Hello! I am thrilled to be joining Lindsay from Makely and 25 other bloggers for Knocktoberfest 2013! We’re on a mission to make less expensive versions of our favorite designer décor items and today is Day 4. If you are coming from Remodelaholic and her amazing table knock-off, welcome!
We are Star Wars lovers in this house. I saw this death star LED artwork in Pottery Barn kids catalog and thought: hey, I could probably make that for less than $299!
I picked up a piece of 3ft X 3ft particle board at Lowes. Guess what? I found a sheet of particle board in their damaged pile and they gave it to me for free! Thank you, Lowes-we’re off to a good start :)
I found a high-resolution picture of the death star on the internet and ordered a 36”X48” engineer print from Staples for $7.
(UPDATE: it’s hard to find a high resolution image these days. Some have had luck ordering a poster from Amazon and using that instead of the engineer print)
There will be some white on the top and bottom, but just cut it down to size.
Attach the print to the board with spray adhesive (leftover from projects here, here, and here) : I rolled up the bottom to the middle, sprayed, and then smoothed it out as I unrolled it. Then repeat for the top part of the print until it’s all nice and stuck on.
May I give a bit of advice here?
Don’t use mod podge!! Well, maybe if you are mod podge expert.
I am not.
Moving on…
I used a 1/4” drill bit to make holes in the print/board from the front to the back, trying to follow the picture in the catalog. Then,

I took some LED Battery Operated Lights
It’s okay if your holes aren’t perfect, it’s like a Christmas tree. When you turn on the lights, everything looks pretty.
Our grand total (let’s just forget about the print I messed up with Mod Podge, kay?)
large engineer print: $7
particle board: free
black craft paint: 75 cents
LED battery operated lights: $8
Total: $15.75
Yessssssssss. A savings of approximately $283!
Dun Dun Dun
Dun-DA dun
Dun-DA dun.
And may the force be with you.
Are you ready for more? Head over to Vintage Revivals where the amazing Mandy will show you how to make an $800 West Elm rug for around $60! To see all of the projects, click over to party central at Makely.
Happy Knocktoberfest!

This is AMAZING!! Thank you for sharing! I'll be making this for my son's room, possibly for a birthday or Christmas present! Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteAny chance you would be willing to make and sell one? My son's pants are on fire for one but I REFUSE to pay 300.00
ReplyDeleteAny chance you would be willing to make and sell one? My son's pants are on fire for one but I REFUSE to pay 300.00
ReplyDeleteAny chance you would be willing to make and sell one? My son's pants are on fire for one but I REFUSE to pay 300.00
ReplyDeleteThis is so awesome! Thank you for sharing!!! I too fell in love with the PB one when we bought our bedding sets for the boys room, but couldn't part with that much money. I'm going to be making this next week... can't wait!
ReplyDeleteThis is fantastic! We are getting ready to redo the boys' room and my oldest loves Star Wars.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I second the Mod Podge comment. I ruined my favorite poster trying to mod podge it onto a canvas. :( Bubble city. Boo.
Thanks for sharing!
Great job! I saw that a pottery barn and was looking to recreate it when I saw this - HIVE mind in full effect :)
ReplyDelete