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"!!