Salvaging A Tattered & Worn Poster

Project #5

Before our boy's room remodel began, the kids got a little ahead of schedule and decided they would hang their own posters and decorations on the walls.

Did I mention that the posters they decided to use were BRAND NEW! :-/

Initially, I had a few other ideas in mind for these said posters but I was forced to revamp those ideas when I found them in the back of the closet.. Crinkled, wrinkled, ripped and worn. I refused to purchase another poster so I was forced to get creative.

I came up with a SUPER easy solution!

This picture just does not show how terrible the poster ACTUALLY looked. I'm sure you can imagine how bad the visible wrinkles looked in person. The entire poster looked like the boys crinkled it into a ball and spread it out again. 

Edges were ripped and worn, overall the poster looked like it should just go in the trash.

My solution?!

I purchased a 20"x30" black foam board for $1.00 (yay!!). This was a little smaller than the actual poster but that was fine considering I couldn't use the outer most edges of the poster anyway.

I began by laying the foam board over the picture to center it. I then traced the board using a white Stabilo All Pencil. I love this pencil, it wipes away super easy!

Next, I painted Modge Podge over the entire surface of the foam board and using my pencil outline to guide me, aligning the poster just right :-).

I still had the edges hanging off the board... I didn't want to cut the edges off but instead give the picture a more wrapped canvas look. So I cut away the 90 degree angle from each corner...

And secured the four sides to the back of the foam using Modge Podge. (If you can't tell I LOVE Modge Podge! One reason being: I feel it is very durable and more adhesive then plain Elmer's Glue).

Finally, I still had a ton of wrinkles on the surface I needed to address. So to do this, I have learned from previous canvas/paper projects that the more Modge Podge layers you apply the better the end results will be. 

               (See all the wrinkles?!)

I layered the picture with 5-6 coats allowing each coat to air dry until it was barely sticky. I then turned the poster face down and placed something heavy on top of the entire project. I do this because it allows the Modge Podge to harden and dry completely while decompressing any air bubbles or wrinkles your paper may have. 

Apply Modge Podge layers to satisfaction and boom... You now have a brand new poster to display :-)

Unfortunately, I was unable to get a picture that did not reflect a ton of glare but you get the idea! There are no more wrinkles, no more rips and the poster looks much nicer with this super simple face lift!

Be sure to check out my other

Superhero Room Decor projects on the blog now!

Superhero Bedroom Decor

Project #1: Superhero Duck Tape Shelves

My boys Matthew (5) and Dylan (2) are superhero FANATICS! Every day is jam packed with fighting villains and rescuing their imaginary victims. So it was SUPER easy coming up with bedroom decor they would LOVE! 

We are trading in the drab, toddler safari theme for an exciting and more enjoyable "big boy" SUPERHERO decor... 

My first project included TWO things:

*Superhero Duck Tape

Purchased at Walmart 

*Block Shelves

Previously purchased from Target

Since this project was my own, I was learning as I went... The first shelf was more of a headache and the second went ever so easy!

So... My finalized how to instructions are a combination of BOTH shelves.

To begin:

Start with the outer edges, the Comic Duck Tape is wrapped around the entire outer edge... Beginning and ending on the bottom.

Meet the beginning and ending of the strip together and cut away excess evenly.

The Avengers Duck Tape is draped over the front edge and cut to allow BOTH sides to show the superheroes facing the correct direction.

I continued in this fashion completing another strip, butting up exactly to the edge of the previous strip.

As you can see there is still a small area of shelf exposed, for this I continued the same way as the two previous strips and was left with this

Carefully cut away the excess and the outer portion of the shelves are complete!

 

I got a lot wiser with the second shelf and measured each inside piece of tape before cutting and applying

The first shelf was a little more stressful and my husband attempted to help..

Eyeing the pieces and allowing them to overlap was quite a bit more frustrating! The second shelf went A LOT smoother.

I continued with three rows of tape just as I did the outside, cutting away the excess and being sure to seal all air pockets.

Done!!

This is how they turned out....

I can't wait to show you the rest of my Superhero room decor projects I have in the works! 

Hope you enjoy and find this useful! Feel free to share!