Monday, February 27, 2012

Huge Canvas Art - Cheap!


Check it out!  A HUGE (55"x 35") piece of art made for less than $30!  I bought a huge roll of canvas on clearance at Hobby Lobby last fall for about $30 for the roll.  It was like 80' x 6' of canvas, what a steal!  I've been cutting small pieces off here and there for little projects but I've had something like this in mind since I bought it.  Here's how I did it:

1. Cut desired size of Canvas

2. Brush on a coat of paint in any color you like and let dry fully

3. Use rubber cement to make any design you choose.  (I put the rubber cement into a squeeze bottle with a small tip on the end for greater control when applying.) Let dry Completely!

(Here is a picture of the rubber cement drying.  The pieces of lumber are holding the canvas flat and eventually get made into the frame.)


4.  Apply a contrasting color of paint over the entire canvas.  Let dry.

5. Peel of rubber cement to reveal design and admire your beautiful new piece of art!

6.  Make a wood frame by glueing and screwing a frame together.  We used 3/4" by 3 1/4" by 8" pieces of stock lumber at The Home Depot.  My husband did this job for me.

7. Use a staple gun to attach your artwork to the frame.  



Tips: I sketched my design out first so I had a good idea of how I wanted the finished piece to turn out. I did several tests on small pieces of canvas to make sure the paint I was using would work.  I tried acrylic paint first (which worked well, too) but ended up using some left over latex bathroom paint from The Home Depot.  The under-layer was Semi Gloss and the top layer was Satin.  It took some work getting the Rubber Cement off along with the paint because the paint did not stick to the rubber cement.  I had to use my fingernail to scrape some parts and I also used a paper towel to gently "sand" some parts, too.  Hope this helps!

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Vintage Better Homes and Gardens


I just picked up 32 issues of Better Homes and Gardens from the 1950's and 60's for $10 (I love Craigs List!)  I am trying to find some vintage Kohler bathroom advertisements for a current bathroom update (keep your fingers crossed!)


I just opened my first issues, May 1956, and feel like I have already "Hit the Jack-Pot" (no Kohler adds yet, though.)  The articles, fashions, decor, recipes are FANTASTIC! Check out this article I found on making your own slipcovers...


Just yesterday I was scouring the internet for ideas and tutorials for making your own slipcover.  While I found plenty of inspiration (check out this site Pink and Polka Dot) I couldn't find any simple and easy tutorials.

I can't wait to try the instructions from this article, results are sure to follow soon!