Version: Burlap Flowers

With the popularity of burlap right now, I had to buy a couple yards during my last JoAnn's excursion.  Since I'm still reorganizing my craft room, I couldn't take on a large project so I found this great tutorial at The Tidy Nest blog.  Alisa's Burlap Flowers are super easy and you can make them a matter of minutes.

As always, I try to make things with supplies I have on hand so I had to improvise on some of the steps.  Here's what I did for my flowers:

• Cut: Following Alisa's instructions, I cut my burlap and cotton fabrics.  A couple pieces of my cotton fabric pieces were scraps so I had to make smaller "ice cream cone" shapes.  
• Glue: I used my Aleene's Fast Grab Tacky Glue to dab a thin line about 1/4" from the edge of my burlap in order to keep it from fraying beyond that point.  I glued the fabric and the burlap together and attached an ugly 1/2" button to the back where Alisa attached her 3-D dot and "gem".
• Wrap: Since I didn't have any of the small rubberbands that Alisa recommends, I just cut a regular rubberband in half, wrapped one half around the fabric covered button and tied the ends in a double knot.  Since I didn't have much space to work in, I didn't want to break out my hot glue gun, so I just wrapped and glued down the jute and hemp cording with the tacky glue.  As you'll see in the picture below, I only wrapped around the edges and didn't cover the top of the button; that was just personal preference.
• Flatten: I flattened out the flower, but it wouldn't stay, so I glued a quarter-sized circle of grey board (cereal box cardboard) to the back behind the button.

Here are the four flowers I made today and a close up of my favorite one:

Now I just need to figure out what to put them on!  I'd love to incorporate them into a home decor project if possible.  If you have any ideas, please tell me in a comment!

Don't forget to visit Alisa's blog!!

REMINDER: Keep checking back here for more info about January's "Grand Re-Launch" and "Grand Re-Launch Giveaway"!!

Version: Fleur de Lis Wall Hanging Tutorial

Ellie, author of the blog The Lavender Tub, posted a wonderful tutorial for this Fall Fleur de Lis project.

When my husband saw her tutorial, he asked me to make a couple for our home so that's exactly what I did!  I wanted to use materials I had on hand, so my version of Ellie's project turned out much different.  Since it's so different, I'm going to post instructions on how I created my version of her piece.

Step 1: GATHER SUPPLIES

- Small (7"x9") flat canvas

- Fabric

- Satin ribbon (3/4" and 1/4" widths)

- Glue

- Image printed on Cardstock paper

- Acrylic paint & small paint brush

- X-acto Knife

- Felt

- Scissors

Step 2: PREP MATERIALS

Cut Fabric: Place your canvas (or other sturdy material) on the back side of your fabric.  Cut around your canvas making sure that there is at least 3/4"-1" of extra fabric.  If your canvas is thicker than 1/8", be sure to increase the amount of extra fabric so the fabric will not only cover the front and sides, but also have extra to attach to the back.

Print Image: Find a high quality black and white image that you'd like to use for your project.  I used the last two images HERE from the Graphics Fairy, but feel free to use any image that suits your style.  Since I used a 7"x9" canvas, I wanted my image to be approximately 5.5" wide.  I re-sized the image and printed it on a light beige sheet of cardstock using the highest quality print setting on my printer.

Step 3: COVER CANVAS

Front: Cover the front of your canvas with a thin layer of glue.  I prefer to use Aleene's Fast Grab Tacky Glue when doing any form of multi-media art projects, but feel free to use whichever glue works best for you.  Center your fabric on the glue covered canvas and pull the edges nice and tight to flatten your fabric.  Press down to make sure the fabric is attached well.

Back: Put a thin layer of glue on one corner that is about 3/4"x3/4" square.  Fold the fabric in from the corner at a 45 degree angle and and tighten it to remove any "slack" on the corner.  Go to the opposite corner and repeat, then do the same for the last 2 corners.  For the sides, you'll want to put a 3/4" wide strip of glue (thin layer) along one edge.  Fold the fabric over and tighten it to remove the "slack".  Go to the opposite side and repeat, then do the same for the other 2 sides.

Step 3: CUT & EDGE IMAGE

CUT: Place your printed image on a surface such as a cutting mat or other material that you can cut into safely; I used an old notebook that I didn't mind destroying.  Using an X-acto knife, carefully cut around your image.

PAINT: Since I chose a dark color fabric, I wanted the black image to stand out.  Using a small paint brush, carefully paint a thin edge all the way around your image.  I decided to use gold acrylic paint because not only was the gold lighter than the red fabric, but I knew that it would catch the light and really make it stand out.

Step 4: ATTACH IMAGE & BORDER

IMAGE: Cover the back of your image with an even, thin layer of glue.  Center it on your background and gently press down.

BORDER: Since the Fleur de Lis has approximately the same height and width and my canvas is taller than it is wide, I needed something to fill in the top and bottom a little more.  I chose to use some 3/4" dark brown satin ribbon.  Cut two lengths of ribbon that are about 2" longer than the width of your canvas.  Put a thin layer of glue that is the same width as your background in the center of your ribbon.  Attach both pieces of ribbon to your background, making sure each one is evenly centered between your image and the edge of your canvas.  Flip your canvas over and glue down the ends of the ribbon by pulling them flat and removing any "slack".

Step 5: ATTACH RIBBON HANGER

Cut a length of 1/4" satin ribbon.  I chose to use a longer piece of ribbon because I wanted a more dramatic loop to hang the canvas by, but if you don't want that, just use a shorter piece of ribbon.  Make sure your ribbon is facing the right way and isn't twisted, then glue the two ends to the back of your canvas.  As you can see in the image above, I made sure to glue down a sufficient amount of ribbon to make sure it holds.  Also note in the picture that as I was gluing down the ends, I pulled the ribbon so that the ends angle straight from where the piece will be hung.

Step 6: ATTACH BACKING

Cut a piece of coordinating felt so that it's just slightly smaller than your canvas and attach it to the back with a thin layer of glue.

FINISHED!!

REMINDER: Keep checking back here for more info about January's "Grand Re-Launch" and "Grand Re-Launch Giveaway"!!

Preparing for a Fresh Start

I'm sure you've noticed that I haven't been posting as regularly as I'd like and in fact, it's been just over 5 months since my last blog entry.  Rather than beat myself up over this, I'm going to go forward and start preparing for the exciting year to come!

I'm in the process of putting together a wonderful plan for this blog and I'm going to let you in on some of the details right now!

1. I will be posting entries sporadically for the rest of the year.  I'll share with you a few more tutorials before the year end and I'll also continue to share more and more information about what's going to happen here in 2012!

2. Between now and January, this blog will hopefully undergo a major transformation!  I plan on redesigning it's appearance and incorporating exciting new content!  Please pardon the "dust" during this time.

3. In January, I will be celebrating this blog's "Grand Re-Launch" and I sincerely hope you and your crafty friends will join me!

4. The BIG news:  In January, there will be a "Grand Re-Launch Giveaway" where I will give away one or more prizes including craft supplies from my craft room, gift cards to national retailers and maybe other goodies too!

Check back often for new tutorials and more information about the "Grand Re-Launch" and the giveaway!