Photo to Canvas

Yesterday I showed you the start of my Canvas Gallery Wall.  Today I will show you how I made those canvases.  There are a million tutorials online and especially on Pinterest for how to transfer an image to a canvas.  I kind of read them all and then just did what works for me.

I started with canvases that I got on clearance at my local craft store.  I just buy them up when they are on sale and stash them away.



As you read through this keep in mind that my theme is Black & White, so you could use other colors as you choose. 

I have my pictures printed on high quality photo paper (usually from Snapfish.com, or Sam’s Club) in black and white and in the sizes to match my canvases.  I trim off a quarter of an inch from each side of the image to ensure that it won’t go over the edges of my canvas.


I then will go spray paint the edges of my canvases black.  Why?  Mostly because I just like the way it looks with the black and white photos.  I suppose you could leave it white, or paint it any color you choose.


Once the spray paint is completely dry, I cover the canvas with Modge Podge.  Make sure to cover the canvas.  If you leave any dry places, you will end up with bubbles in your picture.


  Quickly lay your image down while the Modge Podge is still wet.  I rub my finger around the edge to make sure the edges and corners stick well.  Then you cover the entire image with Modge Podge again.  I use a foam brush because I like the final look, but you could use a bristle brush if you would like the look of subtle brush strokes over your image.  I also use a matte Modge Podge because I don’t want there to be a shine on my image once it dries.  I am trying my best to get it to look like the image is really part of the canvas…not just stuck on there.


Let the Modge Podge dry completely.  For some images I go spray paint a mist around the edges which helps to make the image look like it “melts” into the canvas and kind of makes the edges disappear.  For other images, I just leave the canvas alone.  Why?  Because I am the artist and I like the way it looks.  :0)

Joe’s Beautiful Grandparents

  Joe’s Birth Mother

I completed 5 images (3 16x20’s and 2 8x10’s) in 1 hour….drying time included.  I have a ton more to make and a ton more pictures to find and get printed before our gallery wall is complete, but I will say that this has really been a fun project to complete.  I love seeing all the old family pictures and hearing the stories behind them!

I wanted to add this picture of a final display (since our gallery wall is a work in progress).  These were my first canvases completed with this technique and I love the final look.

Recycled Chip Clips

I can’t remember where I first saw this idea, probably Pinterest, but it was one of those “Why didn’t I think of that?” moments. 

You know these hangers…the ones you get that hang pants, shorts, skirts, etc.  I don’t like them, they get tangled up in the closet and I just throw them away. 



Well, before you throw them away next time, break off the ends…



And you have Chip Clips!!



I use them for EVERYTHING and I love it!!

Cute Kitchen Calendar

I know you have heard it before, but Necessity is the Mother of Invention.  We were in desperate need of a calendar as the summer events came rolling in.  I had the perfect place to hang one.  The problem was I didn’t have a calendar to hang.  So, what’s the problem??  Just make one!

See this empty little space next to my “collect-all” counter space.  This is where life happens in our kitchen and it would be the best place to hang a little piece of organization.


I wanted something simple and cute to match the overall feel of our house, and more importantly, being on a 2 Teacher budget, I really didn’t want to spend a dime on this project.  So I went on a hunt around the house.

I found an old cork board, the plexi-glass from an old picture frame, some white linen fabric, and some twine.  I could see my vision coming into place.  I gathered a few more supplies and got to work.


I started by carefully gluing down my fabric to the cork board.  It didn’t have to be perfect since I knew I would cover it with twine.


Once I had the fabric glued down, I used my rotary cutter to cut off the extra length around the edges.


Next I started in one corner and glued down the twine around the inside edge of the frame of the board.  I continued to follow around the frame of the board until I had covered it completely.


  I just love this Natural Jute and I use it on a lot of projects.  It has such a natural look and adds a lot of texture to any project.


I used my rulers to measure out the perfect lines for my blank calendar and my “notes” section.  I basically tried to think of any parts that I wouldn’t want to have to re-draw every single month.  I drew these lines directly onto the fabric with a black Sharpie marker.
 

I had Joe drill me a hole in each corner of the plexi-glass so I could use push pins to hold it to the cork board over top of the blank calendar template.


I added a dry erase marker with a section of jute, and I wrote in my dates for the month.


The plexi-glass didn’t fill the whole space of the cork board, but I love the fact that there is still a little space at the bottom where I can tack on some reminders and invitations. I looks just perfect in that little empty spot and hopefully it will bring some organization to our lives (and less of the “You never told me that” conversations :)

Christmas Project – Front Door Wreath

A while ago I shared my summer To-Do list with you for completing my Christmas decorations.  Today I am so happy to share with you that I have completed the first task!!

I saw a wreath very similar to this in an Etsy store and I thought, “I can do that.” So I did. :0)

I bought the totally wrong wreath form to begin with, and I couldn’t get the burlap to stick to it, so I wrapped it in burlap strips to give something to grip the burlap “bubbles”.  Be prepared to go through a LOT of glue sticks and to have nice glue gun burns on your fingers (it majorly oozes through the burlap).



I bought a roll of burlap for super cheap from the garden section of my local hardware store.  It had a ton of burlap on it and was the rough look and texture that I was going for on this project.  I used my rotary cutter to cut strips about 7 inches wide.  You have to have wide strips to achieve that “bubble” effect.



There is basically no rhyme or reason to how I created the burlap “bubbles”.  I just gathered the burlap and glued it down where I thought it would look good.  It took a lot of burlap and about three layers of “bubbles”.  

 I mainly made my bubbles down the center, then worked my way on either side.  Just keep working around the wreath form until you are finished.  This was a huge wreath, and took a long time, but I love the final look of the oversized wreath on my front door.


