Making Vintage Art from Home Blueprints

Making vintage art from home blueprints is a fun and easy project that anyone can do. You can use your own home blueprints, or print/order any type of blueprints that you like.

Blueprint Art

We made our project using our own home blueprints, but you can use this technique with any type of picture, blueprint, sketch, etc. You could use a map, maybe of a place where you’ve traveled, or a sheet of music, pages from a book…. There are so many possibilities. You could purchase a blueprint, or even print something off on your computer! And what a great gift this would make, if you used something of meaning to your recipient!

Check out this blueprint of the Disneyland Castle!

Love photography? Here’s a blueprint of a vintage camera!

Musician? I love this blueprint of a grand piano.

Home Design

We moved into our home about 2 years ago. While the process of building a home can be quite stressful as far as contractors, and timelines go, the design process was something I truly enjoyed. Watching it all come to life as I had imagined it in my head was so fun!

For months, during the design and building process, I felt like these blueprints were glued to my hand! We lived and breathed them daily for nearly a year. And then, when the house was done, they got jammed in a box and stored away, where they’ve been ever since.

But recently, I’ve been working on a makeover of our home office, and since this is where I do a lot of my blogging for The House on Silverado, I decided that these blueprints would make the perfect artwork for this space.

Make a Copy!

Our original blueprints were multiple pages long, and we only have one copy of them. I wanted to preserve the original, so I took them to a local copy shop and had them print the three pages I wanted to use (the exterior elevation diagrams, and the floor plans for both levels of the house) onto one large sheet of paper.

It cost about $11, which I thought was reasonable, although it was actually only about $4 for the copy and a $7 charge for the guy to use a computer to “arrange the layout”. So if your blueprints are not on 3 different pages, it will probably cost less for you.

My copy ended up being 36″x17″, which worked out great for the space I intended to hang it.

Make it Look “Vintage”…

My freshly printed bright white copy was not what I had in mind for my Farmhouse Style office, so I used my handy tea-staining trick again to make it look a little more aged and antiqued.

I brewed some strong tea, using 3 tea bags for about a cup of water. I let it cool a bit after steeping, and then poured it into a spray bottle this time. Since this application is on paper, rather than fabric like when I tea-stained my flags for July 4, I wanted to lightly spray the tea on, rather than soak it.

The spray bottle allowed me to direct the tea to exactly where I wanted a yellowish effect, without over-soaking the paper.

I let mine dry overnight. In the morning, I could see where I needed a little more tea, so I sprayed a few more spots and then used my hair dryer on low heat to speed up the drying.

This process gave the blueprints a slightly patchy ivory color, like old paper, and also a little bit of a wrinkled texture. Much better than crispy white brand new paper!

Creating the “Scroll” Frame

I bought two 8-foot pieces of unfinished chair rail moulding at Lowes for less than $5 each, which we cut into 4 pieces to make a front/back piece on both the top and bottom of my blueprint.

Plus, they had many different patterns of moulding to choose from! You can select something that looks vintage, or more modern if that’s your style. This project is very customizable.

Once my husband sawed the moulding for me, I sanded the rough ends a bit, before staining.

I already had these 3 cans of stain from a different project, so I used a leftover piece of the moulding to do a test run, and determine what color I wanted for the framed blueprint.

I let it dry for a bit and then brushed on a light coat of the gray stain on top.

I just mixed and matched, and played with the stain…a little of this, a little of that, until it looked how I wanted it.

After letting it dry overnight, I came back with a sanding block and distressed it here and there.

Attaching the Moulding to the Blueprints for the Frame

I just used plain old Elmer’s Glue for this, because it’s just attaching wood and paper, and the moulding is so lightweight.

Be sure when you’re selecting your moulding that you don’t get anything too heavy that will pull on and tear your paper. Also, be sure your paper is completely dry before attaching the moulding, as wet paper will not likely support the weight of the moulding, nor allow it to bond correctly.

I put a generous amount of glue on the backside of two pieces of moulding, and then sandwiched the edge of the blueprint between them, to make a front and back.

I did this on both the top and the bottom of the blueprint.

Then I used some small plastic clamps to hold it all together and let it dry overnight.

Adding the String to the Top of the Scroll

I used jute twine since I was looking for a vintage Farmhouse Style look, but any kind of twine, wire, or string will work.

When I measured my moulding before cutting it, I made sure to leave about an inch or so extra on each side, beyond the edge of the blueprint, to give me plenty of room to tie my twine.

I just wrapped it a few times tightly on each end, and tied it in a knot. I love how the twine is functional for hanging the scroll, but adds to the design element, too.

I hung the vintage framed blueprint in my office, above this antique hope chest my mother left to me. I recently gave it a makeover too, which you can see HERE. I’m in love with how it turned out. 💕

It looks perfect here, above my The House on Silverado framed graphic. This room is really starting to come together, as a result of several recent projects, and I am excited to show you the entire room reveal soon. 💕

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Are you in the mood for more crafts? Check out these fun and crafty ideas from The House on Silverado:

Christmas Trees Made from Scrap Wood Moulding

Ribbon Angel Ornaments

Tree Circle Christmas Ornaments

Resources:

Mini Spring Clamps Set of Eight

Natural Jute Twine

XOXO Ceramic Mug

Elmer’s Washable School Glue

Pack of 4, 8-oz Spray Bottles

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