SUPPLIES & TOOLS:
DIRECTIONS:
JOANN HACKS:
- 24"x 30" Pre-stretched, Pre-gessoed Canvas
- Purple and White Acrylic Paint
- Paintbrushes
- White Pencil
- 1"x 2" Poplar Board (one 6 foot piece, one 3 foot piece)
- Miter Saw (or Miter Box)
- Sandpaper
- Wood Glue
- Clamp
- Hammer
- 1 1/2" Nails
DIRECTIONS:
- Begin by painting the entire canvas purple; two coats will make an opaque background.
- Use a white pencil to sketch your lettering onto the canvas. Use our template or create your own.
- Paint your letters onto the canvas with white paint. Begin by faintly painting all the letters, then go back over some of the letters with a second coat so that some of the letters are more bold than others. Repeat until you're satisfied; paint over any mistakes with purple.
- Create the frame:
- Place the 6' poplar wood along the top of the canvas. Align it flush with one edge of the canvas and mark the other end of the canvas onto the wood piece.
- Cut with your miter saw or miter box.
- Place the remaining length of the 6' poplar wood at the bottom of the canvas. Align, mark, and cut as before.
- Align the cut pieces with the top and bottom of the canvas and keep them there as you place the remaining length of the 6' poplar wood and the 3' poplar wood on either side of the canvas. Align them flush with the top frame piece and make a mark at the end of the bottom frame piece.
- Cut with your miter saw or miter box.
- Lightly sand your four wood pieces.
- Dilute white acrylic paint down with water so that it's about half paint, half water. Brush white paint on wood and wipe off with a paper towel. Apply whitewash to the top and sides of all pieces of wood. Repeat for 2-3 coats.
- Place canvas on flat, protected table surface. Lightly wood glue the frame pieces in place around the canvas, clamp, and allow to glue to dry.
- Once dry, nail the top and bottom pieces to the canvas frame, then nail the side pieces in to the top and bottom frame pieces.
- Paint the nail heads white to blend into the frame.
JOANN HACKS:
- If the purple dries so dark it reads as black; add a little bit of white into the second coat of purple - save this mixture in a sealed container to use for any touch-ups you may need to do later.
- Dilute the white acrylic paint with a little water to get more of a translucent effect for the letters.
- Make a little scribble next to your mark on the side of the mark that is extra wood - this will remind you to line up the blade of your miter saw or miter box so that the 1/4" of the saw blade is cutting into the extra wood - not into your frame length.