I love it when a room starts to come together and you finally begin to see your vision unfold! Oh it’s a magical feeling! I am making a TON of progress on the family room makeover (it’s only been 9 months) and I feel like I’m getting closer and closer to the big reveal. Things have been moving right along until I ran out of supplies for a HUGE project and I’m not sure when I will be getting more in :( So while I’m waiting to finish the last big project in the space I thought I’d give you a few teasers with some of the smaller projects. Consider this a little peak into the room.
Today I’m sharing my DIY Eye Chart Tutorial. I’ve seen a few variations of them around and I love the vintage look at feel and the fact that they can be completely customized. You can include your family member names, a sweet saying, scripture, or just a mix of your favorite letters and numbers. The possibilities are endless. This would also make a great house warming gift or wedding gift!
I used one of my favorite scriptures for the text, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalms 37:4” It’s a scripture that I have kept close to my heart since I was a little girl and it is something I think about daily. I love that something so special and personal to me is now hanging on a piece of artwork in our home.
If you know me by now, I’m always trying to decorate on a budget and one of the easiest ways to do that is by upcycling things already in your home. Would you believe this DIY Eye Chart used to look like this?
Because I used wall art I already owned and leftover paint, this project cost was 100% FREE! You can’t beat that.
1. I started by taking apart the existing artwork.
2. I separated the canvas from the frame and painted them both white. I gave them each 3 coats of paint.
3. Next I used my Silhouette Cameo to create the template for my eye chart. I used Arial font and the top letter starts in font size 288. Each line has one extra letter than the previous and I cut the font size down roughly 50% from one line to the next. The last line of text is font size 10. (Note: There is a great website called http://www.eyechartmaker.com that helps you create a custom eye chart for free. Unfortunately this didn’t work for me because my scripture didn’t fit into their template so I had to create my own. But if you want an easy print out, head on over.)
4. I cut my text onto some dollar store vinyl to create a stencil (probably not the best but it was just for a stencil and it worked). Vinyl works great as a stencil because it sticks to the surface and you don’t have to worry about it moving around. Plus, it peels up nicely when you are done.
5. I used a basic black Sharpie to fill in each of the letters. I used a regular tip for the larger letters and then used a fine tip for the smaller letters.
6. Once I was done, I peeled off the vinyl and put the frame back onto the canvas.
It was a really simple project, you could easily do this in a few hours!
I’ll be revealing more family room details throughout the next few weeks AND hopefully by then I’ll have all the supplies I need to finish the last big project! To learn more about the direction I’m taking for the room you can view my Pinterest board here!
About Taryn Whiteaker
Taryn Whiteaker is the voice of style behind TarynWhiteaker.com (formerly Design, Dining and Diapers) ! Taryn is a previous PR/Marketing professional who got back to her creative roots after becoming a mom and now shares her passion for home decor and design for the world to see. Taryn lives in the greater Seattle area with her husband and three kids and loves coffee, the outdoors, and exploring with her family.
Alyssa says
June 25, 2012 at 11:11 amWhat a fun idea!! I love how simple it is, but it makes such a huge statement!
Irma Baker says
June 25, 2012 at 5:34 pmI love this!!! LOVE that verse too:)
KCoake says
June 25, 2012 at 5:43 pmGreat idea and love how you made it work for so inexpensive.
jessica@fourgenerationsoneroof says
June 25, 2012 at 7:11 pmNicely done Taryn and I love the saying :) I always love when I find a diy fun project where I can reuse something I already have. Those are the best!
taylor@theplumverbena says
June 25, 2012 at 10:02 pmI just found your blog through homestoriesatoz. I love it! Love this project, and think I will be trying it myself soon.
Steph @ Crafting in the Rain says
June 25, 2012 at 10:08 pmBeautiful-and I love you were able to make it so personal!
Courtney says
June 26, 2012 at 6:53 amThat is such a great project, and I love using a Bible verse as the text!
Andrea says
June 26, 2012 at 7:08 amVery pretty. I want to do one of these but not sure where to put it.
Sarah@Naptime Delights says
June 26, 2012 at 8:12 amThis is so pretty! I love the quote too!
Kaitlyn says
June 26, 2012 at 11:15 amThis is such a creative and cute idea!! Love it.. thanks for sharing :)
Jennifer S says
June 26, 2012 at 4:44 pmLove the Scripture you chose… it turned out great!
Lauren @mercyINK says
June 26, 2012 at 5:32 pmOh my goodness I am IN LOVE!!! The verse is beautiful and I love the crisp white with black… so fabulous!
please come link this up (and any other projects you like!) at our Hearts&Homes link up on mercyINKblog.com — have a blessed week :)
Amy @ the Happy Tulip says
June 26, 2012 at 9:19 pmI’ve been a fan of eye chart art for a while, but I love how yours is so custom. I wasn’t aware that there was an online eye chart maker. Thanks for that tip! I might have to surprise my husband with one of these for our anniversary.
Niki {Hello Paper Moon} says
June 27, 2012 at 6:37 amI have been wanting to do this for a while now. Looks fantastic.
Megan says
June 27, 2012 at 8:10 amWhat an adorable idea! I love unique art and especially in black and white! Hope you have a great week! Come enter my giveaway going on.
http://alivedinhome.blogspot.com/2012/06/its-giveaway-time.html
the cape on the corner says
June 27, 2012 at 10:43 ami love what i can see of your mantle!
Claire says
June 27, 2012 at 7:59 pmGreat tutorial! Thanks for sharing the how-tos. I’ll have to add this to my list of Silhouette projects to try :)
Stacey says
June 27, 2012 at 8:14 pmI love this! Would love if you stopped by mylinky party happening now to link this up!
