DIY Canvas Art

I've seen this one circling Pinterest for awhile, but never really found one with super clear instructions. Most of the pins are just pictures of the finished product. And I know, it's really not that difficult and probably summed up in a simple phrase: Put painter's tape on a canvas and paint over it. (The "peel the tape off after it's dry and you have awesome original wall art" part is implied). But I figured I'd write my own blog, give my two cents, add all the little tips that none of these sites seem to have. So after my adventures with paint and stickers, I thought I'd give this one a try. Sara was looking for a fun and easy project for her youth group to do while on a retreat, and so we decided to test it out. I think they turned out well!

Supplies:

~canvas

~paint

~paintbrushes

~masking/painter's tape

~newspaper (if you want to cover the table)

Step 1: Paint the canvas. 

Pretty basic. Apparently neither one of us likes red paint, haha.

Step 1.5: Wait for the paint to dry.

This was Sara's least favorite part. 

But seriously. Pretty important if you want your design to turn out

the way you want it. Otherwise, the tape peels up the paint.

Step 2: Place masking or painter's tape on the canvas.

You can use it to make letters, lines, squares, shapes, just about anything. The tape is the part that you won't be painting over, so anything underneath it will show through in the final product.

Step 3: Paint black over the whole canvas.

Paint carefully. Make sure the tape is firmly pressed down. Try not to let the edges get peeled back while you're painting. Take your time, or the paint might seep under the edge of the tape, which makes more blurry lines. Using spray-paint would probably solve that problem. I haven't tried it yet because I haven't taken the time to go out and buy black spray paint. 

Step 3.5: Wait for the paint to dry. Again.

Sara's other least favorite part.

Step 4: Remove the tape from the canvas.

Peel carefully! It's really important (again) to make sure that the paint has dried completely before you start to peel up the tape, or the paint will get smear-y and might peel up with the tape. But hey, the results are pretty great:

And really, that's all there is to it! Sara is a self-proclaimed non-crafty person, and she had a great time. I believe her words were "Super cool and super easy!" It's really a basic project that anyone can do, even kids. Mom could put the tape down on a canvas and let the kids finger-paint over it, and it would have the same result. 

Have at it, friends! Let the original-art-making commence!

Mason Jar Journal

Last year about this time, this photo was making it's way around the interwebz, on Pinterest and Facebook and Tumblr. The premise was suggesting that you take an empty jar, and write down all the fun/happy/memorable moments of the year and put them in the jar, then take them all out at the end of the year and look back on the events of the year. Being the trend-follower that I am, I also pinned the photo to my arts-and-crafts board and determined that I would follow through with it. But I (like many people) make resolutions every year and (let's be honest) who really follows through with those anyway?? They are always good ideas in theory, but rarely do I seem them come to fruition. I didn't have high hopes for this one.

Lo and behold, I sit here twelve months later, surrounded by all the awesome things that happened to me this year! Somewhat in shock, I might add. It dawned on me earlier this week that the year is almost over, and I actually completed this project. 

I've always kept a journal, but since I went to college, my entries got more and more sporadic, and it took me until the end of my senior year (December 2012) to completely fill the journal that Linna gave me on my 16th birthday (in my defense, it WAS enormous). I bought a blank journal, ready to start chronicling the new season of my life in 2013.... and it just never happened. So I have never been more glad that I completed my Mason Jar Journal. At least the best moments of my year were recorded.

Some of the highlights:

Thanks to everyone who helped make this year a fantastic one! 

DIY *GLITTER* canvas painting

So we've all seen the "paint over alphabet stickers on a canvas" DIY project that is literally all over Pinterest. And really, I think it's great--everybody can create original artwork for their living room! And I have to admit, I have made several of these projects, and always been pretty happy with the result. 

Buuuuut I kept seeing other random projects on Pinterest that involved glitter, and I got this thought.

Why not do this stickers-on-canvas idea, but instead of painting over it with paint, use modpodge and GLITTER!

Clearly, this needed to happen. So here's a handy little tutorial so you all can make an awesome GLITTER CANVAS PAINTING.

Here are the materials I used:

blank canvas, Remarks "Mumbo Jumbo" alphabet stickers, ModPodge, black acrylic paint, a paintbrush and of course... GLITTER!

 First, paint the canvas whatever color you want the lettering to be. In this case, I wanted the letters to be black, so that it would show up against my light colored glitter.

 Allow the canvas to dry completely (usually at least 2 hours, maybe more depending on how thick you paint the bottom coat). Then arrange the letter stickers on the canvas. I like to cut the letters out individually so I can move them around before I stick them on for real. As you can see, I had some white and some black letters--the white were definitely easier to see under the glitter!

I divided the canvas into 9 parts, to give it a sort of star burst feel, and also to make it easier to do the glitter in sections. Going one section at a time, coat the canvas with modpodge--the more the better! Then shake the glitter onto the glue.

Then I shook off the excess glitter into a tub. I went one color at a time so that I could rescue the excess glitter without mixing it all up. 

Make sure you remove the stickers soon after you've sprinkled the glitter, instead of waiting until the glue has completely dried!! Otherwise, the modpodge glues the stickers to the canvas, and it's much more difficult to peel the letters off. I gave it maybe a minute or two, so the glue had time to set a little, and then I removed the stickers.

And voila! Glitter canvas painting! I'm planning to find some sort of adhesive spray to spray over top of the canvas, so that the glitter doesn't end up all over my house.

Because let's be real... glitter tends to get EVERYWHERE. 

"Why, I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast!" 

Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There

P.S. Shameless advertising..... I am willing to make one of these for anyone, custom quote and colors.... if you will pay me.... ;) But seriously, they make great gifts.