Mother’s Day is just around the corner, so when Plaid Crafts sent me a whole box of Martha Stewart Craft Supplies and asked me to create a Mother’s Day project, I jumped at the chance. I decided to make some Mom-inspired, typographic subway art.
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Supplies needed:
- a 1/4″ plywood board. (mine is 24 x 24 inches)
- white spray paint (it doesn’t really matter what brand for this project, you just need a good base.)
- vinyl letters (I used Contact Paper and my Cricut, but you can use pre-cut adhesive letters)
- 3 shades of Martha Stewart Satin Paint (I used Sea Lavender, Blue Sky and Surf)
- An exacto knife
- a sanding block or hand sander
I painted my plywood board with white spray paint. While it dried, I looked up the word “mother” in different languages and began to cut them out using my Cricut.
I got a general idea of where I wanted the letters to go, then started adhering them to the board.

I chose 3 graduated shades of blue and divided the board into thirds and put a big bloop of paint where I wanted the color to change. (Bloop is a technical craft term. It means to squeeze an amount of paint in a haphazard style…)
Starting with the lightest color first, I began painting the top third of the board, then worked my way down to the darkest color, blending as I went along.
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Don’t you judge my paintbrush. We have a lot of history together and I love her. |
To be completely honest, about this point I tried to add stenciled roses to the back ground. Total craft fail… it looked awful, so I painted over them and pretended it never happened.
While the paint is still a bit tacky, begin peeling off the letters.
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Let the board dry thoroughly, then sand it to create a distressed look.
I am pretty happy with how it turned out!

There were so many wonderful goodies in the Martha Stewart Line to choose from and play with that I know I will be making more projects very soon! Be sure to check out Plaid Crafts online and to follow them here:
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/plaidcrafts (@plaidcrafts)
- Facebook: http://facebook.com/InspiredByPlaid
- Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/plaidcrafts
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This is so sweet Viv!! I love the ombre and the way the wood shows through in the letters!
Loving the ombre! And the bare wood in peeking through. Cute idea!!
That is so cool and it looks fantastic Vivienne! 🙂
Vanessa
That did turn out cute! I like the color choice and how it is shaded.
I’m ombre crazy right now! LOL. I want it on my hair…so why not some subway art! 😉
I kinda like it with the bare wood showing through, but the white-washed look is really cute too!
I love it!
How do you pronounce Ombre?
This is REALLY cool, Viv! It must have been great fun to get that box of goodies–and you put them to good use! Who wouldn’t want to get this for Mother’s Day?
What a special gift that would be! I love the color choices too!
The blue is great (well, my fave color :D) – and I too love how the wood background shows through. Perfect touch!
I keep saying I’m going to make one for every season/occasion…you know how many I have done right?
Love ths one!
Love it! I’m such a fan of reverse stenciling and the ombre effect is superb! Great job!
Viv, this is beautiful! I love the ombre effect. 🙂
You are SO imaginative and talented, I would never have thought of doing that!
Such a nice sign I love the ombré effect
Love this…the colors are fabulous!!
Hugs
SueAnn
Great project! Love the ombre look. 🙂
Very cute, Viv! My project went up today too. So great to meet you at SNAP, it was a whirlwind of fun, wish I could have hung out with more of you home girls too. Not enough time to get with everyone.
I love your mothers day ombre art! And glad to see a fellow cricut user out there! 🙂
this is truly a special project! Lovely!
I love this!! What infinite possibilities! 🙂 I would love for you to share this over at my linky, Unveil Your Genius…
http://taylornorris.blogspot.com/2012/04/unveil-your-genius-link-party-8.html
Happy Friday!
This is cutie! I just need someone to buy me a cricuit-hee hee. The blues are fantastic and I could paint the words on myself-I am old fashioned (and cheap) like that. Get your but over to my link party this weekend if you have a sec:)
xxx Kim
I love making signs – I have got to try this ombre technique. Thanks for sharing. Saw you on TT&J
Love love love this – I love the color and especially the wood showing through! Thanks – stopping by from Craft-o-maniac!
Love this one! I’d love if you’d come link up at my Tutorial Tuesday over at Our Thrifty Ideas that just went up. http://www.ourthriftyideas.com/2012/04/tutorial-tuesday-5.html
ReplyDelete
I featured your project in my Unveil Your Genius Link Party! Go grab a featured button: http://taylornorris.blogspot.com/p/unveil-your-genius.html
🙂 Thanks for linking up, Vivienne! I hope you’ll link up again soon! New link party starts every Thursday!
How do you adhere the letters to the board? I don’t have a cricut so I was going to find a friend that may have one OR just purchase the letters.
Sierra Mama, I used letters made out of contact paper. Just peel off the backing and stick to the board.
Thank you!