Tuesday, September 4, 2012

[ my penguin DIY ]

I'VE ALWAYS been fond of Penguin Books and I've been seeing some great examples of covers used as art ~ like these orange prints by Alanna Cavanagh or the creative interpretations by Harland Miller...




I've had a canvas kicking around for a couple of years just waiting to be painted so I decided to make my own Penguin art! 

I started by Googling the Penguin Classics catalogue to choose a title and I couldn't have found a more perfect one for our seaside-style home: The Beach by Alex Garland. I found a pic of some old Penguin covers and decided to choose a colour from there ~ a pretty turquoise green...


Here's what I did. 

Let me start by saying that I decided to use my Silhouette Cameo to cut out the letters out of vinyl to use as a stencil. This is the first time I've done this and a word of warning... the vinyl does not stick to painted canvas. I wish I had known this before I had already cut everything out. You'd be better off using the carbon paper tracing method like I did for my other canvas painting DIY here since all of the letters will need touching up with a fine brush anyway.

I marked off the areas with masking tape and painted the coloured bands on the canvas. Once dry, I used a rag dipped into watery grey paint to get a muddier tone since my paint was too bright. While this dried, I planned my layout and cut everything out of vinyl with my Silhouette...


Next I printed out the penguin and logo on paper and used carbon paper to roughly trace the shapes I would paint cream. Once dry, I applied {or tried to apply} my vinyl. The transfer paper was much stickier than the vinyl so I had a hard time removing it. Eventually I got it off and even though the vinyl wasn't sticking to the canvas, I pounced my paint on anyway with a stencil brush and hoped for the best. I removed the vinyl and smoothed around all of the text with a fine brush and black paint...


Once I had all the text painted on {don't drink too much coffee while you do this!}, I used some cream paint to make the edges slightly irregular and rubbed on some watery brown paint around the edges to dirty it up slightly {I didn't want it to look too rough}...



Done!


Despite the difficulties I had with the vinyl stencil plan, I'm quite happy with how it turned out. I think it provides a lovely splash of colour to our living room...


Do you love Penguins as much as I do?

lisa

[via shannonsoutlook.com; Elle Decor; Covet Garden; via gatherlove.tumblr]

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29 comments:

Lisa @ Fern Creek Cottage said...

This looks freakin' awesome!!!!

Pinecone said...

Lisa,
You did such an amazing job. I love all of your diy's!! I love the color too!
xo
Ashlyn

Tracey Ayton Photography said...

Ooooh I love this idea!! This is a DIY that I would actually do with enthusiasm. Very iconic books, and very cool method of creating wall art. Super cool.

Lynda @ Happenstance Home said...

I absolutely love it! You did a great job! Penguins are always my favorite at the zoo! (minus the stink)

Aimee@ the Functional Space said...

Love this!! Beautiful job.
I just installed a series of London Review of Books covers over a sofa for a client. I think my client loves books even more than me!

Carol@TheDesignPages said...

This is absolutely beautiful Lisa. I wish I had Silhouette so I could copy this idea exactly as you did it. Love!

Unknown said...

I love your blog and this canvas is just one of the reasons. So clever.

Kerstin said...

W*O*W!! That is so cool! You did a great job!

Carolyn@Sweet Chaos Home said...

You are KILLING me!! I love this! You are so talented. I wish I had an ounce of artistic ability, so I could copy cat you :)

Lynne said...

Lisa! This is brilliant!
A true labour of love on labour day!
~Lynne
w/L.

Johanna [Taloja ja Toiveita] said...

Really nice detail to hang! Brings good mood!

Karen said...

That is beyond creative! You did an amazing job and it's so unique.

Anonymous said...

I love everything about this piece....the history, the colors, the lettering, the size.....wow! Pinning to my beach board dreams. :) (and following)

Meeling said...

So cool Lisa!! What a great job you did and I love the color that you picked!

Travel With Lulu said...

CRAZY LOVE for your painting. I am smitten. You could easily sell those, you know :) WOwowowow.

If you find yourself in London on Oct 2nd, I'd love to meet you at 'Blogger's Tea'! Details on my page :)

jeanette from everton terrace said...

Like it? I LOVE IT!
Job so very well done. I don't have a steady hand so I know I couldn't come close. I like how you did the corners as well, very cool.
Of course, now my mind is filling with ideas, which is a good thing I suppose :)

Tiffany @ {Living Savvy} said...

This is just perfect! I love the simplicity of yours, and they way it looks very real!

Ordinette said...

just love it! I have a lot of Penguin books at home but had never thought about how the cover would look great on a white wall.! It's fabulous!
I am going to try and realize it by myself!!! Thanks for sharing!

Will @ Bright.Bazaar said...

Hello Lisa! You did SUCH a great job, and I love the cover's colour. Thanks for breaking out the steps for us, too! :) Cheers from London. Will

Razmataz said...

It's fabulous Lisa...I love the idea...who doesn;t like Penguin books. Part of all of our childhood.

Pinecone Camp said...

Love it so much! You did an amazing job, Lisa. You're a multi-talented girl!

Lissa Pierce said...

This is awesome!!!! What a great idea, and I love how you added some patina and rough edges. I might have to try this, but maybe on a smaller canvas. I wish I had the patience for a larger one :)

Dawn @ LilyPinkScraps said...

Absolutely love this!! I had to pin it as I want to remember this one for sure :) I want to do a whole wall of different colours now! I also had the same problem with SIL vinyl and canvas :(

Formerly known as Frau said...

OMG! It turned out awesome I love it! Great job Lisa!

Meagan, in house nester said...

oh my god... LISA!!!! YOU MADE THAT? JESUS! You are one talented lady. Am so jealous. It looks amazing!!!

Barbara Matson said...

Awesome Lisa! LOVE this!

SHERRY HART said...

One word....LOVE!!!!!

Jen @ RamblingRenovators said...

That looks INCREDIBLE! Fantastic job. The colour and title you chose are perfect.

Rebecca and Lori said...

Oh my gosh, this is amazing! I love it!
~Lori

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