DIY X-Files Wooden Plaque by Lizette Guzman
*Note* This content was created for Bee Creative Swaps which is no longer active and has been moved to The Morose Bee blog for archiving.
If I had joined the Bee Creative Swaps’ Fantasy and Scifi 2019 Swap Mulder and Scully from the X-Files would of definitely have been on my mosaic. I have so many fond memories of staying up late as a teen watching Scully and Mulder investigate unsolved cases involving paranormal phenomena. This American science fiction tv drama series included everything I continue to enjoy watching and reading (if time permits) as an adult: horror, drama, mystery, thriller, and supernatural fiction. Hence, there is no surprise I decided to dedicate my DIY for the #fantasyandscifiswap2019 to my two favorite FBI special agents, Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. Truth be told, now that the truth is out there (some X-Files humor) I wish the X-Files was still on Netflix because I would have binged watched it while working on this DIY hand painted X-Files wooden plaque project.
Supplies:
Acrylic Paint
Paint Brushes: Have a least one thin paint brush
Wooden Plaque
No-Roll Wooden Clothespins
Tacky Glue
Mod Podge Matte and Semi-Gloss
Pencil
Step 1: Research your subject. Here’s where Pinterest comes in handy. I pinned a bunch of Scully and Mulder illustrations as well as landscapes with alien spaceships beaming down light (that’s the background I had in mind).
Step 2: Sketch your ideas. Inspired by my X-Files’ pins, I sketched Mulder and Scully to get an idea of how I wanted to draw them onto the clothes pins. I’ve learned that you can’t get too detailed on the faces, there is not enough room. I leave the details for the background.
Step 3: Draw your desired images, lightly, onto your clothes pins and background. I really enjoy using all sides of my clothes pins so don’t be afraid to add fun details on the sides, like the alien hiding near Mulder.
Step 4: Let’s Paint. I always paint my clothes pins first. I start by painting their heads. Thin paint brushes are very helpful for small areas and details. It’s okay if you mess your colors up, just reapply with new paint colors and layer where necessary. I ended up changing the colors on Mulder’s suit because he looked too preppy for me.
My Pinterest pins also helped me decide how I wanted to paint my background. I painted my trees first and this image from rover.ebay.com taught me to add little dashes of white paint on my trees to make them look like light from above was beaming on them and behind them.
I painted the alien spaceship next, outlining it with black paint after it was painted with the other colors.
Then, I painted the sky starting with the bright orange color and working my way up with the darker colors.
Next, were my mountains which I painted grey with a touch of white. I had decided not to paint Scully and Mulder’s suits black or grey because I knew I would be using those colors in my background.
The light beam was next. I painted it all white first, then added the yellow, and finished it off with the neon green.
Lastly, I painted the outer sides of the wooden plaque black. I used two coats of black paint.
Step 6: This next step is optional. Stain your wooden pieces with Mod Podge. I stained the background with Mod Podge matte finish, except for clothes pin Mulder and Scully, the alien light beam, and the green on the trees which I stained with a semi-gloss finish. I wanted the objects hit by the alien’s light beam to stand out that is why I used the semi-gloss stain on them.
Step 7: Last step! Move your clothes pins around to see how you want to position them on your plaque. Once you have decided where they would look best, apply glue behind the clothes pin with a paintbrush and glue them onto the wooden plaque.
The neat thing about this tutorial is that it can be applied to any craft swap theme. I made a Chronicles of Narnia inspired plaque with Lucy and Mr. Tumnus for the #childrenslitcraftswap I participated in, in 2017. And, a Halloween themed plaque for a birthday gift.
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial as much as I enjoyed making it for you, my crafting online community! I would love to know what you think of it and please share pictures if you decide to do it yourself.