From the moment we found out we were having a boy (really, before that), I could picture his nursery. And I knew exactly what art would hang on the wall above his crib.
It wasn’t something I would be able to find in a store or order online. No, it was something meaningful; a vision I had in my head and knew I would need to create myself (like much of the wall decor in our home).
As a fan of Bob Dylan’s music and writing, the words to “Forever Young” felt like the perfect addition to our baby’s room. Everything Dylan says in these lyrics are exactly what I wish for our child.
To turn these beautiful words into wall art, I started by creating a simple design in Adobe Illustrator sized to fit a 24-inch by 36-inch open back barnwood frame I already owned. I love the frame and bought it last year for a DIY christmas wall art project I created. I removed the Christmas print after the holiday, though, and held onto the frame.
Once I was satisfied with my design, I had it printed at Staples as an engineering print. This is the best and cheapest way to print large format art you want to frame for your walls. It’s not suitable for picture printing, though, so keep that in mind.
Since the frame I used has an open back and no glass, to stabilize my print I attached it to a piece of scrap cardboard (cut to size to fit perfectly within the opening of the frame) using Scotch brand restickable tabs.
These adhesive squares are perfect for mounting.
I placed the sticky tabs along the edges of the cardboard and then laid my print on top of the cardboard. Once I had the print positioned straight, I smoothed it out to adhere to the tabs.
FYI, the tabs are removable if you need to reposition your print. I had to do this a couple of times before my print was exactly the way I wanted it.
Once my print was stuck to the cardboard, I flipped it over and began pushing the edges of the cardboard into the back of my frame. The cardboard fit so snuggly that I didn’t need to adhere it to the frame.
I was so pleased when I turned my work back over and saw the finished product. It was exactly what I envisioned!
My husband then hung it on our son’s wall (the accent wall we created with wallpaper). I couldn’t be happier with how this quick and cheap ($5 since I already had the frame) project turned out, and I catch myself walking into his room just to gaze at it.
Now all we need is our baby boy to arrive in a few weeks!
If you’re interested in making your own creation, I included a .pdf file below to download. You’ll just need a 24-inch by 36-inch frame.
