DIY: Vinyl Record Art

Good Morning and Happy Thursday! Do you ever have weeks that go by where you seem to be getting so much done that you have to step back and ask yourself if it's really happening? Or if you're just imagining it all? That's what's happening in my life right now. Don't get me wrong, it's a wonderful thing, but I'm just so amazed that I've found a perfect blend of working and spending time with family to get to be at my most productive. And so, today I have to share with you another major milestone project that has finally been completed - art above our bed in our master bedroom.


We've been trying to find something to put above our bed for awhile - since before we moved into our apartment, really. But nothing really struck us as perfect until now. Well, until a couple of weeks ago, when I saw this post on Design Sponge, showcasing record-based pieces from artist Patrick Laurent of Quiet Boy Studio. And Laurent's pieces are incredible. Except that I wanted something a) more personal and b) less expensive. If you don't have artistic flair (um, I don't really, but ...) and you aren't interested in giving it a try, then I highly recommend heading over to check out his work - it's really fantastic. 

Source
But, if you're interested in making your own, here's how I did it. First, I went to my local Goodwill and bought 6 old records for .99 each. In case you're curious, I used 2 Romeo and Juliet scores and 1 Boston Pops hits - the others were for back-up and they were all from the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Then, I went to Michael's and bought some Martha Stewart acrylic paint and fine tip white paint pens. I also stopped at my local home improvement store and purchased a new paint roller to use. Then, after setting up my work station - old cardboard on top of our dining room table - I set to work painting.


I have to admit - I did not sand the vinyls, but I did apply primer to make sure my acrylic paint had a better chance of sticking and lasting.


Then, I applied my color - green, blue and purple - to the vinyls, putting on 2 coats to make it look best.


Once the paint was completely dry, I took my chosen song lyrics - 3 songs that mean something to Josh and I ("Your Love is My Drug" by Ke$ha, "Forever" by Chris Brown and "When You Say Nothing At All" by Keith Whitley) - and using the white paint pen, simply wrote out the song lyrics across each vinyl. "Forever" is a really long song and I sort of almost ran out of room, but I think it turned out okay - perfectly imperfect is what I'm calling it.




Lastly, I used some clear acrylic spray to lock in all the awesomeness I had just created. For the record, I did this inside and it elicited a sort of not so thrilled response from Josh, who asked me if I was spray painting inside the house. Which I wasn't, not exaaaactly. But um, I wouldn't really recommend anyone else doing this indoors. But, when it's chilly out and you live in an apartment building, sometimes a girl has gotta do what she's gotta do, even if it gets some complaints regarding the acrylic spray paint smell.

Once everything was dry, I set to work framing each record. First, I purchased these awesomely giant frames I got from IKEA.


Then, using 12x12 gray scrapbooking paper from Michael's and some mod podge, I attached each record to a sheet.




I seriously heart mod podge.


Then, I placed each record so that it would appear exactly in the middle of each frame. This took more than a few tries to make sure it was even and all of the words were visible, but by the 3rd record, I had it down to a system.



Finally, I attached the hanging system to the back of the frame per IKEA's instructions.


Then, I hung them in our bedroom using our bed as the center of the room and by measuring multiple times using this awesome sketch.


I hung the middle picture about an inch and a half higher than the other two to give it some height as the middle part of our headboard does raise a bit. When all was said and done it went from this ...


... to this:


Ah, I love the before and after. This is one of those projects where I had the idea in my head and I really hoped it would come out well, but wasn't really so sure that it would. I am so happy with the results and could not be more excited about our new art in the bedroom! It only took 6 months, but our bedroom finally looks put together!

Please excuse my messy nightstand!
Thanks for stopping by to check out this project! Have you tried making art with less conventional materials? I'd love to hear about what you've done! And I hope you all have a wonderful day!

PS. I'm linking up to parties over at Colorado Lady, Crafty Scrappy Happy, House of Hepworths, Made in a Day, The Crafty Blog Stalker and Thrifty Decorating! Be sure to head over there for more fantastic projects!

CONVERSATION

12 comments:

  1. OMG this is amazing. I'm sooooo copying you! I live vicariously through your creative mind ;)

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  2. wow...these look so good!!! what personalized, unique artwork. love them!

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  3. Smart! Smart!...and you're patient too!

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  4. Why didn't you just use cardboard circles instead of painting and writing on top of an album which still could have been played?

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    1. Hi! Thanks for your comment! I used the real records because I liked the look of them more so than I liked the look of plain cardboard.

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    2. vinyl has a great texture.

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  5. Probably because vinyl records by Dolly Parton are sitting in an Op Shop selling for 25 cents! haha

    I saw something like this on pinterest about 5 months ago and tried it in my own apartment! Though, I used black, silver, and gold paint. I never thought of using such vibrant colors! Well done!

    I saw you on the list for Blog Better Boston! See you there! xo Carley

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  6. Where did you bought the painting pen? How would it look like?

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    1. Hi! I bought the paint pen at Michael's Art Store. It's a pen with a felt tip and should be easy to find in any arts and crafts store such as Michael's or AC Moore.

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  7. Hii!! what kind of primer did u used to stick the acrilic paint? and what brand?

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    1. Hi Diana! I used basic kilz primer - nothing fancy! And they have held up well over the last 4 and a half years!

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