I like to consider our hallway frame wall a constant “work in progress” since the art in the frames can be swapped out at anytime. But there was at least one element that was less a “work in progress” and more an “um, you’re not going to leave it that way, are you?” Can you spot it?
Yep, it’s the placeholder photostrip in the center. We didn’t have a frame to fit that slot at the time, so we figured down the line we’d cut a piece of wood, paint it white and mount the strip on something more officially looking than, well, a piece of office paper held up with painter’s tape (oh the tricks of the trade!).
So we bought a piece of craft wood at Lowe’s for a couple of bucks and marked the cut spot using the soon-to-be-trashed paper “frame” as a template.
Then down to my workshop I went to give it a quick slice with the miter saw. Zzzzzzrripppf! (That’s the sound my saw makes, if you couldn’t tell.)
It was about this time that a random idea popped into my head. Staring at this tiny piece of wood gave me a flashback to an episode of Secrets of a Stylist that we watched where Emily had made this cool table by using some floral wall decals (she stuck them on, painted the table white, and removed the decals for a cool stenciled effect). And thus, an idea was born:
Since I had neither flower decals nor a desire to put florals on my plank of wood, I decided to DIY a more meaningful stencil using a similar method. So tracked down an ornate number seven online (since we started dating on 7/7/05 and our wedding day was 7/7/07 – plus I’ve always thought sevens are kinda cool looking) and stretched it in Photoshop to be the right size (long and skinny). Here it is printed out on cardstock in a basic please-don’t-use-too-much-ink gray.
To create my makeshift stencil I broke out the painter’s tape again (see, it’s not only good for holding up temporary paper frames in the hallway) and covered my piece of wood – being sure to stick it down tightly everywhere (I rubbed it all pretty hard with the pads of my fingers).
Then I taped my printed seven loosely on top and began using an exacto knife to cut out the shape of the number. I pressed down pretty hard to be sure that I was slicing through the cardstock and the painter’s tape underneath. It cut into the wood slightly too, but I figured that would only help to keep the border even crisper in the end.
Once done, off came my paper guide…
…followed carefully by the painter’s tape (remember, I want the seven to show the wood grain so that’s why I’m removing the tape around it).
I took a moment to press down the remaining green tape again, especially around the edges. Just because I didn’t want any paint that I would apply to bleed under and mess with the crispness of the finished numeral.
Next came two coats of white paint (I used leftover Olympic semi-gloss that we keep handy for trim touch-ups).
Before the second coat dried, I slowly peeled up my stencil to reveal the wood below that was spared the white-paint treatment (removing tape when the paint is still wet usually results in a crisper line).
Once all of the green tape was taken off and it dried for a few more hours, I added a spare sawtooth hanger (like this) on the back and hung it up on the frame wall.
We lurv it. As much as we like photostrips, we’re both glad we did this instead (especially since there’s already a frame of photostrips right next to it). Plus, you know we love meaningful slash personal stuff that’s homemade (so a subtle reminder of our anniversary crafted by yours truly is sweet to suckers like us). Oh and when it comes down to cost, everything was free/already on hand except for the piece of wood (which we got for under $2 at Lowe’s).
My only wish is that (had I know I was going to do this project from the start) we would have bought a piece of wood with a bit more interesting grain going on. Oh well. There’s always next time (or we can wax or stain or outline it to tweak it someday). For now we like the soft wood tone since it ties into a few other objects on the wall – like a tan map with pins where we’ve gone and a backwards canvas that we hung so the wood frame faces out (both of them are the same blonde wood tone as the seven, although unfortunately not pictured in this post- oops). Have you guys used tape as a stencil to do something like our little wood art project? Or for glass etching (like we did here)? Or for something else entirely? And what about numbers. Do you have a lucky one? In our house we like 43 (the number of digits in “love you”), 14 (Clara’s b-day), and 7 (our anniversary of dating/being married) the most.
Psst- Find more on our big hallway wall of frames here, here and here.
Meriel says
if you were to find a way to slightly burn the wood grain (without burning the paint) that might add some interesting texture to the piece. :-)
YoungHouseLove says
That’s a fun idea!
xo,
s
Danielle D. says
I LOVE this. I NEED to to this. I’m thinking of copying the table shown in the photo, but do a totally different stencil. THANK YOU FOR THE INSPIRATION!!
Vanessa says
So I was on pinterest this afternoon just looking around and I see the picture of the “7” and wood and think thats really kinda cool and look closer and think HEY! thats john and sherry @yhl so I had to come over to see what you did!
Kelley says
Yes! I loved Bossypants! I listened to it on audio CD while I painted the upstairs. Hilarious! I’m a big fan of 30 rock as well as Parks and Rec.
Kristy D. says
My husband and I started dating on July 6, 2006.
