DIY Art: Twine on Painted Canvas

Hey All!  I hope your weekend is good so far.  To update you on the front door, I have two coats on it so far, but I need to do at least some touch up after it dries before the big reveal.  My front door has 9 window panes (To tape off the windows on both sides of the door, I had to use 72 pieces of tape!), and I want to hang a small curtain in this windowed area for privacy.  The glass is not frosted or anything so people can basically see straight in otherwise.  So, I am not sure if I will post photos tomorrow or I will wait till next weekend, when I hope to have my mama's help sewing a curtain to hang there.

That being said, I did work on another really easy DIY project today: Twine on Painted Canvas.  I didn't really see this anywhere, but I was inspired by several ideas of people using wooden letters or stencils on canvas to have a very simple but pretty piece of wall art.  I have needed a small piece of art for my powder bathroom for some time now, and I decided to use this idea in that bathroom.  The basic idea: paint a canvas a solid color and use glue to create a design with twine on top of the background color.  I will tell you what I did, and then I will tell you what I liked and didn't like about it.

Step 1: Get your supplies together.

You will need a canvas, two colors of paint (a solid of your choice and a tan or gold to coordinate with the twine), paintbrushes, twine, scissors, hot glue gun, and hot glue sticks.

Step 2: Paint your canvas with your paint of choice I used a light blue acrylic paint that coordinated with accents in my powder bath.  I needed two coats for good coverage.

Step 3: Choose a design for your twine.  I was inspired by this image.

 

Step 4: (I did not do this and regret it.)  After letting your paint dry, VERY LIGHTLY trace your design in pencil onto your canvas.

Step 5: Let your hot glue gun heat up as you cut your first few pieces of twine.  I cut my twine as I went because I was only loosely following the design from the image above.  

Step 6: Trace over your pencil with the hot glue gun, affixing small lengths of the twine at a time.

Step 7: After gluing down all of my twine, I took a moment to trim up any wild strings from the twine and from the hot glue to "clean it up" a bit.

Step 8: Paint the edges of the canvas with a gold or tan to coordinate with the twine (I used gold.)

You have an easy to do piece of art!

Okay, so, I have to say there were some pro's and con's to this project.

Pros: Quick, easy, uses products most crafters already have at home

Cons: Can take patience and care to get a "clean" look

To have a nice clean look (cleaner than mine), I recommend tracing your design on the canvas first.  I also recommend being especially careful to use as little glue as possible as your trace your lines.  Do not use big globs.  You don't want to see the shiny glue after it is completed.  I had like three places I had to pull off and review.  It was kind of a pain to have to do this, but it could have been avoided if I had realized how important it was earlier to not get "globs."

If you modify this idea or have another idea like it, let me know!  I liked this project, but I think it could have turned out better if I had done a few of the recommendations I gave here.

Thrifty Thursday

As a teacher straight out of college, we aren't exactly rolling in the dough.  I decided to share a few ways I have found to really save money.

Find coupon codes

Before I buy any product online, I check two different sites for any possible coupon codes that have been released for the website I plan to buy from.  Most online retail stores send coupons regularly to store newsletter subscribers, but you don't have to subscribe to every one of these newsletters (which often fill up your e-mail box and go unopened).  Luckily, nearly all coupons are published by generous subscribers.  These coupons are published on coupon code websites.  The two websites that I use most often are www.couponcabin.com and www.retailmenot.com  I really appreciate these websites because they almost always give information about when the coupons expire and if they have been used successfully by other readers.  I can almost always find some sort of coupon for the website I am buying from, and when you do this often, the savings can really add up. 

Shop with a list and a full belly

I know most of you "know" this to be true, but we still fail to actually follow this tried and true tip.  If you shop from a list of things you need and you have a full belly to resist urges to buy things you do not need, you will save so much money.  Stores like Walmart spend millions of dollars designing their stores to attract you to items you do not need and did not plan to buy.  They want you to buy more than you plan, and their designs really do work (I am sure you can think of unplanned purchases that just "popped" out at you in the store.)  If you go in with a focus and a list of everything you need, you can overcome their psychological mind tricks and save $$$, too.

Use coupons thoughtfully

I am not a huge coupon person because I find that most coupons are for items that I don't really need or purchase anyway, but I do think coupons should be used purposefully.  If a coupon is for 50 cents off any size of _______, get the smallest size, especially if it is an item that you might use but wouldn't necessarily buy without a coupon.  Also, you need to remember that companies use coupons to make money.  You should only use coupons for items you use and need and should never lead to you spending more money than you would have otherwise.  For example, I just received a coupon for Kohl's that is for $10 off any purchase.  I love Kohl's, but I also know that there is nothing there I can't live without.  I plan on using the coupon to buy a decorator item or a piece of jewelry or perhaps a tube of lipstick (I recently left my favorite shade in the car and now it is melted and deformed), but I will try to keep as close to that $10 mark as possible.  I don't want to spend money on something I don't really need, but if I can get an absolute steal on an item I would use then heck, I'll do it!

Finally, get thrifty ideas from other bloggers
Here are some sites I have lurked in the last few years to get ideas to save a buck here and there:
DebtFreeAdventure.com: 20 Grocery Hacks to Save Money On Groceries
FrugalDad.com: Money Saving Tips 122 Ways to Trim Your Budget
MoneySavingMom.com: Helping You Be a Better Home Economist
HomeEverAfter.com: Cheap Recipes
I might add some more to this list later.  Most of my bookmarks are on my other computer, but this is a start of some of the places I have been to get ideas!

7446P3KEQTMJ

Crafty Fun

Oh my!  I went to several garage sales this morning, and I found several really nice larger frames for a buck a piece, a cute basket for in my bedroom (not sure what I am going to put in it yet!), and an outdoor-decor-pale-flower pot thing (I'll show you, it's hard to explain).  Then, I went to buy my supplies for my key holder/sign, and I was off to work (okay, more like off to fun!).

Frame converted into Magnetic White Board

I spray painted this frame white, put a yellow stationary paper in it, and wrote "To-Do" in sharpie on the glass.  I used a hot glue gun to add some magnets and "Voila!"  I like it--especially the way the frame's curves mirror those in my cabinets.  Sorry for the graininess... these photos were taken with my camera phone.

Outdoor-decor-pale-flower-pot thing

I want to spray paint this, put fake plants in it and hang it by my front door... all in time...

The basket for my bedroom

Any ideas on what I should put in this?  I don't know, but I want to put it on top of my dresser (there isn't anything on it right now).

Finally, the Key Holder

So, I did this just exactly as I planned and described yesterday.  I traced the name on in pencil and then filled it in with a sharpie rather than painting.  I am not skilled enough with a paintbrush to stay in those kind of lines!  I used this "Home" sign that I received as a gift several years ago for the inspiration and the color scheme.

 

Okay, that's all for Saturday.  Hope you have a good weekend.