Canvas Christmas

This craft was suggested to me by a friend who wanted to make them as christmas presents. I loved making them and after a little practice and a few failures I think that it turned out to be a pretty successful project. I also didn't mind having company while making them. I have been waiting to post this for a few weeks now, but I promised I would wait until after Christmas so that I wouldn't ruin any surprises. 

The photography classes that I have taken have taught me how expensive a picture printed on canvas can be. This project astounded me with how amazingly cheap making your own canvas picture can be. An additional bonus is that it is very easy. I do have to admit that the quality of the image was slightly less perfect than if it was professionally done, but I think the damaged parts add character. I also chose pictures that I took in chicago and it was cool for me to see how they turned out.

So, here are my instructions on how to create your own canvas images. 

Supplies:

• A picture printed from a laser printer - Since a normal piece of paper is 8.5x 11 I wouldn't try to make anything bigger than that unless you have access to a large printer. I also only used black and white pictures, but colored should work as well.
• A canvas- I used one that was 8x10.
• A gel medium-I used Golden Gel Medium in both gloss and matte, but I prefer the matte finish better.
• A paint brush
• A spray bottle filled with water

Step 1. Apply a layer of the gel medium to the canvas. Flip the picture over so that the image side is down and line the picture up with the edges of the canvas.

Step 2. As the image begins to stick to the gel medium it will wrinkle a little bit. The best way to get the wrinkles out is to smooth them to the edges with your fingers or a credit card. I have never had an image where all of the wrinkles were completely removed, but if you work at it for a little while you can get most of them out. 

 Step 3. Wait for the canvas to dry. It should be dry in several hours, but if you can wait for it to dry overnight that is my suggestion.

Step 4. Once it is dry spray the paper with water and start rubbing the top layer of paper off. Be careful that you don't rub too hard. If you do it will remove the actual image from the canvas. I have never removed the paper without leaving at least one small hole. Don't be too concerned if this happens. It makes the picture look worn.

Step 5. Let it dry. You will notice that as it dries the paper begins to cover the image again. You will need to repeat steps four and five a few times to get all the layers of paper off. It doesn't need to be 100 percent perfect but it does need to be mostly removed.

Step 6. Let it dry, and then put a layer of gel medium on top of the picture to seal it. Make sure you get the edges as well. Let it dry and then you have a finished image. 

Have fun. Let me know if you make any, I would love to know if anyone's turn out really well. 

The Key to Your Art

Computer Case

I am not the most graceful person. I trip on a constant basis, and it is a good day if I don't drop something. Now this isn't that big of a deal most of the time. As an extremely clumsy person I have perfected the art of looking graceful while picking up papers and books that I dropped; I can even do it at a pretty speedy rate. However, this did become a problem when I decided to start carrying my laptop around. Unlike books, when a laptop falls it is a problem. After two dented corners from falls (you think I would have learned after one) I decided that I needed a safer way to carry my laptop...I needed a case. The cheap part of me had no desire to shell out actually money for a case so I decided to make one. So here it is. I hope you like it.

Supplies:
Leather fabric (mine was a fake leather which is cheaper and works just as well)
Fabric for the interior (whatever texture and color you prefer)
A sewing machine, or a needle, thread, and a lot of mental strength and physical endurance.
Rivets
A key (look in the jewelry section of most craft stores)
Fabric glue

Step 1. Measure your computer, then add three inches to the measurement. For example if you have a computer that is 9x13 you will bump your measurement up to 12x16. This allows you to have an extra inch and a half on each side to work with when you sew. Just a note, since my computer is really thin, I didn't have to worry about the thickness affecting the fit. If your computer is thick add a couple extra inches to the fabric.

Step 2. Measure the fabric that you plan on using for the interior. The length will be the length you calculate in step 1. If we stick with the example measurements above that means that it will be 16 inches. We are going to double the measurement of the height so that we can fold it in half to create a pocket. That means that the height will be 12x2= 24 inches. Fold the fabric in half so the crease is at the bottom. This will give you two layers of fabric that are connected and both measure 12x16.

Step 3. Sew both sides of the fabric together about an inch in so that you have a pocket that will fit your computer. The bottom will be where the fold is so once the sides are sewn, only the top will be open.

Step 4. Cut a piece of leather that is the same width as the interior fabric that you just cut, but is the 3 times the length you measured in step 1.  

