El Cheapo Artwork a la Rayna

As we are nearing the arrival of our second baby, we're trying our best to get her room ready and prepared just the way we want it. I'm not going to say I'm picky, I just have an idea of what I want, and that's usually what I want. I don't like to compromise a whole lot on that front if I don't have to. Artwork for her room has been a bit of a challenge in that regard so I decided to take it into my own hands. Enter: Rayna's Craft Tutorial #2.

El Cheapo Artwork a la Rayna

Supplies:
plywood backing for the corresponding paper size (3/8" thickness at least)
brayer
decoupage glue
foam brushes
cutting mat
artwork hanging hardware (I used the sawtooth hangers)
craft knife
pencil
hammer
desired scrapbook papers for artwork

1.) Make sure your plywood backing is the same size as the paper you're going to work with. If it isn't, cut the plywood backing to size. Note: I bought my plywood backing at Michael's where I was able to use a 40% off coupon and get 12" x 12" for the same size as my scrapbooking paper.

2.) If you wish, you can turn your paper right side down and lay the plywood backing on top of it so you can trace the outline of where you want it glued. I just kind of winged it, which also worked.

3.) Brush on a generous amount of glue onto the side of the plywood backing where you'll be gluing your scrapbook paper. This is the point at which you have to work pretty quickly...

4.) Lay your scrapbook paper on top of your gluey plywood board, get it in position as QUICKLY as possible, and then use the brayer to flatten it out and get out any air bubbles that may have appeared when you laid it down. Again, WORKING QUICKLY.

5.) When you're happy with the appearance of your artwork at this point (this is pretty much how it will look when you're done so keep that in mind), you can flip over the entire piece of artwork and lay it right side down on top of your cutting mat. If necessary, use your craft knife to trim the paper so it's flush with the sides of the plywood board.

6.) At this point, I ran my fingers around all 4 corners smoothing down cuts and wiping away excess glue. Then, I attached my hardware. I recommend getting a plywood board with at least a 3/8" thickness because that allows the nails to be pounded in without going through your artwork in the front. That would be bad. You can also get this kind of hardware (and several other different kinds of hanging hardware) at Michael's and use a coupon!

7.) Turn your artwork back around so the right side is facing upward, and, if desired, brush on another generous layer of the decoupage glue to kind of set and seal the paper artwork. It also adds a really cool vintage patina so it looks like you've had it forever. :) Make sure you get the glue around the edges of the paper so it won't start to peel up in the future. Also make sure to remove any excess glue.

Voila! Now you are done and can hang your lovely artwork anywhere in your house. People will wonder where you bought that beautiful piece!

I did two of them for our baby room and completely beat the price of anything we saw in the stores. We had seen some beautiful artwork at Target, but we didn't really want to pay $15 each for a set of 3.
This is what we did instead:
*plywood backing $2.50 (with coupon) (x2)
*scrapbooking paper $0.69 (x2)
*2 foam brushes  $1.99

And I already had everything else so I spent $8.37 for 2 very personalized pieces of artwork. I'm so proud of myself. So head on over to your local craft/scrapbooking store and go nuts. Happy Crafting!