He claims though he knew I was the one back in ’98 when we both worked at McDonald’s. Something about those parachute pants.
Aron says
Very creative John. Normally I love dark stain but leave it. It looks great with the twine you used to hang the skelaton keys :)
I like the number 10 and I always look at the clock at 9:24 (my birthday) and make a wish. I thought I was the only one who remembered pager code. I still “text” the numbers 143 and 823 (thinking of you).
Shannon says
You know if you wanted to dress it up you could just run a router along the edge. Dare I guess Dremel might make an attachment for that? I bet Mrs. P could touch the paint up around the edge with her mad “cutting in” skills! :) Looks great by the way!
Tina I. says
Very cute. We love the number 5. It represents our 5 great kids!
Libby says
I love this! It’s such a great idea, and is giving me ideas for our own “Fame Wall.”
Shey says
I did something similar for our playroom, but I used an art canvas and contact paper to block out the numbers and letters that I wanted (ABC, 123). Then let me two year go to town painting the canvases. The letters and numbers peeled away clean and we were left with two great pieces to hang on our wall. Check it out here http://bit.ly/luyiI7
YoungHouseLove says
Cute!
xo,
s
Christina says
I love this idea and the inspiration table is fantastic!
I little trick I learned with painters tape it to use a spoon to press it down firmly. It helps to get a firm seal and saves your hands on longer projects.
YoungHouseLove says
LOVE that tip! Thanks!
xo,
s
Cara says
I love the wood grain showing through. Great idea for making the stencil. I will have to try this for some art in the nursery.
Shannah says
I love the newest addition to your wall. I was born on the 7th day of a month so I have always clung to it as my lucky number!
Molly says
Wall of frame question (brought up by my husband when I showed him your wall as an idea for a currently faux-rock covered wall)… do you end up having to straighten the pictures often? When you walk by or shut a door, do they get all hinky and crooked? Or do you have some magic painters tape solution? I need ammo for the great picture wall debacle. (He says he won’t be able to play ball in the house with all the pictures on the wall…)
PS. Does Burger ever jump up or tail wag close enough to knock things down? I know you plan to Clara-proof, but our dogs are labs and their tails will be an obstacle for ours.
PPS. Sorry this is wicked long!
YoungHouseLove says
So far the frame wall has been so low maintenance. We don’t find ourselves straightening things (they just seem to stay pretty straight since there aren’t any doors that are closed in the vicinity since it’s an open hallway). As for Burger, he’s too short. Haha. But if you worry about lab tails I would use 3M velcro strips to secure stuff (it’ll keep them from getting wonky that way too). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Amy @ This DIY Life says
Good ol’ sticky tack from the days of posters in the dorm rooms works well. I put it on all four corners and they don’t move at all.
Kristi @ Addicted 2 Decorating says
I love that technique! I’ve had a picture in my inspiration file for quite some time now, and have planned on doing this on a dresser or some other piece of furniture. But it never crossed my mind to do it on a small decorative item like this. Looks great!
Heather says
I’m a numbers person, and I just have to say, I love the fact that 4+3+7=14
It’s perfect :)
YoungHouseLove says
THAT’S AMAZING. Sorry for the caps. I’m just excited about mathy goodness like that.
xo,
s
Krystal says
I’m very big into numbers. My favorites are 3 and 13, or any variation of 1’s and 3’s really. They are kind of “my numbers” and have randomly popped up in my life. I was born on 11/3, I didn’t get to go home from the hospital for 3 weeks, the street # of my parent’s home was 311, I was an only child so my parents and I made a family of 3 (my step-siblings later made me the youngest of 3), I’m one of 13 grandchildren on my dad’s side & one of 3 on my mom’s), every sports team I ever played on always assigned me jersey #13 (I never asked for it), I ranked 13th in my high school graduating class, my dorm was in building #13 of the residence hall and I was in room 313, my college apartment is #3113, I will graduate college in 2013……I could go on forever, but every thing in my life seems to be tied to these numbers. Funnily enough, my friends once convinced me to do one of those psychic sessions and the psychic asked if the numbers 1 and 3 were significant to me. I didn’t say anything, but I think I may have given an odd look or something (I’m kind of suspicious of the whole “Sight” thing). Anyway, she told me that they have played a large role in guiding my life and that I would be smart to play my birthday numbers in the lottery on 11/03/2013 or 03/11/2013. I have no idea how she knew anything about my birthday or those numbers, but I have been contemplating whether or not I will play the lottery in 2013.
Jessie says
This reminded me of this of a project I found a while ago about transferring inkjet images to wood (although much more time consuming than your project): http://matsutakeblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/how-to-transfer-inkjet-images-to-wood.html
YoungHouseLove says
So cool.
xo,
s
kelly says
our friends have a house at bethany beach, they just love it.i would love to visit there someday! i want to live in that first house with the dog!!! too cute!
kelly says
commented on wrong post, sorry! loooove that 7!
