Remember Those Garage Sale Lights?

 

40 x 30 Lighted Canvas Sign

Remember those stacks of lights I got at the garage sale this weekend?

inspiring ideas

Well, I upcycled them into a new “EAT” sign for my kitchen and it is soooo cute!

 

THIS MIXED MEDIA CANVAS HAS BEEN IN MY KITCHEN FOR 10 YEARS!

When I told my hubby that I was going to repurpose this picture his reply was: “But I love that picture.”  I told him he would love the upcycled version even more.  Since he is the cook of the family (and I pretend I am a princess when he makes dinner) the pressure was on to produce something he would love MORE.

I had to cover the tulips with several colors of acrylic paint and while that was drying I found a metal “EAT” sign on the internet and played with my computer software to make the base for the letters.

 

 

I cropped each letter and changed the color to bright red with my computer photo software.

 

EAT SIGN SUPPLIES

I have bags and bags of STUFF that would be fun to use up filling the letters with color and add some symbolism to represent US!

First step was to cover the edges with turquoise diamond wrap.  Diamond wrap is an inexpensive way to add depth and dimension to a project.  I just cut a single strand and apply with hot glue.  Since this piece is going in a hot kitchen, I only used hot glue to apply the diamond wrap, all the pieces that decorate the letters where adhered with Aleene’s Turbo Tacky Glue which is a resin based glue.

By the time I got the letters finished the paint was dry on the canvas and I used an awl and a wide round tool to punch holes in the canvas.  I used little metal collars to be a spacer between the canvas and the light bulb.  Since the canvas was a 2 inch deep gallery wrapped canvas, there was plenty of room for the light strand to hide.

 

Then I used a combination of E6000 and hot glue to adhere the letters on to the center of the canvas.  I punched out a few holographic circles to add interest to the blank spaces.

It looks pretty fantastic when it is lighted!!!!  Now my canvas has a new lease on life.  I made some printables of the “EAT” if you are inspired to make your own “EAT” sign.  They print out approx. 8 inches which is the exact size of my letters.  If you don’t want to make a 40″ canvas like this, you can purchase 10″ x 10″ canvases and put each individual letter on them with or without globe lights.  Just click and print the letters on cardstock!