Desk of Letters
Long ago, and by long I mean probably a year, I made a set of decals for my desk. They were quite cute and livened up the space around my iMac and gave my mouse something to register on. Unfortunately, they also tended to collect crud around them, no matter how many times I cleaned. Recently they’d got to looking especially grody, since the layer of nail polish I’d applied under them started to yellow and chip. Clearly, something had to be done, and that something ought to wear well. I’ve always wanted to try decoupage-ing something, and since this gives the opportunity to add several extra layers of sealant to a surface, decided this would be the method for my desk resurfacing. But what to decoupage? I tend to like making things from type, so I decided to use the letters of my email/general use screen name: jftesser. I’ve had it since college, and I doubt I’ll be changing it anytime soon. So, when I went to the Boston Public Library’s book sale, I was on the look out for books with interesting layouts and diagrams. I definitely found some! The theme of my desk is now mid-century home repair. I used the guts (at least the interesting bits) of three books:
The Backyard Builder: Projects for Outdoor Living
The New York Times Complete Manual of Home Repair (1966)
and
Home and Workshop Guide to Sharpening (1969)
All of which have wonderful, hand drawn diagrams of tools, blades and projects.
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First, of course, I had to produce the letters. I used my trusty craft ROBO to cut approximately 224, or 28 sets of 8, letters. I worked fairly fast, but this still took several hours. Then I had to clear off my desk and remove the existing stickers, which luckily came off with some acetone, sadly taking my manicure with them.
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My desk thus prepped I began laying down the letters until I had a nearly complete layer, then letting things dry a bit and repeating. I finished with just enough time to make my friend’s Souper (sic) Bowl party. The desk is still a bit tacky tonight, so I’ve held off putting my computer, etc back on it. In the meantime, enjoy these photos of the completed desk surface:
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