Architectural Art

What do you see in this picture?

And this one?

And this one?

Did you see the letters A, N and W?

My cousin recently received a frame with architectural letters spelling her last name. Upon seeing it, I knew that it would be the perfect gift for my sister for Christmas. I immediately began searching online and found that it would cost at least $150 to purchase one, which was way over our limit of $20. I was disappointed, but began to wonder if it were something that I could reproduce. I took some inspiration from the webpages I viewed when researching "Architectural Letters" and walked/drove around town snapping pictures of anything that looked like a letter when viewed closely.

After uploading the pictures to my computer, I cropped and edited them. I then ordered copies of the pictures. I could have made copies of them on my own computer, but just included them in a large photo order I was already making.

I went to Goodwill and picked up these large frames for $2.88 apiece.
I also purchased a piece of foam board for $2.99. I removed the contents of the frames and cut a piece of foam board to fit. I then arranged the photos for her last name on the foam board to get a feel for the spacing. Once I figured out the appropriate spacing, I stuck the pictures in place using double sided tape and a level to make sure that the pictures were straight. Finally, I spray painted the frames black to go with her decor before finally putting it all together.

I also made one for myself:

On this one for myself, I cut some of the letters thinner than others, keeping the height and spacing uniform. The one for my sister was uniform in height, width and spacing. I changed the width on the letters for my name because of limited space with a longer name and also to crop out some of the background which I was unable to crop using the stores tools for editing. I think that both methods worked well and looked nice.
Since my family only just celebrated Christmas today, I was really getting antsy to give my sister her gift and see her reaction, but it was totally worth the wait!

It was just the reaction I was hoping for, she loved it! Actually all of my family members loved it. They loved it so much that my mom and 2 sisters-in-law were asking me to make them one as well! I guess I know what to give them for upcoming birthdays or anniversaries!

I am linking to Thrifty Decor Chick's January Before and After Party.

I am also Hooking Up with Allison at House of Hepworths.

Finally, I am linking to Debbie from Debbiedoos Newbie Party here.