Friday 24 February 2012

Arts & Crafts - Subway Art

In this post, I had mentioned (OK described in far too much detail) how I wanted to created a seasonal vase display for my kitchen work area. I had also wanted to incorporate subway art into the display and had got Tolsby frames from Ikea for the art. I pinned loads of subway art ideas onto a Pinterest board (sincere thank yous to everyone whose links/prints I've pinned there for the great inspiration).

However... 

I was struggling to find the time to make any progress on the vases project and in the end I abandoned it for the kitchen and am hoping to resurrect it for the den when we're finally able to do the prettifying in there.

I was OK with that decision even though its still left me with my work area shelf undecorated - I'm still pondering that and hoping to get me some inspiration on our shopping trip this weekend.

Anyhoo, I was a bit miffed at having done all the ground-work for the subway art idea (I'd chosen the monthly themes, decided what words I wanted to use and just needed to make up the monthly prints) and then it looked like it was going to fall by the wayside.... but doo do doo (that's a fanfare in case you didn't realise), thanks to a happy accident and a lucky find in Ikea the subway art project is all systems go... in  THE STUDY.

BTW as an aside, I am conscious that so many of the posts lately have been about the study. By way of explanation, being in the wheelchair, I'm limited by the DIY and decorating I can actually do (pretty much zero to be honest), so I have to rely on the Hubs for that. He often works from 6am to 10pm and recently has been away on Saturdays on a training course to. So progress has been painfully slow on the major projects (dining room, bedroom, den).

The study however doesn't need any major redecorating, its just what I call joojing that's going on and I can so take control of that! So I am all about the study right now, otherwise I'd go stir crazy if I had nothing I could achieve on the home decor or organising front while Hubs is MIA. Sorry, just felt the need to wander off on a tangent and explain - I felt if I didn't it would seem a bit crazy that there was no progress happening where the chaos is the worst!!

Ramble over, back to the project...

When I was sorting out the mess on the desk in the study I knocked a picture frame down the back of the desk and haven't been able to retrieve it (or convince Hubs to go crawling on the floor to rescue it for me), so that left a gaping hole on my desk crying out to be filled... you can see said gaping hole here (between the lamp and the white pot):


On to the lucky find in Ikea. When I was looking for the Tolsby frames, I came across a silver easel frame and just knew it would be perfect for interchangeable art. No messing about with taking a frame to bits to put a new print in, just put a new bit of art onto the easel whenever the fancy takes you - love it!! I would post a link to it, but for some reason its not on Ikea's website - I've checked the UK, US and Swedish sites and no sign - no idea why?!?

At this point, I didn't specifically have the subway art in mind or know where I might use it, but when the happy accident happened in the study I put 2 and 2 together and came up with subway art hanging out on the easel in the study!

As its SO easy to change up the art on the easel, I knew that the monthly themed subway art idea would be perfect. I just needed to change up the colour-scheming to work in the study and ended up keeping it simple and having all the text in a soft grey which I thought would go well with the cream and metallic tones of the study.

So I set about creating the works of art (well they are to me anyway). Like I said I stuck with grey text on on a plain white background and once I was happy with the fonts I used, I kept these consistent each month, so that the change was quite subtle. Here are the results (I've only shown pics of a few of the months, but you get the idea):

February - Valentine:

April - Easter:

June - Our Anniversary:

EDIT: Thought it would be appropriate to also include March, since its right around the corner!:


The fonts I used are: Kredit, Sybil Green, Burnstown Dam, Aberration, Earwig Factory, Hill House, Planet Benson 2 and Jokerman and they are all free online.

The themes/words for the other months are:
  • January (New Year/Burns Night) - Countdown, Burns Night, Resolutions, Old Lang Syne, Celebrate, Fresh Start and Midnight
  • March (St. Patrick's Day) - Leprachaun, 4 Leaf Clover, Blarney Stone, Top of the Morning, St. Patrick's Day, Pot of Gold, Lucky Irish and End of the Rainbow
  • May (Springtime) - Sunshine, New Growth, Umbrellas, Birds Nests, Rainbows, Busy Bees, Blue Skies and Tulip Fields
  • July (Tanabata - Japanese Wishing Festival) - Make a Wish, Cherry Blossom, Geisha Girl, Kyoto Tokyo, Tanabata, Fingers Crossed, Harajuku Girls, Saki & Sushi
  • August (Summer Holidays) - Summer Hols, Ice Cream Cones, Sunburnt Bits, Sandcastle, Lazy Hazy Days, Roadtrips, Thunderstorms and Sunny Days
  • September (Autumn) - September, Wrap Up Warm, Hot Chocolate, Lovely Colours, Getting Chilly, Autumnal, Harvest Time and Falling Leaves
  • October (Halloween) - Halloween, Fancy Dress, October 31st, Orange * Black, Trick or Treat, Pumpkins, Under a Spell, Clocks Go Back
  • November (Bonfire Night, Thanksgiving) - Fireworks, Give Thanks, Chilly Nights, November, Bonfire Night, Blankets, Roaring Fires
  • December (Christmas) - Christmas, Cards & Pressies, Wonderland, Ho Ho Ho, Snowball Fight, Let It Snow, Jingle Bells, Santa Claus.
The great thing is I can totally customise these and change the words or the theme as I choose.

February's on display right now (March coming up next week - gulp, March already!):




All in all I'm pretty pleased with the outcome and all thanks to my happy accident! 






5 comments:

  1. Hi there! Welcome to blogging. I host a newbie party every Monday and it is on now, would love to have you join in, and meet so me new pals.

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  2. Love your subway art! and it fits so perfectly on your desk there!


    Thanks for linking to a Round Tuit!
    Hope you have a fabulous week!
    Jill @ Creating my way to Success
    http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/

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  3. I Love it!!! Thank for linking up to our party!!
    I love the idea of one for every month! Too Cute!
    Lots of Love
    Ashli

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  4. Darling. I do something similar in my kitchen. Thank you so much for sharing this on Fabulous Friday at Faith, Trust & Pixie Dust. Please do come back again next Friday.

    Warmly, Michelle

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