custom date art print

I’m always on the lookout for different ways to add meaningful artwork to our home. I’ve seen some really cool signs and art prints that use important dates to create typographic art. Important dates including weddings, engagements, children’s birthdays, and anniversaries are used to create almost a family code.

I love typography and the idea of a custom print, so I thought I would make my own. If you have a computer and a frame, you can make your own too. Here’s what I did:

Write down the dates that are important to you. I picked our wedding date and our three kids’ birthdays. I used a page layout program on my computer, Quark Xpress, but any program like Microsoft Word or even Adobe Illustrator would work fine too.

I had an 8″x10″ frame that would work well for this so I set up my document to that size. Then I just played around with different fonts and sizes for my numbers until I like how they all looked. I printed this out onto white card stock but you can also take your design as a pdf file to any copy center and they can print it for you. I like using a nice white card stock to make the artwork a little more crisp and professional looking.

I like the mystery of just having the dates – with a small “our family” as a vague description underneath. It has become a real conversation piece. You could also include a small description of each date under the numbers, such as “Jack’s birthday” or “our wedding”.

I used a font called iSketchy Times Bold for the type. It has a rough, hand-drawn look that makes these numbers even more interesting.

I kept the colors very simple – dark gray type on a white background. You could add colors, do an ombre effect with your dates, or add a background pattern. This is a personal piece and you can really make it your own style.

I added it to my frame and it looks so professional!

The detail of the frame is so pretty!

What do you think? I added this art print to my new gallery wall and I just love how it looks. I’ll be sharing some of my tips on how to hang a gallery wall too. So be sure to check back soon. The bonus is this artwork didn’t cost anything! Simple, inexpensive and meaningful. win, win, win!