ALL DIY Projects

Ginormous Family Art {With an Industrial Flare}

Design + Build

Crafty Projects

Business + Life

Holidays

The Weekender Series

As Seen on TV

Room Makeovers

All DIY Projects

Search...

blog Categories

hey there! I'm monica 

I pride myself on making amazing style and design accessible for everyone, regardless of location, budget, or ability! My design philosophy is rooted in authenticity + attainability - If I can do it, you can too! My work has been featured in countless publications, but I take the most pride in homeowners that have been personally inspired by my DIY ideas and have tried something in their own homes!

learn more about ME + MY BIZ

The hubs and I had a little chat a few weeks ago… we were both pretty sick of having a semi-finished family room.  We’ve had bare walls for pretty much ever. I just couldn’t decide what to do… stalking other blogs and design sites had me leaning a different direction every day.  Finally, I decided to just do something!
Remember my fingerprint artwork?  I still really love it, but decided it needed to be relocated to the other side of the room.

finished 2

What, you might ask, did I have planned for the striped wall?
Welcome to my Ginormous $4.99 Family Art work

Ginormous

Pin It Right off the bat… YES, I know the picture comes beyond the frame, and I did do it on purpose.  My kids have asked me about that about 214754 times in the past two weeks.
Here’s how I made a 4×3 Ginormous piece of family art for only $4.99!
I headed to the Bucks County Re-Store on Saturday afternoon without anything specific in mind. I just knew I hadn’t done a project in forever and I needed some inspiration.  I only bought one item, but it was $15 and just what I needed to spark a project idea!

DSC_0008-1

Check out my new $15 mirror and my super-cool dance move! (Yes, I was doing that while taking the picture.  Too cool for school, I know…)

DSC_0010-1

This was how it came from ReStore and where my demo needed to begin.

DSC_0012-1

I unscrewed the wooden boards from the back and then took a screwdriver to pry off the wooden backside.  I just tapped it in with a hammer and then angled the screwdriver.  I did this all around the edges until it came free.

DSC_0014-1

I was left with a big mirror (still plotting what to do with it), the frame I needed, and a piece of wood that headed to the trash.

DSC_0015-1

I primed the mirror first… do you know how rare it is that I take the time to prime?  I was proud.  After the primer I gave it two coats of Valspar’s Navy spray paint.

DSC_0033-2

Remember the awesome family pictures that the fabulous Stacy Salvatori took back in the fall?  Well, I    knew I was ready to have one blown up really, really big, but I didn’t want to pay big bucks for a massive print.
Thankfully, Staples will print huge black and white pictures.  Just ask for an engineering print.  They can go over 3 feet wide and really long.  I just brought the jpeg on a flash drive and they uploaded and printed in about 5 minutes.  The best part… It cost me $4.99!! 

DSC_0002-1

Do you recognize that black paper behind the photo? It’s the infamous Nate Show Tar Paper! I was wicked excited to use it for another project!
I got out my trusty yet my nemesis spray adhesive and got to work sticking the pic to the tar paper.

DSC_0005-1

The engineer prints aren’t on heavy paper, they’re on average copy weight paper, so I wanted to give it a bit more stability with the tar paper.

DSC_0003-1

I adhered it, trimmed the edges with a utility knife and then got out my favorite new tool… my grommeter! I only had gold grommets, so I spray painted them a hammered metal first.  I put one grommet on each side.

Grommet

I had two copies of this framed print laying around back from my old homestaging days.  I decided to ditch the boat and use the frames.

DSC_0045-1

I also had about five of these frames laying around in my basement and decided to have them join the navy spray paint club as well.

DSC_0047-1

Here’s the arrangement as it looks now.  I added gold chain to the grommets and I’m in search for the perfect doorknob to hang it from in the middle.  I might need to head over to Architectural Antiques this weekend.  I’m also going to add sketched artwork to the 4 empty frames.

DSC_0092

All-in-all, I’m thrilled with how this completely inexpensive family artwork turned out.  I love having my family’s faces right in our main living space, and I love that it’s a little quirky and unique.

Ginormous

Don’t worry, I’ll share the true finished product once I get a knob and artwork added.  I was just too impatient not to share the family pic right away!
So, how many of you are running to Staples to 
BLOW-UP some Ginormous pics?

The comments +

  1. Janelle Speca says:

    i have been wanting to blow up some pictures of our kids…. but didn’t want to pay the price. NOW i can! thanks Monica 🙂

  2. beth says:

    looks great….so where is the stencil on the fireplace wall?:)

  3. margyani says:

    This is a great idea- so unique. Thanks for the “blueprint” for my hall.

  4. Punky says:

    Hehe, I was wondering the same thing about the stencils?? 🙂 🙂 I think it looks very modern, definitely a conversation starter!
    I’ll be going to Stapes to print some large posters for the Birthday Party!!!

  5. Ervin says:

    Speechless about and totally stuck on the fact that you have a grommeter. Amazed that this is available to the public. 🙂

  6. melanie says:

    i love it…I must go do this…thats my kinda deal! high-five, well done!

  7. Peggy says:

    Okay I must know… where did you get your grommeter? I have a chintzy fabric store kind but it is older than the hills and won’t work for my projects. And the ginormous art??? All I can say is Staples here I come!! Thank you so very much!

  8. Tiffany says:

    I love this! I can’t wait to try it!

  9. Kaylyn says:

    That is very inspiring to go and get busy. I love how big of an impact it is.

Leave a Reply to melanie Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Make a Kid's Mud Kitchen and Produce Stand

DIY PROJECT

Work From Home Corner Office Makeover

VIDEO MAKEOVER

Yard Game Ideas ASO Live! with Kelly + Ryan

DIY IDEAS ON TV

Today Show Nursery Makeover

MAKEOVER

Outdoor Living Space Makeover : Home Becomes

VIDEO MAKEOVER

Must Reads

Get updated on what we're working on

Follow along!