Virginia says
23 is totally my number.. my birthday, my Bf’s birthday, 6 of our bff’s birthdays, my dad’s bday, my bf’s dad’s bday, my bf’s parents’ anniversary, an my bf’s address are all 23. Even my favorite coke flavor (dr pepper) has 23 flavors. I always look at the clock when it has 23 minutes on it. I can’t keep myself from being associated with 23. I think i definitely need a 23 plank. must acknowledge my association with 23… it is stalking me, i swear
D'vine Living says
Such a cool idea. Definitely going to try it in our new home. Yes, we bought our first home. Quite a renovating project. Will be asking you guys for advice quite regularly- be ready for that. You can check out the old lady here: http://www.dvineliving.co.za/?p=2182
YoungHouseLove says
I totally see the potential! Good luck!
xo,
s
Elisa says
I mod podged some numbers onto plain wooden blocks: 0, 1, 2, 4, 0, and 9. To a guest, they just look like cute random little digits. But to us, it’s our wedding date! 01/24/09. I love that it’s sentimental but not mooshy-gooshy or obvious. I learned that trick from you guys!
Sarah says
My first reaction to the 7 on the wall was, “that wood grain/tone is perfect – it matches the coloring of Clara’s baby head perfectly.” Don’t change it. Pretty please. ‘Cuz if you wax the wood, you’ll have to wax her newborn picture…and that would be odd.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, it definitely stays for now. We like how it’s soft and it ties into the twine color on the keys.
xo,
s
Christine says
7 is our number to! We got engaged on 7/7/00 and married on 7/7/01. I can’t believe it will be 10 years next month! Both of our daughters were born on the 17th, so 17 is a fave as well.
I’m pining this too. I would love to add it to our Wall of Frame!
Molly says
How would you suggest doing this on a canvas? I’m doing DIY art for a wedding gift and I want to put their wedding date on it but I dont want to cut the canvas with the exacto…
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, maybe try cutting the tape on wood and sticking it down on canvas? Or using a stencil from the store or contact paper that’s precut?
xo,
s
Alisha Landreth says
Love it! Also thought I’d share that at craft stores, you can buy rub-on transfer paper to print out your own images. I want so badly to try it but I don’t know what I want. Maybe you could do an abstract photo of Clara on a piece of wood. How awesome would that look!
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh that would be fun!
xo,
s
Wom-mom Ethne says
I thought it was the hanging color paint strips. I love that table you copied this from. My BFF and I tried the glass etching – cute – then I broke mine! Tear.
rachel says
Dang, i am so crazy for that wall… so funny! thats usually the last thing that people love about a house – so great job!!
By the way, i just finished my new office desk that i made out of an old door, thanks for your inspiration!
erin says
So cute! I have to try it…I’ve got a woodgrain Ikea side table that could hugely benefit from this project.
I’ve actually made my own stencils before for glass etching — I take something glass and cover it with painters tape. Like you, I print out some sort of graphic or text and lay it over the tapped glass. My trick is to spray the back of my printed picture with craft adhesive, that way when I’m cutting out my text/picture, the stencil doesn’t slide around — this is especially useful with intricate stencils. Then I peel off the tape where ever I want the glass to be etched. I use a sandblasting cabinet (perk of having a father-in-law with every tool imaginable), and it works great! Though I haven’t personally tried any with the stencils, I know there are different etching chemicals you can paint on to get an etching effect.
I’ve done personalized wine glasses, glass dining plates, picture frames (if you leave the backing out and just have framed etched glass, it makes for some super cool wall art), etc. Definitely something to try! Thanks for the awesome idea!!
jay says
isn’t it so strange people have favourite numbers?
mine are 9 and 15, my birth month and my birth day.
my brothers is 5 because he has a mole that has five sides.. very strange i know.
im confused as to why 43 means love you?
you’ve got some splainin to do.
YoungHouseLove says
Love has four letters and you has three. So 43 = love you. It’s from beeper slang days. Haha.
xo,
s
Janel says
I attempted your glass etching project! For whatever reason, though, the etching paint didnt etch…at all (and I tried 2 different times). But I loved the stencil idea so I wound up using white glass paint instead and painted our initials and our wedding date – which is next weekend!!! – on the glass vase and it’ll be on display at our reception. Thanks for yet another amazing idea.
Amy @ This DIY Life says
Love this idea! My husband and I started dating 3.11.02 and got married 10.11.02 – 7 months :) Now where could I put a 7…or an 11. Hmmmm
kelly says
I LOVE your collage wall so much that I’m getting ready to do one in our new home! One question though – where do you get all of your different mats, and do you cut them to size yourself? I have no experience working with photos and the perfectionist in me is feeling a little intimidated.