I added a ribbon on the back to hang the wreath on the door and secured it with a lot of layers of hot glue.



I added a large red silk flower that I got on clearance at the local craft store.  I cut off the stem and added a LOT of hot glue to secure it.  I held the wreath up and put the flower on the place where I felt the bubbles just weren’t up to par so it could hide my mistakes.


Finally I added some red ribbon (which I already had) and a monogram (that my mother-in-law had) for some finishing touches.  Love it!!!

 

I may hang some large bells down the middle of the wreath to fill in the big space in the middle and I plan on raising the height that it hangs a little higher but, but overall I am very pleased and….
I get to mark something off the list!!  1 project down…9 more to go!
1. Burlap Wreath for the Front Door
2. Tree Skirt
3. Burlap Stockings
4. White Button Ornaments and Brown Button Ornaments.
5. Two Pinecone Hangings
6. Six Wrag Wreaths for Hallway Doors
7. Two Burlap Pillows
8. Four Snowman Posts
9. Last Year's Tree Ornament
10. Kitchen Door Wreath

Bugs Bugs Go Away!

You know summer is here when the bees start buzzing, the wasps start floating around, and the flies (from the cow pasture that backs up to our house) try to make their way into your conversation. We seem to have a big issue with wasps around our house and I had seen different versions of this "Wasp Catcher" on Pinterest, so I figured I would give it a try.
You will need: An empty and clean two-liter bottle, water, sugar, tape, scissors
First you will need to cut the top off of your bottle.

Flip your top part upside down and fit it into the bottom part of the bottle.

Put tape around the edge of the bottle to secure it. I used painters tape because that is what I had within reach.

Pour about a cup and half of a sugar/water mixture into your container. I added the food coloring just for the purpose of letting you guys see what I was doing - it is not necessary.

I also sprayed the top inside of the container with cooking spray to make it slick. Find a place to hide your contraption. I suggest putting it far away from where you might be sitting or hanging out - the object is to get the bugs AWAY from you.

Basically the bugs are attracted to the sugar, then when they get in the container they can't get out and they drown. I know it sounds evil, but it is evil of them to sting, tear up our wood, and invade our home. Sorry buggies! Once it is full you just throw it away and make another.
Update: I haven't caught any bugs yet because it rained for 3 days after I put the bug catcher out. If I catch anything I will let you know how it works :0)

Mother's Day Surprise

Let me just take a moment to tell you that I have the most amazing mother on the planet.  Of course she is my mother, but I wouldn't trade her for all the world.  If I could have hand-picked a mother, I wouldn't have been able to pick a better one. 

My momma is so many things:  intelligent, caring, compassionate, hard-working, selfless, beautiful, patient, kind, generous, forgiving, devoted, and my WHOLE world! (among many other things)  I don't know how I could make it through a full week without the listening ear and wise advice that my momma gives.  With my family being in Florida I have to settle with the e-mails and phone calls for 90% of the year, but those moments when we can be together are priceless to me.

My  momma is the embodiment of the woman, wife, and mother that I strive to be daily.  I try to drink up everything I can learn from her any chance I get.  If I can be 1/10th of the woman my mother is to me, then I will be successful.

I love you momma!!

And of course she makes a great mother-in-law and loves my husband just like he is one of her own. (Sometimes I think she likes him more than me ;0)

Sooooo - today is the big day that I reveal my super secret project that I have been working on!  Yay!!  Of course I was working on this project for my momma for mother's day. And since she is my momma and actually reads my blog, I had to keep it a surprise...hopefully you will forgive me. :0) 

If there is anything that my momma is good at, it is being a mother.  Since she no longer has her real babies under her roof, she is the mother to 5 (all rescued) fur-babies.  

Maximum (German shepherd) 
Birthday - October 2003

Mollie (basset hound)

Birthday - May 2006

Manny (black tom cat)

Birthday - October 31, 2002

Zoe (calico)

Birthday - June 6, 2004

MoMo Ferrari (tabby)

 Birthday -  November 15, 2010

I wanted to make her something special so I got inspiration from this post on The Crafted Niche.  Of course my creativity spark only runs so deep, so I am usually copying someone else's idea pretty closely but this one ran me into a few dead-ends that forced me to think.

I began this project by searching for the encyclopedias that I would need and putting daddy on a mission to get the just-right shots for silhouettes of all 5 of momma's babies.  The encyclopedias were a no-go so I came up with another idea.  I researched the history of each animal (German Shepherd originated in Germany, Basset Hound in France, first documented Tabby was in the manger with Jesus, first documented domesticated black cat was in Egypt, and first documented calico was in Calicut India).  I then took these histories and cut and paste them into Google translate and translated them into the language of the country from which they originated (German, French, Aramaic, Arabic, and Tamil).  I printed these pages and then tea stained them to create the impression of them being old.  (See my tea stain tutorial here).

I then took the images that daddy got secretly for me and created silhouettes of each animal (see my silhouette tutorial here).  First, I tried tea-staining and then printing the silhouettes on the dried paper....the printer didn't like that very much, so then I printed the writing, then the silhouette, then I tea-stained.  That worked much better. :0)

Zoe Callahan

Manny Callahan

MoMo Ferrari Callahan

Maximus Callahan

Mollie Callahan

I framed each piece (dogs in 8x10 and cats in 5x7) and these are some ways that I imagine it will look on a wall in my momma's house.

Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

But of course she can hang them however she wants :0).  I didn't ship these yet, because I am so fearful of them not arriving in one piece.  So if you are reading this, you are seeing my momma's mother's day gift the same time she is!  

I hope you love them as much as I do, Momma!  I will bring them down with me in July and I can't wait to make some for myself!