Fall Word Art

Happy Fall! I know we technically have a few weeks until the official start of fall but I am definitively ready for FALL!

I got a head start on my fall decorating this Labor Day weekend. I've been seeing lots of subway word art on Pinterest so I decided to create my own. I had a large space above my new credenza that I wanted to fill.

I started with some left over plywood cut to 36"w x 21"h. I sanded then painted the plywood a brownish orange.

After the first coat, I thought the paint was a little too bright. For the second coat of paint I mixed some off white with the orange and did some dry brushing of the brown and white to give the background some texture.

Next I needed to create the word layout. I used Adobe Illustrator to create the font/word layout.

I used Illustrator so I could save the art as a .SVG file which I could upload into Cricut Design Space.

I decided to cut the words out of beige indoor vinyl, I calculated I would need 3 sheets of 12" x 24" vinyl.

I tried to keep the layout as close to the final design as I could, but because of the size of the vinyl I had to move words around to fit. So after I cut all the words out and weeded the vinyl, I placed everything on the plywood to see how it would look.

Then I started the semi tedious process of using transfer tape to place the words onto the plywood. I used a ruler to keep a consistent border on the edges and to keep the words straight.

After all the words were placed, I attached the burlap ribbon to the back of the plywood. I used (a lot) of staples around the edge of the ribbon to make sure it would be strong enough to hold the plywood.

I purchased a bronze hook from Hobby Lobby to hang the word art from. I used anchors to secure the hook to the wall since it would be supporting heavy plywood.

I think the word art looks great above my credenza! This project was relatively inexpensive, since I had the left over plywood my only costs were the paint (59 cents a bottle), the vinyl (1.99 per sheet), the burlap (50% off at Hobby Lobby and I still have plenty left for decorating), and the hook (50% off at Hobby Lobby). Grand total - less than $15!

I plan on making a new word art for each season!