Psalm 23 Wall Art
We moved into our house over a year ago, and from the very first day, I’ve been pondering how to fill the giant wall above our couch. It felt like a lot of pressure, this wall, so I ended up becoming completely paralyzed by indecision (very normal for me), and never filling it. But guys—this week, we finally hung something on that wall, and I am SO EXCITED!
Here's the story (and feel free to scroll down if you just want the links):
A few months ago, we bought the HUGE Bjorksta frame from IKEA (55” x 39 1/4”) because it was plenty big and only 30 bucks, but once we got home, I really struggled to find something to fill it! I’d lettered Psalm 23 on my iPad and thought it’d be fun to have that framed, but when we pondered how to have it printed and what to have it printed on, my brain sputtered and had to pull over on the side of the highway.
An engineer print from Staples seemed like a good idea at first, but the IKEA frame didn’t come with any glass to protect the paper, and I could totally see my kids licking Psalm 23 or rubbing their Cheeto fingers on it and making everything weird. “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want [Cheeto dust on the scripture].” As it turned out, even the engineer prints didn’t come quite that big, so we were back to square one, and I was starting to worry that we’d never fill the wall or that we’d have to look at something custom, a.k.a. expensive, and I am allergic to expensive.
Eventually my husband had the idea to print it on a standard role of vinyl and then cut it to size. As it turns out, printing on vinyl is super cost-effective (like $30!) at lots of online stores until you go to check out, and then shipping fees double your cost. This makes me irrationally angry. I despise paying for shipping. And yet, “I will fear no evil [SHIPPING COSTS!!], for you are with me.” Eventually I settled down and we just accepted our fate: we were going to have to pay up if we ever wanted to give this frame the life it deserved, hanging on a wall.
We ended up paying about $60 total to have VistaPrint print the Psalm 23 lettering on a 4 x 8 vinyl banner. With them, the vinyl cost more but the shipping was free, so that inexplicably helped my blood pressure. I’ve purchased plenty of things from them in the past, so I felt confident we’d get quality. Plus y’all know they have coupon codes out the wazoo (unsure what this word means), so you might be able to pair that final cost down even more!
The file printed beautifully, and the vinyl mounted perfectly into the frame. (Luke used a razor blade to cut it to size following the directions that came with the IKEA frame.) I absolutely adore the end result, and now that it’s hanging over the couch, I think it was totally worth every dollar.
Concluding Mom praise: I can say for certain that vinyl wipes clean if tiny Cheeto fingers ever threaten to defame the art. (Of course, it goes without say that I never let my children eat Cheetos. This entire premise is fictitious. We only allow the cherubs to eat lettuce and vitamins. But if your children eat Cheetos, your vinyl art is safe.)
Want to do this in your house? Printing options with links* are listed below. You can purchase a downloadable file of the Psalm 23 print in my shop. (The one purchase will send you two sizes, so you aren’t stuck with my original dimensions!) By the way, if these options overwhelm you, go with option 1 and call it a day. It’s smaller than what I personally needed, but it’s SUPER easy, quick, and inexpensive!
Print Option 1: Poster Print
Details: fairly large size (not as big as mine!), hardly any print risk, less expensive
Standard poster frame + poster print (24x36) to Walgreens (Don’t forget to check for coupon codes!) + My Psalm 23 print download
Notes: This is for sure the most cost-effective and easiest option, but it’s just not as big as what I needed! The other benefit is that Walgreens often will do same-day printing and pick-up, so you can have this hanging in your home quickly. Use the 54x38 file of the Psalm 23 download for this option. Sometimes Walgreens is grumpy about PNG files, so use the included JPEG file. If you purchased before I added the JPEG file and don’t know how to convert it, reply to your purchase email, and I’ll send along a JPEG file for you!
Print Option 2: Large Vinyl Print (This is what I did!)
Details: large size, more print risk, less expensive
IKEA frame + Vinyl (Don’t forget to check for coupon codes!) + My Psalm 23 print download
Notes: This is a risky way to print the correct size! Because Vistaprint’s listing for the 4x8 vinyl doesn’t indicate measurements of the file you import, it requires a bit of eyeballing to get the image to the proper size for the IKEA frame. (Scroll to the bottom to see a photo of what our final preview looked like.) If that makes you nervous, you can call their help line (they are usually very helpful!), or you choose one of the more straightforward ways below. Once ours arrived, my husband used a razor blade to cut it to size following the directions that came with the IKEA frame. Use the 54x38 file of the Psalm 23 download for this option.
Print Option 3: Large Canvas
Details: large size, less print risk, more expensive
Notes: If you use CanvasChamp (linked above), choose custom measurements that match the large file (so 54x38). I selected “border color” for the edges, and selected white as the color since it matches the background of the print. Again, use the 54x38 file of the Psalm 23 download for this option.
Print Option 4: Small Framed Print
Details: smaller size, less print risk, less expensive
16x20 (like this or this) or 8x10 Frame + Local Printer (like Office Depot or FedEx Office) + My Psalm 23 print download
Notes: Use the 20x16 file of the Psalm 23 download
Print Option 5: Large Framed Poster Print
Details: larger size, less print risk, more expensive
Notes: Use 54x38 file of the Psalm 23 download. The file isn’t an exact fit to the standard 40x60 poster size, so you may need to re-center the image. It should print beautifully with no quality issues.
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