project: copy-cat subway art

it's everywhere...though not exactly what we see in the subway stations.

via

still, it's taken off like a neglected ten-year-old flailing down a speeding treadmill.

bloggers tweak it.

via infarrantly creative

stores sell it.

via world market

ann marie even dressed it up arizona style.

via twice lovely

and i copy it.

when my macguyver of a husband's birthday zoomed into my radar this year i was totally prepared for once.  what could be better than a hand painted, personal work of art made by loved ones?  nothing!  i say nothing!

(you're right, but cash and gold are not options.  this year.)

remember our dumpster stash...aka the free gift that keeps us giving gifts for free?  yes, the source for a "T" and my coveted new dollie contributes the board for our not very original art project.

first, i round up my ever-eager beavers...

then  i  we layout the fancy hardware store stencils since it would be waaay too painless to use stick-on vinyl letters and waaay too efficient to create a graphic layout and have it printed at staples for at-home application.

seriously?  you were unaware that one must sweat and suffer for a diy gift to be laden with love and saturated with sentiment?   haven't we talked about crawling out from under that rock, my moldy friend?

for some reason, duffy wears his look of pity when i'm working on a project.

to convey our great depth of  appreciation for my husband and all he does for our family, we chose not to measure or use a t-square to line up the words.  yes, we wanted this piece to emanate the purity of self-loathing that comes from suffering through a half-assed, poorly-planned project... which is why we selected the craggy plywood.  

(and it was free.)

have you ever tried stenciling into the valleys and peaks of plywood with impatient children?

think "chewing tinfoil with a mouthful of metal fillings" for an equal experience.

filled with a fervor of frustration, we continued on to the finish... sopping up splotches, touching-up tid-bits and reworking words along the way...

until it was finished...

and the children ran away to their uncle's house....

and "pennsylvania" tried to worm away from the number 4.

and i started hoarding cash...

'cuz father's day is just 'round the bend.