Scripture Canvas Tutorial

     After seeing canvas after canvas on Pinterest, I decided to give handmade art a chance for my upcoming nugget's nursery.  I searched for quotes about kids, boys, babies, and finally found a scripture I loved.  It is from the book of Samuel, and the speaker is Hannah, who thought she would never have a child, but was blessed with one after years of heartbreak.  God rewarded her faithfulness, and her words were immortalized in the Old Testament.  I knew it was the perfect verse because I, too prayed for my precious little one, and am so thankful that he's about to be in my arms! 
     This project is simple, but slightly time consuming.  However, it was fun, so it made this fussy little project go fast.  Here's how I did it.

 I started with a large canvas from Michael's.  It was only $11 after I used a 40% off coupon.

I cut letters out of cardstock on my Cricut machine to get a feel for how the layout would look.  This gave me an idea how large I wanted the letters to be, and how the spacing would look.  If you do not have a Cricut, you can still wing it by buying letters at your local craft store, and skippping this step.

 Once I was satisfied with my layout, I cut the letters out of vinyl on my Cricut, and put them in place where the paper ones had been.  This allows for (almost) perfect spacing.

 I wanted my background to be a navy color, but I didn't want it to be plain blue, so after mixing various shades of blue, I liberally spread the paint all around the canvas, covering the letters.  You want to ensure that the letters are stuck very well in this stage, so your paint doesn't bleed where you don't want it to.

After you have allowed your canvas to dry for several hours, peel the letters off, and behold!  I colored in one word with a permanent marker because I liked the way it looked.  Your letters should have pretty clean edges, but you can always touch them up with a paint pen, or some White Out.

Obviously, there are many inspirational quotes and scriptures you can use, so get those creative juices flowing!

Decorating Our Guest Room

     This week I have been trying to tackle those crafty projects that I meant well with, but never got to.  In just a couple of weeks, my brother and his wife will be here to visit {insert squeals of joy here}.  I am so excited to see them.  So in preparation of their arrival, I have been getting the guest room squared away.  Here are a couple of little things I did.

 I took a cheapie mirror from the Christmas Tree Shops and gave it a shabby chic finish.  It started out as bronze.

 Here is a close-up.  I achieved this look by giving the mirror a couple coats of white paint, waiting for it to dry, and sanding spots on the frame to give it a worn, antique look.

 I added a little visual interest with this framed "art."

 I bought this frame for $5.99, and used red patterned scrapbook paper as a background.  Places like Marshalls, Ross, and TJMaxx have the best prices on frames. I cut out the word "hope" using my Cricut machine and the "Stamped" cartridge. The alarm clock I snagged at IKEA for $5.  I love its vintage look.

Getting a little closer!

Have a great day!

A Room for My Little Sailors

     As you may know, I just moved from Virginia to Rhode Island.  When we got here I decided the boys' room needed a change.  As cliched as it is for a sailor's sons to have a nautical room, I still went for it.  It may be predictable, but it is also so cute.  I will be showing updates as I go through the decorating process, but today I wanted to show the newest piece of my efforts.
     I love the idea of personalizing the room, and I wanted their names to appear somewhere.  I thought about wooden letters, but decided I wanted something a little more subtle.  I was thrilled when I visited a local store called the Christmas Tree Shops and found all kinds of nautical stuff.  The store is a misnomer because it actually has nothing to do with Christmas, but that is besides the point.  I found lots of goodies including some rustic oars for $5.99 each.  I decided to use these to make the boys' room unique and personalized.  Here's how I did it.
     I started by cutting some contact paper to use as a stencil with my Cricut machine.  You could use the vinyl specifically for die cutting, but a roll of $1 contact paper did the trick here. I cut out the words "USS" then a slightly larger name and placed them on the paddles of the oars.  I pressed the contact paper tightly to the wood and dabbed acrylic paint lightly over the stencil in an up and down motion. A painting motion will make your paint bleed. It is also important to use art quality acrylic instead of the cheap craft stuff.  The cheap kind will make your letters bleed, and you will not have a clean edge. (When I say cheap I mean the kind on sale for $.50.) The good paint is thick and stays put.  The good news it that if you screw up, you can peel your stencil off and wipe away the paint with a wet cloth.

Here it is after I have peeled the contact paper off.

     Next I nailed the oars together on the back in two places.  I hung them on the wall with pre-fixed picture hooks.  You can always add these if they don't have them already. 

Isn't this a cute addition to the room?

Total Cost: $13

Time: A little more than an hour