How to Save $850 {Subway Sign Art}

This one from Restoration Hardware is my favorite.

Any guesses how much this one costs?

$850.

That's dollars, not pennies, folks.

I'm not kidding.

So I decided to try to make one.

When it comes to the things I put on my walls, I'm a little weird.

I want to look at things that mean something to me--things that I love.

So I made my subway sign art using the names of the places or streets that we have lived.

I started with this thrifted art,

Then painted it with chalkboard paint, because that is the only black paint I had on hand, and also, I was considering a chalk dust look.

Next, I printed out the words I wanted on my sign.  I messed with font size for a while, till I found what worked best.

To transfer the letters to the sign, I used this tutorial and it worked like a charm.

Next, I used a white pen to fill in the letters.

I painted a clear varnish over it, {which completely erased all signs of my chalky look}

…and I’m done!