DIY Oversized Engineering Prints

Hi, friends!

I'm in Pittsburgh this week helping my Dad after his hip surgery, which thankfully went really well!! Thank you so much to those off you who have checked in with me! It's been so nice being able to visit my parents considering we live so far away and its rare I can help them out when they need it like this.

But I promised this post last week and wanted to share how easy this little project is! It took me about 15 minutes to assemble and hang these engineering prints after I got all of the supplies together, it's that easy.

Oh that couch. So ugly but so comfortable.

Supplies + Cost 

2 Engineering Prints (I used 24x36") = $8
2 Foam Trifold Poster Boards (purchased at Hobby Lobby with 40% off coupons) = $12 total
Spray Adhesive (Owned)
Credit Card (for smoothing out the picture on the poster board)
Tape (to hold the image in place on your poster board while you attach it)
Staple Gun + Staples (Owned)
4 Anchor Wire Hooks (Owned, but you can find these cheap in any craft store or Lowes)
Twine (Owned)
4 (1/2" x 2" x 3') Wood Boards cut to 25" in length = $8
Wood Stain (We used Minwax Special Walnut first, then Minwax Classic Grey)

My total ended up being around $28 since we already had some of these supplies, which is much cheaper than any large frames we would have found!

Choosing and Ordering your Engineering Prints 

I first came across engineering prints after seeing this Chris Loves Julia tutorial and immediately thought it would work perfectly with images from our family photo session when Rowan was six months old. You really want to use images that have a solid, lighter colored background for these photos.

The second photo of Rowan you can see a little bit of our couch but it's not too distracting so thats the main thing you want to keep in mind when you decide between which photos to use.

Pro tip: Use your favorite photo editing software to make your images black and white, instead of using Staple's black and white option. That way you have control over the contrast and can darken the blacks as much as you want to really make their eyes or outfit pop!

After your images are prepped, head on over to Staples' website and decide what size you want. I went with 24x36, which worked perfectly with the poster board I'll tell you about later. The pictures print out on thin paper and will look a little grainy when you look up close, but from far away its not noticeable and for the price, its perfect!

Purchase and Stain Wood Trim

I found these 1/2" x 2" x 3' wood boards at Lowes, which were the perfect size for this project. You can have Lowes cut them to size or convince your husband to cut and stain them for you like I did! They also have 2 foot boards which require zero resizing, but you won't have the overhang on the sides of the posters like I do.

For our boards, my husband cut them to 25" in length so they hang over the posters about a half inch on each side. He then put a coat of Special Walnut stain on them, wiped it off immediately, and then did the same with the Classic Grey stain. I love the rustic, light colored wood that it created!

Assemble

Cut the folded ends of the trifold poster board off. I used an exacto knife for this but anything will do.

Line up your pictures on your poster board and tape one end to the board to keep it in place. Then generously spray the adhesive to the poster board in about 3-4" sections, slowly using the credit card to smooth out the image. Repeat until the image is completely adhered to the poster board.

Next, screw 2 hooks to the top of two of the wood pieces and attach your twine.

Then turn the poster board over and line up your wood pieces on each end. Staple the poster to the wood in the center, then work your way out stapling a few more times on each side.

You're done! Just hang them and admire the giant, larger than life size version of your cute kid's faces. Let me know if you have any questions, I'd love to see your finished product if you make these!!