Step 5. Fold the bottom part of the leather fabric up the the middle section. Lay the interior fabric on top of the folded part. Make sure that the opening is on the top. Sew the sides just like you did with the interior fabric to create another pocket, but this time sew through the leather fabric and the interior fabric. Make sure that you are sewing outside of lines you sewed in the interior fabric. Leave the last inch and a half at the top of each side not sewn. IMPORTANT: If your leather is different on each side make sure that part you want to see is inside of the fold. This means that you are laying the interior fabric on the bad side of the leather. We will be turning the bag inside out later.

Step 6. Fold the bag inside out to make sure that it looks good. This is a good time to see if it is the right size by putting the computer inside it.  Fold the bag inside out AGAIN, But this time make sure that the interior fabric is on the outside of both sides, and the leather is all on the inside. (except for the lid flap.)

Step 7. Fold over the inch and a half that you left loose in step 5 and sew it through the white fabric. This makes the interior look better. Make sure that you ONLY sew the flap and the white fabric otherwise you run the risk of sewing your bag shut.

This is what it will look like. 

(I cut the design for the front flap at this point so the jagged fabric that you see is going to be the front flap)

 Step 8. Flip your bag over and cut a piece of fabric that is a little bit longer than the front flap, and the same width. Lay it overlapping the interior fabric by an inch and a half with the side you want showing facing up. (Make sure that it lines up with the folded part that you just sewed in step 7. When you turn the bag inside-out again you want the leather fabric in the interior to be the same length all the way around.) Sew it on the same way you did in step 7 making sure you only attach it to the white fabric. Then sew up the sides until you reach the top of the white fabric.

Flip it over again and this is what it looks like.

Turn the bag inside-out again for the last time. It should have the leather on the outside, and the interior fabric on the inside. 

Attach rivets to the sides of the flap. This creates a neat design, and holds both pieces of fabric together. I decided to only put them down the sides of the flaps, so the front still needs to be connected. For this i just used fabric glue. NOTE:If you are adding a key to the front wait to use the fabric glue until after the key is attached.

Step 10. To attach the key, cut a small piece of fabric that will be able to hold the key on with two sets of rivets on each side. (see pictures below) Punch two rivets through the top layer of flap only. Lay the key the direction that you want it to face, and attach the two other rivets to hold it on. If you feel like it might slide out, you can always add a few stitches around the key.

 Add some fabric glue between the two layers of the front flap, and that it is. You are finished. This is what it will look like.

And this is how well my computer fits. 

I love lamp

Do you really love the lamp or are you just saying it because you saw it?
I love lamp. I love lamp.

Anchorman aside, I'm not sure that I love lamp. Not to say that it doesn't look way better than it did before. Lets be honest, it is not hard to make a lamp that my mother got from a garage sale while she was in college look better. That lamp is older than I am, it's about time it got a makeover. What I don't like about it is how tall the lamp is. I'm also not sold on the shade I made for it.
But....
being that this lamp has served my family well throughout my entire existence I will give it the benefit of doubt and allow it a spot on my blog.












Step 1. Gather supplies:

• An old lamp. I suggest places like garage sales or goodwill stores. The cheaper the better.
• Spray paint (whatever color you want your lamp to be)
• Painters tape
• Fabric (for the shade)
• Hot glue gun and glue
• Twine

Step 2. Admire the absolute awful gold and platinum finish and the pleated lampshade. Isn't just stunningly awful?

Step 3. Take the lampshade off the lamp and cover any parts that you don't want to get paint on with painters tape.

Step 4. Spray paint lamp the color of your choosing. I decided to go with white, but I think that a light blue could have been really beautiful too. To make sure that the paint didn't run down the sides I sprayed three light coats of paint. If you miss spots on the first few coats don't worry. You can get them the next time. Also make sure you read the can for instructions. With my paint, I had to let it dry for a little while before spraying it again. This is so the paint will stick to the other layers.


Step 5. I decided that I didn't like the deep indents in the lamp, so I grabbed some twine and wrapped it around the lamp. See pictures below. I believe that it makes it look a lot better, and slightly more "beachy". To get it to stay I just tied very tight knots.

And that's it for the base of the lamp. Now we just need a shade that doesn't look like it belongs on The Brady Bunch television set.

Step 6. Most shades that are pleated have an inner base that the pleats are glued to. Pull the pleated fabric off carefully so that you have the base left.

Step 7. Take the fabric that you chose earlier and cut it so that it will fit around the entire shade. If you are good at sewing now would be the time to bust out your sewing machine to hem the edges. If you are like me and would probably spend years trying to figure a sewing machine out there is another option. Hot glue. Flip the edges in and hot glue them down. This will stop the lamp from fraying. 

