project 7

10 projects in 20 days challenge:

this project actually wasn't on my list, but it has been in my head for a long time and i was in the mood for it this weekend!  when we went to paris last year, i had been wanting to find eiffel tower art that i liked, but hadn't found anything that i liked or was in my price range.  so i found a vinyl eiffel tower cut-out and decided to make my own piece of art.  i think it turned out great!  you could use this eiffel tower art tutorial with any vinyl cutout...

you need:
a light color paint
a top color paint
vinyl cutout
1/4" plywood cut to the size you need
nuts
screws
washers
drill
sander


i bought a piece of 1/4" thick plywood and cut it to a size just larger than my vinyl piece.

i sanded both sides and edges down to smooth them out and then put on a thin coat of off white paint.  i didn't worry too much about getting great coverage because this is just an undercoat to peak through in the areas i distress.

after it was completely dry, i put on my top color.  i had a really hard time finding the shade of green i wanted, so i lightly mixed two shades.  i didn't mix them completely to give a little bit of a streaky depth to it.  

after this coat was dry, i took my sander and it the edges and corners to rough them up a bit.  i also went over the whole top to tone it down a little and bring a little of the white through in a few areas.

the next step was a two person job, i measured out where i wanted the vinyl piece placed, and then paul helped me lay it on the wood straight and smooth it down.

 

 i drilled holes in all four corners for the mounting.

then i used self drilling screws, nuts, and washers for the mount.  the nuts went behind the picture to give it some space between the wall and the picture.

i wanted an exposed hardware look and for it to float on the wall, so i used the washers, nuts and bolts to mount the picture (another two person job).

here is a shot so you can see the space left behind by the nuts, i liked this extra touch!

pretty simple and you could use any cut out of vinyl you want.  i wish i had one of those fancy vinyl cutters so i could make more!