Hi there! Today I get to show you some more beautiful examples of the crossover between stitching and scrapping, with a twist: these are projects that are meant to be displayed, not put in books. Let's look at some great ways to create home decor using stitching, glueing, and all that beautiful paper and fabric!
One way that I have found to make the most of my fabric stash and paper supply is to create decorated canvases that I can hang on my walls. Think of these as a larger version of a scrapbook layout that are so sturdy you can hang them up. Buy blank artist canvases at any craft store. They come in all different sizes and range in price. Because you will paint them, glue things to them, and could even hand-stitch things to them, you don't need to buy the pricier versions. Both of the canvases below are 16" x 20".
This is a canvas that I made last summer, because I needed a bright spot for my living room. I used a combination of fabric, paper, and paper accents, and painted the canvas with acrylic paint first. I found that thick tacky glue, like Aleene's Craft Glue, is best for attaching elements to a canvas.
This one hangs in my daughter Josie's room. I am especially proud of the blades of grass that I cut from a large piece of oilcloth that I was originally going to make into a tablecloth!
And here is a tiny version:
The canvas itself is only 3" square! But I couldn't help but buy it when I saw it (I have a love for mini things!). My sister is a Photoshop whiz, and she took an old photo of me and my mom (I'm the baby in the wagon) and gave us wings. She originally intended the altered photo to be part of a necklace charm (she also makes jewelry - she's amazing!), but it is the perfect size for my mini canvas. After covering the canvas with a scrap of patterned paper, I finished it off with a length of vintage silk ribbon and a tiny buckle I found in my button stash. Little things like this make me so happy!
Here's a cute canvas project from Melissa Kaiserman:
I want to make something like this right now! I love the ric-rack stems on her flowers. And I know that I have lots of bits of ribbon and buttons that I could use up. (see the inspiration for her project at http://oopsey-daisy.blogspot.com/2011/03/spring-flower-wall-art.html)
If you aren't in the mood for a big project like a canvas, how about a quick accent that goes together in minutes? Subway art is so popular right now, that it is easy to find the perfect saying for your home on Etsy or quite a few blogs. Or maybe you are a designer yourself? I love having quotes on my walls, but I like to change them on a whim. When I make a quick piece of art like this, I don't feel bad putting it away after awhile. Here's what I did in fifteen minutes: I found and printed a free quote here on my home computer (you could also download and send to your favorite printing service), found a random piece of cardboard that was a bit larger than 8"x10" (keep that great cardboard!), covered the cardboard in a cute button print paper using a glue stick, attached a fabric-covered brad to the heart on the quote, and used pop-dots to attach the quote to the background. Ta-dah! I've gone a step further before and punched two holes at the top to hang the quote with wide ribbon.
And here's the project you have been waiting for: actually adhering your favorite patterned paper and/or fabric right to your walls. Kind of like quilting on your walls without the trouble of stitching!
Aly Dosdall used Modpodge to attach some of her favorite patterned paper directly to the wall of her scrap space. Doesn't that look so cool? She does note that if she had it to do over again, she probably wouldn't use Modpodge. So maybe she could use something that I recently heard about here, using liquid starch to attach paper and fabric shapes to walls. Liquid starch can be a bit tricky to find, but when I find some, I'm going to try it and let you know how it works. I have a little project in mind using sillouettes of my kids...
I'll leave you today with a project by Melissa that I just couldn't resist, it's so darn cute!
That pennant lampshade trim makes me sew happy! And if you didn't have fabric, you could use some cute scraps of paper (although they wouldn't be as flexible).
Come back tomorrow for Give.Away.Day! I hear there's something really inspiring to be won!
