Easy, Cheap Canvas Pictures for the Living Room!

So my mother bought this adorable silhouette painting of a labrador retriever at Home Goods a few months ago and I was thinking about buying one of a kitty for our house, but I wanted one that matched the living room, so after a few months of looking I gave up and decided to try to make one myself.  I found a bunch of cool tutorials online (such as these adorable circus animals) and decided to give it a shot.  Here is the end result:

I think its pretty cute!  If anyone else wants to give this a try, here's how I did it.

Materials:

• 16" by 20" canvas;
• Reeves Acrylic Paint in raw umber, phthalo blue, and colbalt blue;
• Foam Brushes;
• Scotch Blue painter's tape;
• Krylon Easy Tack (though, something a little less sticky might be better, honestly);
• Ruler;
• A "palette" (a.k.a. a paper plate).

First, I took pictures of Samantha, my husband's kitty, to use as the templates.  This picture is my personal favorite, because it shows her complete and utter disdain for my project:
 

Second, I painted the canvas a solid brown.

Next time, I think I will try a burlap canvas, so it does not have to be painted.  Acrylic paint takes a long time to cure, so I did this first step the week before I wanted to actually "paint" my silhouettes.

I wanted to use a few different images of Sam for this project so I decided to create a window pane style with the Scotch Blue tape.

 
I then chose my favorite pictures of Sam and one random internet image of a fish and a bowl for the top left square.  I printed each picture and Easy-Tacked it to a piece of card stock.

Next, I cut the images out, staying as close to the edges as possible, and Easy-Tacked them into their panes.

Then I painted!  Remember to paint outwards from the picture to the uncovered area.  If you paint the other way it drastically increases the likelihood a bleed-through.

Once it was all covered, I let it sit for a few hours so the paint could dry before I tried to remove the templates.

Once I peeled the templates off, I had to do a bit of touch up for the places where the paint bled through, but if I had been more careful to only paint along the paper, instead of against it, I have a feeling there would have been a whole lot less touching up!

Thanks for stopping by!  Leave a comment below and let me know how you like my new project!

Sewing Room Clock

I needed a clock for my craft room and could not find one that I liked, so I decided to make my own.  After looking around on Pinterest and Etsy, I decided that the button clock was the perfect match for my craft room.

Materials:

• 1 Fat Quarter
• Assorted buttons (I chose 1 large button for 12 o'clock and 3 smaller buttons for 3, 6, and 9).
• Clock mechanism (available at any craft store)
• 1 10" Needlepoint hoop (though, really you could use any size you wanted)
• 1 piece of cardboard cut to the size and shape of the needlepoint hoop
• 1 Grommet (interior hole should be the right size for the clock mechanism's shaft to fit snuggly into)

Next, mark the appropriate location for the buttons.  I used a protractor to do this and this is when I realized that it would be much simpler to only mark the four main times.

Next, transfer the marks to the back of the fat quarter and punch a hole for the grommet.  Secure the grommet in place.

Secure the buttons to the fabric.  When I made this clock, I sewed the buttons on (because that's what you do with buttons, right?)  but in retrospect, it might be much easier to glue the buttons on at the end.  Getting the buttons in the right place was a pain in the butt!

Next, secure the fabric through the needlepoint hoop and staple the fabric to the cardboard.  Trim the excess fabric and slide the clock mechanism through the grommet.

Finally, following the instructions on the packaging from the clock mechanism (make sure they're in the right order!) attach the clock hands.  Put in the battery and hang it up!

Post It Note Stand

So, those post-it note dispensers are very expensive, and I have not been able to find one that dispenses all of the sizes of stickies I use on any given day. So after seeing this adorable Teacher Gift on Pinterest, I decided to try to make one of my own

Materials
5 x 7 Plastic free standing photo frame
1 8 x 10 sheet of beige card stock
1 8 x 10 sheet of coordinating colored paper
1 3 x 3 sticky-note pad
1 1.5 x 2 sticky note pad
2 sticky note flag pads
Assorted embellishments (this one is fairly simple just a spare button and bow I had lying around)

Instructions
This is fairly self explanatory so just a couple notes to make it easier:
1. I made each pad backer 0.5" large in each dimension to leave room for a nice 0.25" border around each pad. 
2. Everything except the sticky notes themselves (which are stuck to the frame) and the embellishments are inside the frame to keep them safe.

I am very happy with the way it came out and I think I will make them as gifts in the future.  Depending on the holiday, the decorations can be changed to match.  Also the frame size and shape can be changed to accommodate more or different types of stickies.  I'll update this post with additional pictures as I try others.

Reusable Paper Towels

First, credit where credit is due:  I did not come up with this idea myself.  I saw it HERE thanks to Pinterest and adapted it to my available materials and added a few of my own touches (see the Permanent Roll below).  If you are not crafty yourself, that blogger has an Etsy Store where you can buy the towels directly from her (the link is on the top of the page).

Creating the "Paper Towels"

Materials:

• 5 cheapo washcloths (I purchased mine on Black Friday from Target for $2 per package of 8.
• Enough fabric to cover all five washcloths (I bought one of those coordinating tie dyed fabric sets from Michaels, in shades of green)
• 10 sets of snaps (10 each male, 10 each female, 20 studs)
• Snap tool (I bought the cheap plastic one that requires a hammer, not the pliers, and after making two sets of these towels, I already need a new one!)
• Sewing machine, thread, etc.