NOTE: you might want to test the hot glue on the fabric first. Sometimes it dries darker and look like a stain. If it stains you might want to purchase fabric glue instead.

Step 8. Wrap the fabric around the lamp and hot glue the edges down. Make sure that the fabric doesn't have any wrinkles. Cut off any overhanging fabric so that only a centimeter or so is left on the inside of the lamp. If you want you could stop here. I decided that I wanted the twine on the lamp to match the shade so I added a twine border on the top and bottom.

Step 9. Cut three long pieces of twine that will fit around the lamp. Braid them together. Glue them on to the top. 

Step 10. Repeat step nine. This time glue it on to the bottom. 

And here is the finished lamp. I think I might keep the base and go buy a cheap lampshade for it. I'm not sold on the one I made. But it does look way better than it did before. So I guess I can say I love lamp much more than I did before. Let me know what you think!

Starry Eyed

Today I got to mix two of my favorite things: organizing and crafting. My little sister is halfway through her senior year of high school, and she would really like a place to have friends over, so we are re-doing my basement over thanksgiving. My sister is quite the little task master, and today I got assigned organizing the "junk/toys/crafts closet. Much to my joy (and her dismay) I found four full boxes of arts and crafts with everything I could ever want in them. I then proceeded to spend most of the day arranging them into different categories and putting them all into a MUCH LARGER new craft box. I think it was a totally necessary step in organizing the closet, but I'm not sure my sister agreed.

Anyways, I have christmas lights hanging in my room instead of curtains, and I decided to make stars to hang from them to add decoration to my room. (For all those of you worried about my sister and the cleaning, don't worry I finished helping her before I started crafting.) So without further ado (I have always wanted to say that) here is how I made the stars. Well actually only one, but you get the point.




Supplies that you will need for this project:
A large cereal box (per star, unless you make small stars)
Hot glue
Spray paint (white or black will work)
Mod podge (or make your own with Elmer's glue and water)
Ten scrap book papers with fun colors or patterns on them.
Black acrylic paint




Step 1. Print a picture of a five point star. I used Microsoft Word's shapes and chose the star shape and then stretched it so it took up as much of the sheet of paper as it could. 

Step 2. Cut out the paper star and use it as a stencil to trace onto the cardboard. Trace two stars and cut them out. NOTE: on the second star I cut out little tabs to help when I glue the stars together later. 

Step 3. Using a ruler and a pencil draw lines (with pressure added) from the tips of the star through the middle to the point on the bottom. The point of this is not to draw lines, but to make indentations that will help you fold the star later. When I did this I used a mechanical pencil that didn't have any lead out so it would dent the cardboard without leaving pencil lines. I did it on the white paper below so that you can see how it would look. The blue lines are the lines you are creating.

Step 4. Fold the star on the lines you etched. See the picture below to see where to fold up and fold down.

Step 5. Glue it together. Good luck, this was the hard part for me. Also it doesn't really matter if you get extra glue on the sides but make sure it gets smoothed out. If the stars don't fit together perfectly, line them up as best as you can and then use a scissors to cut off the extra.

Step 6. Spray paint both sides of the star. I chose to use white, but I think black could look really cool too. I also would love to try it with chalk paint so you could write messages on the back. Let it dry for an hour or so based on your paint. I let it dry overnight because I ran out of time and it was getting late. 

Step 7. Cut out a template from the white star that you used to trace the cardboard. Use this to trace 5 triangles onto scrapbook paper of your choosing. Then flip the stencil over and do the same thing. This will give you all the patterns you need to cover the star. 

Step 8. Once you have all the pieces cut out you need to glue them on. I painted my mod podge onto the surface of the star, put my patterned piece on top of the glue, and then put a coat of mod podge on top. Be very careful not to use too much glue when you do this, because you don't want soggy paper.

This is what it looks like with all the pieces glued on. If you want you can stop here. 

I decided not to be finished yet. If you decided to add more to your star, you can make it look weathered by following the final steps.

Step 8. Use a little bit of black paint and a sponge brush or normal paint brush to add the black paint to the edges. Blend it into the paper. Again be careful to not get the paper too wet. It will peel and fall off.

This is what my finished star looks like. I think it turned out pretty well. I love how it looks hanging on the curtain hooks. If you decide that you want your star to hang, grab a christmas ornament hook and punch it through the back of the star.

Let me know if you try this. Also, note the table surface that I created this on. It is the table I made earlier. :)