One of my favorite shops is Vintage Hardware in Astoria, Oregon.  You can find doors, hardware, old plumbing supplies, anything old and covered in rust.  My kind of place.  They have drawers stuffed with things, so it’s like finding buried treasure.  I found a cabinet with cut up license plates.  However all the vowels were missing except the “u” and my old scrabble memory bank went to work.  However every word that came to mind with a “u” didn’t have the other letters available.  I settled for “HUH”!

I decided to make a FAUX lighted picture using some mini lights I got on the clearance rack at Michael’s.  Since my Canvas wasn’t deep enough to have room for the light set, I opted for the faux lighted look.  Another reason I didn’t want to use the lights is because the strand was green and I wouldn’t want the green strand fighting with the red paint.

STEP ONE:  Place paper pieces on the canvas to see how to space the lights.

STEP TWO:  Punch holes in the canvas and cut a small circle for the bulb end to fit.

STEP THREE:  Paint the canvas.

STEP FOUR: Make collars for the light bulbs.  I used Artemboss Foil.

STEP FIVE: Secure the collars with Hot Glue and then use hot glue to attach the light bulb.  Since the piece isn’t actually be lighted, hot glue works fast and will last.

STEP SIX:  Make a base plate for the license plate pieces to sit on.  Since it was ArtEmboss foil, I embossed a pattern on the edges. I used hot glue to attach all the pieces.

STEP SEVEN:  Decorate the edges with dots.

This is a OOAK mixed media piece perfect for someone who likes bright and happy whimsical art!