Stacey of Embracing Change
Courtney says
June 27, 2012 at 10:17 pmoh goodness that is too cute! I am working on a redo in one of our bathrooms and this would be perfect!!
Christine @ Park House Love says
June 27, 2012 at 10:27 pmI LOVE this Taryn! Sounds so easy too…I’ve been seeing these personalized eye charts around, but your method and instructions are awesome. Might have to try this :)
Becca @ The Sassy Penguin says
June 28, 2012 at 5:54 amWhat a fun idea! I love that they can be personalized!
GlamorousMommy says
June 28, 2012 at 6:50 amThis turned out adorable! Endpless possiblities with sayings/quotes here!!
Christy Cochran says
June 28, 2012 at 8:15 pmI Love Love how this turned out. I have soo been wanting to do one of these myself. Awesome!
Found you via a link party and am now a new follower!
Jana says
June 29, 2012 at 8:09 amLove your eye chart~looks fabulous!
krafting kelly says
June 29, 2012 at 9:17 amThis is beautiful! So clean and crisp and white. :) What kind of paint do you use on your frames?
Congratulations on being featured on the Silhouette Blog!
Allyson @ A Heart for Home says
June 29, 2012 at 11:57 amThis is GORGEOUS! I want to try to make one without a Silhouette.
I’d love for you to link this post to my Finished Friday Blog Party.
Meeha says
June 29, 2012 at 1:05 pmThe eye chart is awesome! I LOVE the font type you chose for this project and how well it coordinates with the frame! Thank you for leaving a sweet comment on my beachy living room :)
Maria says
June 29, 2012 at 5:19 pmHow beautiful! I love what you did, the eye chart idea is so cute!
Kristen says
June 29, 2012 at 6:38 pmI think this is fantastic! My favorite find on tt and Jello tonight!
Jaime ? Raising up Rubies says
June 29, 2012 at 6:51 pmoh sweetness! i’m in love with this…thank you for the inspiration ? much love
Anita says
June 30, 2012 at 8:45 amReally great!
malia says
June 30, 2012 at 9:09 amamazing project taryn!!!
Jackie says
June 30, 2012 at 6:51 pmThis is so amazing. I love the simplicity of it and how striking it is with the white frame. I loved it so much, I shared with my Facebook readers. I stopped over from It’s Overflowing.
hani@craftionary says
July 1, 2012 at 7:40 amI love this idea.. Pinning it! Thanks for linking up at friday fun party..
jules says
July 1, 2012 at 8:04 amPure Sweetness. Love the verse, love the project… love that it was FREE! Thank you so much for the inspiration; can’t wait to try my hand at this! Have a happy and blessed Sunday. jules
Julie Blanner says
July 1, 2012 at 7:40 pmI absolutely love the basket as well! Great styling!
Leanne says
July 1, 2012 at 10:15 pmI was just going to tell you I featured this today but you already saw it. LOL I love so many of your projects. I swear I could feature you every week. Thanks for always linking to the party. Have a great week!
Jenn says
July 1, 2012 at 10:32 pmWhat a fabulous transformation! I love how simple it is. Pinned!
Jenn :)
Taylor says
July 2, 2012 at 1:53 pmBeautiful! I love that verse… Many blessings!
gail says
July 3, 2012 at 2:05 pmTaryn–super project! I love how your eye chart turned out. Thanks for sharing that link to make your own.
gail
Jennifer says
July 3, 2012 at 10:58 pmAwesome sauce!!
Katie says
July 4, 2012 at 1:15 pmThank you for sharing at A Crafty Soiree, I’ve featured your frames in the newest one. It’ll be up at midnight tonight, please come by and check it out :)
Kathleen says
July 4, 2012 at 7:31 pmI love this! I found you over on Positively Splendid and can’t wait to check out more of your projects.
Abbie (Five days...5 ways) says
July 6, 2012 at 4:40 amLOVE it, Taryn!
Featuring you!
Beverly {Flamingo Toes} says
July 6, 2012 at 10:06 amTaryn I just love this!! The artwork is so pretty and simple but it makes such a great impact! And of course the verse is so great.
Thank you for linking up to Think Pink Sunday – I featured you today! http://www.flamingotoes.com/2012/07/crush-of-the-week-think-pink-features-56/
Roeshel says
July 6, 2012 at 7:01 pmGreat repurposing idea and I love the result! Awesome job, Taryn!
Holly Lefevre says
July 6, 2012 at 11:56 pmThis is amazing. So professional looking and love your quote selection.
Becca says
July 28, 2012 at 3:15 pmI loooove this project! All your projects look so classy and put together. You are such a great photographer, too!
Have you done a post about a room/home tour? I was looking, but didn’t see any.
xo Becca
darci says
March 12, 2013 at 7:27 amI absolutely love this…. one of my very favorite versus and I’ve always wanted an eye chart print! I’m going to head over the website that makes them for free to see what I can come up with! Amazing job on this – what a transformation!!
Pat says
May 20, 2013 at 10:39 amLove this idea…do you want to know you forgot the ‘e’ on give? But it is beautiful!
Laurie@ Vin'yet Etc. says
February 5, 2014 at 8:46 amThere are a lot of these out there but your DIY tutorial is the best I’ve seen! Can’t wait to do this, thanks for the awesome tutorial!
Kolleen Dohermann says
November 9, 2014 at 6:21 amWhat do you mean by dollar store vinyl? You mentioned it was sticky and it made me think of clear contact paper. Thanks!!