Quote Art

I have been wanting some original art for this skinny strip of wall near our bed. So far the art in our bedroom has been cheap prints from Michael's. They are pretty, but I wanted to get something more personal.

When I saw this great quote art on Ohdeedoh I started looking for the right canvas to make our own quote art.

I found this frame for just $4 at a local thrift store. It looked like it was a framed canvas. However, when I took it apart it was just a thick frame and a thin fabric wrapped cardboard.

 It was perfect for this project!  I recently saw someone who used a cut up book to make a text mosaic and loved the idea for the background. Perfect since my husband is a writer.

I used the Elison press at school to cut two old books into squares for the text mosaic. I used an old book of quotes and a book called Love and Glory. If you look close you can see lots of fun quotes, my name as one of the characters in Love and Glory and of course the word "love" many times. I chose the books mostly for their shades of age.

I used Modge Podge to glue the squares in an alternating pattern. I tried to select a variety of shades of yellowing.

Next I printed out a snippet of ee coming's poem i carry your heart printed in a large typewriter font. I scribbled with a dark pencil on the back to make carbon paper.

I secured it to the canvas with painters tape. This worked really well and did not damage the collage at all. I used a pen and pressed hard to trace the words. Next I used a Sharpie marker to fill in the letters. They are not perfect, but I am pleased with the overall effect.

I'd say it took two episodes of Glee (on Hulu) and two episodes of Dancing with the Stars to make this project. I can think of many other cool backgrounds. Perhaps a smaller photo or scrapbook paper.