Domino letter project

There was actual inspiration for this project..
When my son found out that we were having another boy he wanted to name him Domino Laser.  While the whole family was totally for this idea..me...not so much.  Either way, it was pretty cute and the little guy currently growing in my belly (due to come out any day now) is still referred to as Domino.   That will not be the name that goes on his birth certificate, but I did want to save the memory of it somehow.  I thought I would just get a picture of a domino, frame and hang it.  That idea came from David Bromstad.

 I love his artwork and his design style.  But with a new baby on the way I wasn't sure spending a whole bunch on a print, not to mention getting it stretched or framed, was such a good idea.  I had a few other thoughts...
Maybe I would take a picture of a domino, print and frame myself...this would in no way achieve the "Bromstad" look you see here..scratch that idea.  I can't paint, so that's out of the question.  Hmmmmmm....what to do?  I google...I google dominoes.  Wow, what a ton of neat ideas.  Did you know that people make entire face images out of dominoes?  It's pretty amazing, but I was going down the wrong alley.  After looking at pictures of baby's rooms and different ideas Moms had come up with to display their child's name on the wall, it hit me...
I will write his name in dominoes!!  

And this is what I did..

  After I had collected all the supplies the project didn't take too long....less than a day.



I got some peel-n-stick tiles from the home store, they were 38 cents each and my Hubs gave me some dominoes for Christmas, knowing I wanted to do this project.




 I laid out all the dominoes a few different ways until I had the size and proportions I wanted.  I had to go back to the store and get more and I had to run over to my mother-in-laws to grab what dominoes she had.  One tin = not enough.
 I peeled the backing off and stuck my domino tiles right on.   In my head, I'm thinking, "Wow, this is gonna be super easy."

Jinx....I shouldn't have thought that.  But moving right along...

I  get the exacto knife and score around the dominoes.  I ended up putting some of the paper from the back of the peel and sticks on so my hand wouldn't keep sticking as I cut.  Once scored, I could fold and tear off the excess tiles I didn't need.   This part was probably the most tedious and time consuming, so be patient and just keep scoring and folding and tearing.

 So I had all my letters cut out and I realize that they are kind of flimsy.  There is no way they are gonna hang well on the wall, they need to be firm.  I head into the garage to look around for a solution.  I discover a stack of paint stirrer sticks.  Ya know, they always give you a ton whenever you get a can of paint.  At that moment, I was glad I kept them.  I could score and snap those with the razor as well and not need to ask my Hubs for help cutting any wood.  Bonus.



I feel I'm almost done.  I hot glue the paint sticks on along with the picture hangers I picked up for $1.58 a pack.  I got two packs, but only ended up needing one.   

And Voila'!!!!  It came out great!!!

But...I'd be lying if I said "All done."

  I walked in the room later that day and a few of the dominoes had fallen off.  I thought, "Great, just what I need..these things falling on my baby's head while I'm changing his diaper."   So I gather up all the letters and head back to the hot glue gun.  I reinforce all the loose ones...I guess the sticky on the peel-n-stick tiles is not so strong after all.   Still, I am very satisfied with my project.  It's cute, quirky and has a back story.  :)

If I had involved my Hubs this may have been mounted on a solid wood board that I had painted and he then framed out....but that would also mean that this project could have sat in the garage until my son was off to college...J/K.  He's awesome and handy and I'm about to enlist his help for the next project...
After seeing this my 4.5 year old wants his name on his wall too.  We are gonna have to be creative, but I think the Hubs may have something....
So stay tuned...

We may have a slight delay in work, as the baby is due any day, any minute, but it will get done eventually.

UPDATE:
My hubs brought home a pallet for a different project,  but I ended up using it with the domino letters.  I stained the wood with a light coat of ebony and used Hard as Nails to secure the letters.  Even better than before in my opinion.

My paint chip art project.

As of late..I have been really interested in the "paint chip" projects I've seen around the web.  This is my fav....http://lifecraftsandwhatever.blogspot.com/2011/01/paint-chip-wall-art.html. After reading this and a few similar crafts, I decided that I would try and tackle a small one. I have painted every room in my house at least once, not to mention a few pieces of furniture as well.

old 80's dresser painted for my 4 year old's room.  Blue is his favorite color and I needed the dresser he originally had for the baby's room...it matches the crib.  So this was pretty much a bribe.  I did a nightstand to match.

   From all the painting and testing I have tons of paint chips.  Also at one point I was  into taking close up pictures of flowers and nature, framing them and displaying them around the house.    (we had just moved in and I needed things on the wall STAT.)  They  were interesting, inexpensive and I always got compliments.  And because of this, I have tons of random frames.  Since we are having a baby boy....large bromeliads were not gonna cut it as far as wall art goes, so it only seemed right that I put something cooler and new in the frame.

Remember this is kind of a test run.  If I like it, I will be bold and take on the bigger project with many, many more paint chips, a more stable surface (like a wood board) and take my time with the first layer of glue.

First I laid the chips out on some thick card stock paper I had around the house to be sure I had enough.  Then I cut them to the appropriate size and glued them down.  I applied 2 coats of Mod Podge.  Since it's going to be behind some glass, I'm not quite as concerned with the finish being completely flat.
 For the last coat, I added a bit of brown acrylic paint to the glue and lightly brushed over it for some depth.

Paint chip art

 And there is the finished product.  Pretty good for a test run and much better for a baby boy's nursery. 
I have another 'wall art' project up my sleeve for his nursery and as soon as I get the supplies, I'll give you the step-by-step of that one too.  I have high expectations for it.  :)


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