July 19, 2012

Acute How-To: Instagram Canvases

Ever since Instagram opened its application up to Android users such as myself, I have been seriously addicted. If you follow me (@AcuteDesigns) you will see daily pictures of my food, my dogs, myself, and everything in between.

Rather than leaving those photos in my phone or cyberspace, I decided to print a few of my favorites and transform them into canvases.

Supplies:

  • Mod Podge (I used the glossy kind)
  • Mod Podge Photo Transfer Medium (I found mine at the craft store, in the same aisle as the Mod Podge)
  • Sponge brushes and paint brushes
  • Square artist canvases (I used ones that were 6”x6”)
  • Printed Instagram photos

Method One:

  1. Grab your favorite photos from your Instagram account. You can do this by emailing yourself the photos. Or, if you post them to Twitter or Facebook, you can grab them that way.
  2. Insert the photos into a Word Document and size them so that they are the same size as the canvases (in my case this was 6”x6”), then print.
  3. Cut out the photos and discard the excess paper.
  4. Use a paint brush to drop a few tiny globs of  Mod Podge on a blank canvas. Carefully set a photo on top of the canvas (right side up) and paint over the entire thing with a lot of Mod Podge.
  5. Smooth out any wrinkles or air bubbles with your fingers and allow the glue to dry (about an hour). If need be, add a second coat.

Method Two:

  1. Follow Steps 1-3 from Method One.
  2. Using the Mod Podge Photo Transfer Medium, paint all over your photograph with a heavy coat.
  3. Flip the paper over and carefully press onto a blank canvas so that the photograph side of the paper is touching the canvas.
  4. Smooth down any wrinkles with your fingers and flip the canvas over. Place a heavy book on top of the back of the canvas in order to press the photo onto the canvas.
  5. Let the Photo Transfer Medium dry for at least 24 hours. Once dry, wet a clean sponge brush and rub the paper off of the canvas. I started in the middle of the photo and went in slow circular motions with the sponge. I had to re-wet my sponge at least once for each canvas, but be careful to not add too much water.
  6. Once all the paper is free from the canvas you will have a nice, vintage-looking image.

Hang your canvases or display on bookshelves.


Tips:

**When removing the paper from the canvas in Method Two, you might find it easier to rub away the paper with your fingers once it has been dampened. Note, Method Two takes a little patience in order to get all of the paper from the photo. The end result is worth it, but try not to “rush” by saturating the canvas with water – you will only end up with a mess!

**Parts of the photo might wear away with the paper in Method Two, but that is ok. Each one will be unique and I think small blotches give it character!

**I found it really hard to remove all the air bubbles and wrinkles in Method One, so I gave up trying to do so. In the end, I liked the way the photos had a slightly wrinkled look. The texture gives them more depth.

Filed Under: Acute How-To, The Setting Tagged With: , , 19 Comments
July 5, 2012

Acute How-To: Yarn Pompom Garland

A few days a week, I work at Noon, the cutest shop in San Diego. For their summer window display, they made simple and bright colored yarn pompom garlands and hung them in the windows. After admiring these garlands, I decided to make a few to give my home a little summery pop of color.

I have made pompoms in the past using the traditional technique of wrapping yarn around two cardboard donut shapes, but this time I thought up a simpler technique. Anyone can make these pompoms – no special tools or skills required.

Hang these cute garlands in your home or use them as summer party décor. I plan on using mine to decorate my booth in my next craft fair.

Supplies:

  • Yarn {Any colors will do. I chose my favorite combo of yellow and gray and then added a few pops of pale teal.}
  • Twine {I attached my pompom balls to twine, but you can also use a long piece of yarn.}
  • Scissors

Step One:

Wrap yarn around your hand. The more you wrap, the fuller the pompom will be in the end. Experiment with this; after making a few, you will know how much yarn to wrap in order to get your desired fullness.

Step Two:

Carefully slide the yarn off your hand. Take a piece of yarn {about 6-8 inches long} and tie it tightly around the center of your yarn loop. I triple knotted each one for a secure hold. Do not cut the ends of this piece of string as you will use them to tie the pompom to the twine.

Step Three:

Take the tied loop of yarn and cut the top and bottom so that you have loose strands rather than looped pieces of yarn.

Step Four:

Determine the order of your pompoms and tie them to the twine. Trim down any long strings.

That’s it!  Hang and enjoy.

Filed Under: Acute How-To, The Setting Tagged With: , , , , , 4 Comments
May 24, 2012

Acute How-To: DIY Jewelry Stand

If you’re anything like me, you probably have jewelry everywhere in an unorganized mess. Or, maybe you’re nothing like me and have everything organized…. If that’s the case, just indulge me.

I have been thinking about making a simple jewelry organizer forever and finally got around to it last week. I was in need of an extra stand to display my earrings at my latest show, so I decided it was the perfect time to get my DIY jewelry organizer made.

