My version of Target's wall art

Recently, I saw these really neat pieces of wall art in Tar-jay.

They were, unfortunately, on the small size, measuring only 20" x 8".

They were, also, $20 each.

But, I really liked the pictures and so an idea was born.

I knew that in order to withstand my family, we would have to make these tough kid-proof.

I also wanted to make these a lot larger, yet be affordable.

Larger, affordable and tougher. I'm not asking that much, right?

I purchased a sheet of 1/2" MDF at our local hardware store. The sheet was 4 ft x 8 ft and I had it cut in 1 foot strips.

So, for $20, I had enough for not only this project but one other one (that I'm working on) as well.

I painted the edges with my American Accents spray paint in Espresso.

I used my cricut to cut out words that we had decided on.

I know that you can buy vinyl sheets and cut your lettering out on that, but since I was planning on Modpodging over the whole thing anyway, I simply bought a roll of black contact paper ($7 for 24 ft.) and cut my words out of that.

The paper came from a book of scrapbooking paper that I bought at Michaels. The book was called "Old World Stack" and after my coupon, I ended up spending $10. I just chose papers out of the book that I liked and laid them all out on the wood.

I then took the words and stuck them on the paper. The nice thing about the contact paper words is that, if they aren't exactly where you want them, you can pull them up and move them around.

The next step was to apply a thin layer of modpodge to both the board and the back of the paper. Do one paper at a time so you can work the bubbles out.

Do not spray glue the papers on. Because, when you add the modpodge, the paper will absorb the moisture and expand, creating air pockets underneath. If you have spray glued the paper down, you will not be able to work the air bubbles out.

You will then get very ticked, rip the paper off and go sulk in your closet.

Ahem...

After adding the modpodge to both the board and the paper, lay the paper down where you want it on the board.

Bubbles will appear and you will need to work them to the edges. This will take several minutes per section but the end result will be worth your patience.

If you don't get all the bubbles out, your paper will dry all "bubbly".

I ran my palm over the paper and was able to hear a crinkly that is a technical term, by the way sound when encountering an air pocket. I then gently worked the bubble over to the edge so the paper would lay flat.

I also found it easier to use a cheap paint brush and a paper bowl when working with the modpodge.

After all the papers were on, I applied (with my paintbrush) a thin layer of modpodge over the entire thing, one section at a time.

I then stole borrowed my son's chunky, cheap Kindergarten paintbrush and swirled it through the modpodge, creating texture to look like an oil painting.

You can hang these bad boys with wire hanger, I suppose, but we wanted these to withstand the test of time so we screwed ours directly into the wall.

We did this before adding the final papers. I realize that when we go to remove them, it will ruin them. Unless the kids ruin them first. I'm resigned to their eventual destruction, either way.

After screwing them to the wall, we added the final sections, using the same sequence of modpodging events as above.

Here is Corey, modpodging on sections, after they have been screwed to the wall.

Here is the finished product-

Each section is 12" wide by 4 feet long.

The total cost for this project was under $40 and I have enough supplies left over for another project that we are doing with the kid's names for the family room.

That's the same cost as the two, teeny tiny, pieces of art at Target!

Love it!