilla Glue
- Gorilla Tape
- Paint
- sewing transfer paper
- Paint Pen
When I make these type of signs, I use scraps of thin Luan cut to size. I rip 1×4’s into widths of 1 1/2 inches wide. I make a sort of “frame” of the 1x pieces on the back of the Luan, using Gorilla Glue to secure the 1x’s.
Using Gorilla Tape as a clamp
I use Gorilla Tape to hold the 1x’s in place until the Gorilla Glue sets up.
Lay out of subway art stencils
Using tracing paper as a stencil
I gathered some old sewing transfer paper I had in my Nana’s sewing kit. You can find some sewing tracing paper on Amazon
I decided that white transfer paper would work best on the red paint.
Stenciling with a Paint Pen
I carefully measured the words using another sewing tool, a Hem Guide. Laying the transfer paper under the printed word, I traced the word onto the board with a ballpoint pen.
This is the result of the tracing, the white transfer paper shows up pretty well.
I used lots of different fonts to make it fun!
Since I lack the patience to use a brush to paint in the letters, I used a Elmer’s Paint Pen
I spaced the words at the beginning, not knowing exactly how many words I would have. This is the sign not quite finished. It took several days to get in contact with all the family.
Most of the words are self explanatory, however there are a couple of them I will tell you about. Dumplin is the pet name my late Uncle Roscoe had for my Aunt. My cousin John, nicknames his loved ones. His word is right there in the middle, Grangel. Granny-Angel= Grangel.
I think this is a wonderful gift, I think my Aunt Dot liked it when I gave it to her for Christmas.
gail
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Linda says
September 27, 2017 at 10:55 amI am working on a project now and was trying to figure our how to get my letters transferred onto the wood. DUH! I already have the sewing tracing paper. You are genius!
Gail Wilson says
September 27, 2017 at 8:13 pmOh my Gosh! I’m soooo happy you found this project! I don’t even know if people even use sewing tracing paper anymore.
good luck with your sign, I’d love to see it. Maybe you could share it on Facebook on a Sunday Share Day and reference this post so I know it’s you. 😉
gail
carol says
February 6, 2014 at 6:30 amI love it but it doesn’t say how you got the letters and different fonts onto the tracing paper.
gail@myrepurposedlife.net says
February 6, 2014 at 7:20 pmCarol,
I printed the words from my computer. I laid the tracing paper down, and then the printed word on top of that. I traced the printed word, which transferred the letters onto be board via the tracing paper.
I hope that makes sense.
gail
Colleen @ MuralMaker&More says
January 17, 2011 at 5:22 amWhat a sweet idea! And YAY! for hand painted! I don’t own a Cricut or Silhouette so I always appreciate when someone handpaints words. Time-consuming, but I love the finished product.
Would love for you to link it up to Passion for Paint next weekend.
http://MuralMaker1.blogspot.com
Colleen @ MuralMaker&More says
January 17, 2011 at 5:22 amWhat a sweet idea! And YAY! for hand painted! I don’t own a Cricut or Silhouette so I always appreciate when someone handpaints words. Time-consuming, but I love the finished product.
Would love for you to link it up to Passion for Paint next weekend.
http://MuralMaker1.blogspot.com
Sylvie Créative says
January 16, 2011 at 11:15 amI love it! I’m thinking about the magic words 😉
Holly says
January 14, 2011 at 5:49 amI adore this…my favorite Gran-gel
Liz says
January 14, 2011 at 3:52 amWhat a sweet sign! So thoughtful.
I’d love for you to link up with my party: http://fastdaze.blogspot.com/2011/01/linky-fridaze-1.html
Lisa @ Fern Creek Cottage says
January 11, 2011 at 5:11 amThat looks like ALOT of work!! But it looks really wonderful!! Such a sweet thoughtful gift!
ohiofarmgirl says
January 11, 2011 at 1:49 amLove, Love, Love….please make more!!! Dianntha
Midwest Cottage and Finds! says
January 11, 2011 at 12:44 ami LOVE this…saw it on diy while on vacation and thought how special that had to make Aunt Dot feel….once again–class act!!
hugs,
chris
Suzanne@Meridian Road says
January 10, 2011 at 6:46 pmYou know, what’s great about this is that it’s all so totally custom made for her. That’s something I’m sure she’ll treasure for the rest of her life.
Mandy Coffey says
January 10, 2011 at 4:17 pmLet me tell you why I love this so much- there are so many projects (especially subway art) going around the blog world lately using fancy vinyl machines that sometimes the people without Cricuts and Silhouettes miss out on cool crafts like this! Thanks for the tutorial! I’m featuring it on my blog tomorrow, smallfineprint.blogspot.com
Katie says
January 10, 2011 at 3:25 pmSo sweet!!
Theresa says
January 10, 2011 at 2:47 pmI love this, what a great way to honor someone that means so much to you!
Thanks for the tutorial, I have seen lots of subway art and wondered exactly how to do it.
Thansk for stopping by my blog and commenting as well! I’ll be back to yours!
My Cottage Charm says
January 10, 2011 at 11:21 amA very sweet and thoughtful gift! 🙂 I’m sure your Aunt Dot loved it a lot. (oh that rhymed! lol)
Love ya girlie
Missy