Thanks so much!
YoungHouseLove says
They all came with the frames (from Ikea or Target).
xo,
s
Lisa says
Such a great idea! I love that you come up with projects on the fly. Now I’m thinking about using this easy technique in my own home. I would say that I have two lucky numbers 7 and 9. Both show up everywhere in my life. It’s a bit eery, but cool at the same time.
Noelle says
I am a huge numbers geek! I looove 7’s, I have to have my alarm clock set to something that ends with 7. and we were going to get married on 1/17 (7!), but had to move to the next weekend so my anniversary is January 23rd, 1-23, and my birthday is December 3rd, 12-3. If my husband ever forgets 1-2-3 he is in big trouble because I’ve made it super easy for him!
Amanda says
A little pricey but I thought you’d love this Sherry http://www.alexwoo.com/littleicons/littlenumbers/little-number-7-in-sterling-silver.html
YoungHouseLove says
Fun!
xo,
s
Ashley says
Love this idea!!! The 7 looks amazing. Your gallery wall is to die for!
MostLovedGirl says
I do this, but I trace my pattern onto wax paper, cover the wax paper with painters tape, cut out the shape, peel off the wax paper, then adhere the masking decal to whatever I’m painting.
So far I have done this to add butterflies to my bathroom, and some over-sized chess piece silhouettes on canvas DIY wall art. I like how they have turned out. (Too bad comments won’t let me leave pictures.) :)
YoungHouseLove says
We’d love to see pics! Feel free to add links to a Flickr album or share them on our Facebook page!
xo,
s
Rosa @ Flutter Flutter says
Love this idea. I’m going to have to try this somewhere… : )
Chic Rooms says
SOOO cute. I would never have thought of that and it looks amazing! This is going in my style file for sure. Thanks for the great inspiration! Chic Rooms
Marian says
Sorry if I missed this elsewhere in your blog, but ~ Why is there what looks like a ring of paint color swatches hanging on the hook on your hall wall?
YoungHouseLove says
I just use those so much (it’s a paint deck that I made by hole punching paint swatches and putting them on a 3″ binder ring) that it’s fun to store it there. I know I’m weird, but I love my paint decks. Haha.
xo,
s
Anna says
Seriously you guys – you have no idea how much this wall inspires me. We are going to do the same thing on our stairwell and to keep me motivated I often look back to your posts on this.
Just need to paint the wall and then collect the frames. I’ve been picking up frames at jumble sales and when I have enough will start the task of deciding what will go where.
Ryan says
love the 43 for love you! my roommate in colleges family did 143 for i love you like if they were in a crowd or dropping them off so he wouldnt get embarrassed by mom yelling I LOVE YOU! So we have adopted it. So now in texts we say 143 at the end saves time! this week my wife gave a speech at a conference and i stood in the back i threw up a 143 like a gang sign lol.
Sara M. says
Thank you so much for the idea. I tried it myself and loved how it turned out.
http://ladymckee1231.blogspot.com/2011/06/new-paintings.html
You guys are really inspiring! I just love reading your posts.
YoungHouseLove says
Love it so much!
xo
s
kat says
thanks so much for this tutorial! I’ve been looking for a better way to make a reverse stencil. I’ve been using sticker paper and getting muddled lines from paint seeping under. this will work so much better :)
meredith says
so of course you like 43, since 4+3=7! my little brother’s dream was to get married on 7-7-07 (he is the 7th child in our family so that has always been his number) but alas, he hadn’t met the right girl by then, so he settled for getting married on 5-7-09. better to marry the right girl on the wrong date than the wrong girl on the right date… right?? :)
love your blog. such an inspiration!
Alisha says
My husband and I just finished a project inspired by yours. He is beginning his first year as a band director at a school whose program is pretty much non existent. He’s hanging our sigh in his office in a place where he sees it from his desk and right before he walks into the band hall. Our says vision.faith.success. Definitely took some time to cut out that many letters and we sanded the edges on ours to distress it a bit. He wanted a bit of a rustic feel. We love it! Thanks for the inspiration!
YoungHouseLove says
Wow- that sounds intricate and amazing! We’d love to see a pic over on Facebook (or a link to it on Flickr here in the comments). So cool!
xo,
s
silly eagle books says
So, I’m on the hunt for a good number project to make for my brother’s upcoming wedding. The number I am searching for? Yep. Seven. This is perfect–thanks!
vanessa
YoungHouseLove says
Aw- good luck with it!
xo,
s
Corey says
Thank you so much for posting this tutorial! I have been looking to do something like your 7 for a while and haven’t been able to figure out how to do it. This is perfect! Can’t wait to get to my project. Thanks again!