I'm a fan of science posters and botanicals as art. I purchased two canvas wall hangings from Vol. 25 (on Etsy) that I love, Antler Study Volume 2, and Moose Study Volume 1.
Though I love the detail and quality of the Vol. 25 hangings, I wanted to create something similar on a budget, and be able to change the wall hangings on a seasonal basis. I spent about $1 apiece on each science poster, using materials I already had. The Canvas Paper was my only purchase for this project.
Materials
- Paint stirrers (you can usually get these free at the paint store).
- Stain (I used Minwax English Chestnut)
- Twine
- Hot glue gun
- Scissors
- Canvas Paper
For the graphics I found some free seasonal clip art at the Graphic Fairy's website. Karen has a whole collection of Christmas vintage images you can check out here. I found a few botanical prints I liked, a Giant Pine Tree as well as a smaller pine cone and pine branch.
After downloading the images, I printed them out on the canvas paper using my home printer. The Giant Pine Tree print had a label in Latin, so I added a similar label to the smaller prints for a pine tree genus and species.
I cut the paint stirrers to size with an X-Acto knife, but you could also use a table saw for a cleaner cut. Next I stained the wood in one coat of the English Chestnut stain and let them dry overnight.
After staining, I used a hot glue gun to attach the wooden trim and the twine on the back. And that's it! A very simple and cheap way to make some seasonal wall hangings. I can easily envision making similar science posters for spring with birds, eggs, or ferns.
Let me know what you think and if you are a fan of science posters as art.
The Anne with an E