apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Tools:
Bristol board vellum pad Prismacolor brand markers Frame (Ikea Ribba frame size 16.5" x 20.5") Pencil and eraser Ruler/t-square/cutting mat Travel photos

Steps:
1. After considering a lot of nice and not-so-nice nursery alphabet posters out there, my husband and I decided to make our own for the baby we're expecting this spring. Our "theme" was places that we have traveled and/or lived together. So, step one was brainstorming the best places to use for each letter. We had a lot of fun coming up with the locations... but X was tricky!
2. Next I measured a grid onto the paper that would accommodate 26 letters. I opted for a 4x7 grid (with plans to fill in the two extra spots). I used a cutting mat that has inches and centimeters marked on all sides to make my grid, but you could use a ruler, yardstick, t-square, or any straight edge to measure it out and draw your lines. For our surface, I used a Bristol board vellum pad, which works well with many mediums (pencil, charcoal, pastels, markers, acrylics).
3. Step three was to sketch out the alphabet and the images in pencil. For each letter and corresponding image, I had a great time scanning through iPhoto to find iconic or interesting images from our old travel photos to sketch onto the poster. I opted for a mix of some very simple images (like an agave plant or a beer) and some more involved (like particular buildings in Bruges).
4. Once I had particular squares done in pencil, I gradually started in with the color. We wanted the overall look to be bold and colorful to coordinate with the Ikea "Strib" rug we have in our otherwise pretty subdued nursery, so I tried to make each square pop with complementary colors. I'm a fan of the Prismacolor markers (I used the studio set of 24 here), but any vivid set of art markers would work well. To make the images a bit more cartoonish, I shadowed the letters and outlined the entire poster with black.
5. Frame your poster and hang on the nursery wall. Prepare to regale baby with stories of the travels you took and adventures you had as you teach her the alphabet!

Sources:
I had the art supplies -- but all of them came from Blick.

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