Blog Post 311: DIY Art from Thrift Store Decor

Thrift stores are a valuable resource for upcyling old artwork and frames for anyone decorating on a tight budget. I picked this piece of art up from a local thrift store for a few dollars. The print is on top of a solid piece of pressboard.

This piece was the right size for the wall space I need to fill, so the art itself isn't important as I will be painting over it. But the first step in upcycling art is to verify it's not a masterpiece worth millions. My picture was mass produced and isn't valuable, so I went ahead and put on a base coat of Cashmere white (the paint has a built in primer).

Next I cut out stencils with my Silhouette machine on cardstock. But don't worry if you don't have a cutting machine. Instead it would be easy to use pre-cut stencils (which I did for years before I had the Silhouette).  Here's a link to a stencil that includes both a large and small turtle. You will also need a set of alphabet stencils if you're adding text. I have a few in different sizes so I can vary the text size. I prefer the reusable cardboard stencils, but there are also plastic ones available.

I used the stencils to plan the design layout, but decided in the end to use a vinyl transfer method.

I wanted the turtles to be a different color than the text in my sign, so I painted that area with blue and green.

Next I transferred the vinyl with transfer tape onto the board, and then I painted the entire board blue.

Once the paint was dry I used a spatula tool to remove the vinyl.

It's super exciting to see the colors start to appear!

This sign is for my beach condo in North Carolina. The area is known for the abundant sea turtle life and even has a turtle hospital on the island.

Depending on the light the sign looks will either look more blue or green as you can see in the next two photos.

I hope you enjoyed today's project. Thanks so much for stopping by The Black Sheep Shoppe!