There are various DIY jewelry displays all over the blogosphere, some easier than others. This one I created falls squarely in the “easy” category. All you need is a wooden board {I bought mine at Home Depot}, nails, and paint and/or stencils to decorate the board. So simple and inexpensive. This whole project cost me about $12.

Step One:

Paint your wooden board any color you want. You can also use stencils to create a design on the bare wood. I taped a wide piece of lace trim to the bottom of the board and then spray painted over it in gray.

On the top part of the board, I decided to do a whitewash paint. I did this by mixing together two parts white paint with one part water. Then I painted a small section of the board and wiped away the paint with a damp cloth. I continued to go over the area, painting and wiping, until I got my desired whiteness.

Step Two:

Determine where you want your nails to go and mark with a pencil. I used a ruler and made a small mark every two inches on the top two rows. On the bottom rows, I staggered the nails so that various pieces of jewelry would easily fit.

Step Three:

Hammer the nails half way in at each pencil marking and you’re done! You can either hang this on a wall or prop it up on a bookshelf or table {like I did in my booth at the art fair} using small stands {like these}.

Filed Under: Acute How-To, The Setting Tagged With: , , , , , 1 Comment
July 7, 2011

Acute How-To: DIY Art Canvas

I have a huge blank wall in my guest bedroom/studio that I needed to fill and decided to make a little diy piece of art.

I considered buying a large canvas, but could not find anything large enough that was also affordable…so I made my own.

This project is inexpensive and fairly easy.  If you are a renter like myself, it is an easy way to transform a room without painting or marking up your rented walls. 

This entire project cost me less than $40 – such a deal for a huge wall hanging!

What you will need:

  • 8 wood crafter sticks – these can be bought at Home Depot or Lowes.  They come in a variety of lengths and you can have them cut the wood to your desired length.  I was making a 4 foot x3 foot canvas, so I bought four 4 foot sticks and cut them at home {a basic saw will cut through these thin pieces of wood}.  I also bought four 2 foot sticks as support to the back of the frame.
  • A piece of canvas that is large enough to cover your frame.  I bought one and a half yards {or 4 ½’} of cream colored canvas.  You can find this at any basic fabric store.
  • Staple gun and staples {or small nails and a hammer}
  • Wood glue
  • Paint, stencils, etc.

Step One:

Once you have your frame pieces {the longer sticks of wood} cut to your desired size, use your wood glue to glue them together in a rectangular frame shape.  Wait a few hours for the glue to dry.

Step Two:

Use a staple gun {or you could use tiny nails, but a staple gun is so simple and a basic one costs less than $20} to reinforce the four corners that you glued in step one.

Step Three:

Flip the frame over and glue the four shorter “reinforcement sticks” in order to create a hexagon like shape.  Once the glue has dried, again staple the spots for a little extra hold.

Step Four:

Lay your piece of canvas flat on the ground and set the frame on top of it.  Carefully fold over the four sides and staple gun them down.  Try to pull the canvas somewhat tight if you can {I found this hard to do}.

Step Five:

Use your creativity and paint the canvas.  I am not one that can draw or paint a beautiful picture, so I decided to do chevron lines.  I used blue painter’s tape and filled in the lines with a golden yellow paint. 

Once the paint was dry, I removed the tape and used a cherry blossom stencil on the top left corner.

If you decide to do chevron lines – make sure you have your patience on hand….the taping step can be a little tedious.  I had to stop and start over twice in order to get the lines somewhat symmetrical.

Feel free to be creative – stencil, create an abstract design, or even use a striped canvas for a simple and chic wall adornment.

If you decide to do this project – link up. I would love to see your creations!

Filed Under: Acute How-To, tutorials Tagged With: , , , 2 Comments
September 29, 2010

why do you DIY? [ we scout wednesday ]

martha stewart illustration

D I Y – do it yourself

DIY gives us control in a world that is out of it. And you can’t run to the store when the fridge is empty & you just used your last ounce of control. But you can run to the craft store to get more glue.

DIY is a quiet meditation. The mundane – stringing, threading, stitching, looping, pulling – is given divine reverence. It’s an offering from your infinite spirit to the finite world.

DIY fills the void between desire and reality. If God can create an Eve for Adam’s loneliness, so too can you create a skirt from a tablecloth.

DIY is a challenge. For all our busy, stress-filled lives, I still believe we crave challenge. We want to push our skills to the next level. Can I do it? Yes I can.

DIY is self-confidence. For every nail-driven, brushstroke applied, seam sewn, or paper glued, we gain a seed of self-confidence. With each project we finish – or decide is good enough – we find accomplishment.

That’s why I DIY.

Why do you DIY?

Answer in the comments below or play along with We Scout Wednesday and leave your response on your own blog, Twitter update, Facebook wall, or Flickr stream. Link back to this post (http://www.scoutiegirl.com/2010/09/why-do-you-diy.html) and then insert the direct link to your response in the Mister Linky below.

{ martha stewart illustration by Brit Godish }

Filed Under: we scout wednesdays Tagged With: , 29 Comments