Restoration Hardware vintage subway art knock off

I love the Restoration Hardware catalog.

I have a dog eared catalog from several years ago just sitting on my coffee table.

I love to peek at it for inspiration.

When I spotted this large framed picture at a garage sale,  

 I immediately remembered this framed subway art

source

but at $550 it was out of the budget.

source

I think my ugly framed canvas for $1 turned into a great replica, don't you?

Let me show you how I made it.

Side Note:  It would just be my luck that this canvas I got for a buck is probably one of those Antique Roadshow fab finds.  I probably should have made sure that some rare artist didn't paint this, but I didn't.  So if you are an art expert, and this painting is worth like a zillion dollars, don't tell me. 'K.

O.k., so first up, I set up saw horses and put this fabulous piece of art on top.  I painted the whole thing cream (that I got for free on the side of the road--score!) frame and all.

Look how nice it looks!

I then taped off around the frame with painters tape and made an outer black frame.

I also painted the inside all black as well.

The hardest part was figuring out how big to make the letters.

I knew I needed some spacing at the top and bottom as well as between each of the letters.

I ran my numbers a few times.

The size will all depend on how big your frame is.

Mine was massive (over four feet tall) so each of my large letters were 8 1/2" each.

I used my Silhouette machine to cut the vinyl out.

I eyeballed the placement and did my best to center the letters

The vinyl transfer paper was super helpful for this project

I kept my tape measurer handy since I wanted to make sure the sign looked professional and was equally spaced.  I had a 2" gap between each of the sections.

 This is my finished project.

I really like it.

This project cost me less than $5!

 Much better than the $550 original price tag don't you think?

I put it up in my entry.

It's one of the first things you see when you walk in the front door.

What do you think?  

Do you love it as much as I do?

Not a bad knock off if I do say so myself!What do you think?