Big Huge Mounted Color Photos...

...for next to nothing.  

I did these for our house a few months ago.  I love them, they look great.  And EVERY TIME people come over to my house, they always say:

1. I can't imagine how much those canvases must have cost!
2. Where did you get these done?

or, if they KNOW me...

3. There's no way you paid for this.  How did you do that???

:)

Well, partly to help those wanting to know, and partly to save myself from ever having to explain how to do this again...here we go!

OK, #1.  I know what many of you might be thinking - contractor prints from Staples, right?  No.  I tried that, and they came out terrible!  Or, terribly.  Anyway.  They did not look good.  I was so glad I only spent $4.99.

So here's what you do.

1. Order "rolled poster prints" from Winkflash.com.  *They did not pay me to say that!  Winkflash just has the best prices I could find, and the quality is really, really good.  Highly recommend!*
Cost of the prints I ordered:
30"x40"...$15.57  (no joke!)
20"x30"...$11.37
(2) 16"x20"...$6.57 each = $13.00 total (or so)
Total prints = $40 approximately.  I used my rounding off powers to figure that out.
2. Carefully unroll and put heavy things on the prints to flatten them out a little.  I put a towel on top of each print so they wouldn't get boogered up.

3. Go to Home Depot and get a big 8'x10' sheet of home insulation board.  I know this cost me less than $10.  Take some helpers if you want!

4. Cut it up into pieces a little larger than each print.  Go outside on the deck.

5. Spray a board with Elmer's Spray Adhesive, then lay the print down.  Smooth it out with a hand towel.  *It doesn't matter if you get the print on straight or not!  Don't worry about that.*

6. Here's where you get to make them look all nice & straight: get a cutting mat & ruler, and an EXTREMELY SHARP utility knife.  Like, a brand-new blade, sharp.  Line up the ruler along the edge of the photo, and cut!  Don't worry about the knife going all the way through.

Once you've made a nice straight cut, even if the knife did not cut all the way through the board...you can just "pop" the edge open, like this:

Can you see that?  It just pops open and gives you a beautiful clean edge.  THEN, turn the board over and, using your straight edge, cut the other side. 

7. Rinse & Repeat for as many photos as you have.

8. Find some creative & ingenious way to hang these on your wall.  Pat yourself on the back!  Invite friends over. Let them think you paid the big bucks.  Or not!  They will ask where you got them.  :)

There you have it!  That's how I did four nice-sized mounted poster prints for a little under $50.  


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