How To:

First, attach 2 snaps (the male side of each of two sets of snaps) to one end of the washcloth. Since I used metal snaps, I attached the snaps before sewing the fabric together, because I did not want the metal bracket on the outside. But if you use plastic snaps, that may not be necessary.

Cut a piece of coordinating fabric to the same size as the washcloth (the washcloth can act as your pattern and, if you pin the "pattern" in the proper orientation, you won't have to repin them later when it is time to sew).


Next, attach the two female sides of the snaps to the opposite end of the coordinating fabric.For example, if you have two male snaps on the left side of the washcloth, you should have two female snaps on the (back) right side of the coordinating fabric.I forgot to take a picture before sewing the two sides together, but the pictures below gives you the idea.



Sew the coordinating fabric and the washcloth together.  Remember to leave a hole to turn it right-side-out.  Also, Make sure that the usable sides of your snaps are facing INSIDE when you pin the fabric to sew it or you will have to pull it apart and start over!



Turn the towel right side out and sew around the edges to close up the opening.  I like to use the zig zag stitch as my finishing stitch.  I think its pretty, but its tough to keep exactly the same speed (and thus the same size zig zags) so mine sometimes end up looking a bit more "home made" as a result.



 Repeat four more times with the other four washcloths. That will leave you with a roll roughly the same size as a roll of paper towels.





As an aside, I had a whole bunch of scraps left after I created this roll (which I am giving to a relative for Christmas this year) so I created a "quilted" version for myself out of the scraps that came out very cool!  If I were to start over again, I would probably make some plan and some quilted for each set, but since the snaps are not in exactly the same place in the two sets (I learned that the towels lay better on the roll if the snaps are a bit further in after I made the first set), they are not interchangeable.

 Optional: Create a Permanent "Roll" for Your Towels

Materials:

• Coordinating ribbon (you only need about a yard of ribbon and it should be thin, .25" or thinner)
• 2 sets of female snaps
• One 8.5" x 11" sheet of needlepoint canvas

How To:

First, lay the canvas out on top of one of your towels and make sure that it is slightly shorter than your towels.  You don't want the canvas sticking out the top.
Mark the proper location for the snaps based on the location of the male snaps on the inner most towel.

Wrap the canvas around itself until you have a tube that is roughly the same size as the cardboard tube inside a "real" roll of paper towels. Trim any excess canvas.
Use the coordinating ribbon to "sew" the tube shut.

Mount your snaps to the ribbon and tie the ribbon around the canvas roll.

 


Note: I did this twice, once attaching the snaps directly to the canvas, and once attaching the snaps to a piece of ribbon and tying the ribbon around the canvas. The latter method was much easier and more stable.
Snap the first towel to the roll and wrap them up.
If its a gift (for someone other than yourself) add a bow and you're done.

Turkey Day Treat Boxes

My wonderful husband gave me a Cricut for my birthday and I have been having a fantastic time playing with my new toy!  In preparation for Thanksgiving, I made these adorable treat boxes:

For anyone who wants to recreate them, I used the following:

• Cricut Expression 2
• Teddy Bear Parade Cartridge
• Sweet Tooth Boxes Cartridge
• Recollections value pack of paper in fall colors (plus a sheet of red paper)

 I'm already working on the Christmas version!

My Latest Project: Papercrafting in a Box

So things at work have been nuts lately and I needed a project to work on at home that kept me from logging on the my work computer and working until all hours of the night.  I came across the Martha Stewart Office in a Chest project on Pinterest and immediately had a dozen ideas on how to make a scrapbooking center out of the storage chest my mother gave me for my bridal shower.  This time I decided to actually attempt to implement some of these ideas.

I started with a plain white storage chest: 

First I added two ribbon holders.  I screwed 4 eyes into the lid of the chest and looped yarn through each. I slid a dowel through each set of two yarn loops. Simple!

Next I took an old metal board (found on the clearance rack at Michaels), removed it from the wooden backing and screwed it to the lid of the chest.  (Since my box has a rounded top this was a bit of a pain, so I would recommend using a flat top box or mounting the metal to a piece of wood first.  Plus I had to add molding around the edges to hide the spots where I inexpertly bent the metal).  Now I have a place for all of my magnetic containers to hold brads, funky paperclips, and all sorts of other small trinkets.

Next I mounted hanging file folder rails (which I am willing to admit my father had to help me make since I do not own a table saw!) to the left side of the box.  Now I have plenty of storage for my 12" by 12" cardstock!  The right side of the box is left open for general storage.  Though, if anyone has a better suggestion for what to do with that space, I am open to suggestions.

After that, I screwed hooks into the middle railing to store my papercrafting scissors.

Next, since I don't like to waste anything, I took the wood the metal board used to be mounted on, attached it to the side of the box with hinges, added legs and voila: a "table"! (the yarn is cut to the appropriate length to keep the legs at a 90 degree angle to the tabletop).

 

 

Finally, I mounted a self-healing cutting mat to the table soI always have a safe place to do my cutting.

And there you have it... all of my papercrafting supplies in one neat and organized spot!

Now on to the task of using my new papercrafting center...

My Christmas Present

I came across this picture in my email and I wanted to share it...

I am very proud of my first chipboard album, which I made for my boyfriend's mother. It is a pocketbook sized so she can keep her pictures of all of the little ones (and not so little ones) in her life close by so she is always ready to brag!

A few tips from someone who learned the hard way:

-glue the paper down first, don't try to cut the paper to the "right shape" then glue it down!

-I personally don't care about being covered in ink when I'm scrapbooking, but if you don't want finger prints ending up on the other papers you are working with, keep baby wipes handy!