Monday, April 30, 2012

Lake Word Art - in Color


Here's some Lake Love



Expression in Word Art:

You might remember an earlier post
when I talked about making subway art
in greys and blacks.

But I wanted to try the prints
with a background color.

The main difference between the black and the colors
is the poster finish
and the cost.
When making the black and grey art,
the print comes with a matte finish
and is around $3.
The colored posters are a shinier finish
even when ordered in matte
and they cost around $13
(unless you can find them on sale which I did
at Zazzle for about $8)
Then there are shipping costs as well.

It is fun to experiment in Photoshop
with different colored backgrounds.
You can see on the red that I added a lot of shading.


Here is the original design in Photoshop
and then the finished sanded look:



I built the box frame with 1/4" MDF
and wood trim .




Paint the edges
a darker shade of your poster color.



I used Mod Podge this time to glue the poster on.
The colored paper is heavier so you can use a heavier glue.

Remove any stickers
from the back of the poster.



Here you can see the poster edge
before
and
after
sanding:







Then use a finer grit sandpaper
for the front poster surface.
The colored poster only needs
a very light sanding to distress..


These can be customized for any lake











Hope you found some inspiration today!
Thanks for visiting, Deb

**update**
be sure to really press paper repeatedly.
Although these first projects didn't get air pockets,
some have.
To resolve that, I used a pin to put a hole in front,
wiggle around and put some glue under.
After dry, then sand lightly.


There is another tip on "Plaid's" site
that says to spray both sides of paper and let dry.
(evidently all of the shrinkage will occur before application)




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Friday, April 20, 2012

Canvas Monogram - Make a Wedding Gift



Just think -
You could personalize wedding gifts
for your friends this summer!
Or-
make one for yourself.

Either way, this is a good punch of pattern and color
for your front door
or inside your home.

Start with a canvas Panel (about 2 or 3 dollars)
This one measures 16 X 20.

Start with painting the back semi-gloss black
for a nice finishing touch.

Paint the front of the canvas one solid color
or mix two tones.
I double loaded a brush using
lime green on one side of the brush and
darker sour apple green on the other.



When you look at the background pattern,
what shape do you see?
diamonds?
circles?
4 leaf design?

I suppose you could pick any of those shapes
to make your stencil.
I chose the 4 leaf pattern:



For my stencil
I started with a piece of cardstock paper.
Draw your shape
leaving good margins around your design.
I cover both sides of my cardstock with
wide packaging tape to sturdy it up
and make it reuseable.
Then using an exacto knife
on my cutting board, I cut out
the 4 leaf pattern.
This pattern shape
needs to be a 4 inch square so it
will fit nicely on the 16 X 20 canvas.
Then lay in the white paint
and repeat so that the edges of the
stencil repeat just touch.



Any rough edges can be cleaned up with paint
or wiped off if you catch it right away.
Baby wipes are a staple on my art table!
To give the white leaf pattern
a nicer finish,
take a 1" flat brush loaded with white paint
and pull it on it's side making a clean line.



Lightly sketch in where you want
your flourish pattern to go.
I made a large paper pattern
to trace around.
Then use a liner brush
loaded with grey and white to paint  the flourish design.
I add clear glaze to dip my brush in
to extend the paint and
get better flow.

Then make a large pattern
for the monogram letter.
Trace around and fill in.

Now for the grommets on top:
Using a 3/8" inch spade bit
drill two holes away from the edges













Clean up front and back edges
with an exacto knife.



Put top grommet extender through the front of the canvas.



Hold flat piece on back.



Using the grommet tool kit,
lay the front ring into the receiving flat disc.
Hammer the little silver driver
down from the back side.



You need to be firm with your hammer
and working on a hard surface
(a concrete floor is good).

Ta Da!
You're ready for the ribbon.











You can do it!
Wouldn't that make a great gift!

Have a great weekend,
Deb


Linking to:
HookingupwithHoH


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Saturday, April 14, 2012

Route 66 - How to Paint a Canvas Sign

Hello DIY Friends!
I'm excited to share this project with you.
I was so inspired to paint this Route 66 sign
after visiting my son in Arizona.


I'll show you how it all started:




Traveling a very primitive and winding Route 66,
we came to a small mining town
in Oatman, Arizona.


Burros, Motorcycles and Gift Shops Galore!








We even got to watch a "shoot-out" at hign noon:



Oh, and I almost forgot,
MJ was arrested...



So all of that! "


Turned into this:



Starting with a 24" X 30" canvas,
I didn't do any base painting.
I just started with a template design
and traced around it with a pencil.


Then using a 1" flat brush
paint in the outline.






Make a template for your letters.
I penciled mine on tracing paper
(pencil lines on both sides of paper)
Then penciled over the tracing paper
which leaves a faint pattern on canvas
for you to follow.






Here are the colors I used:




Keep those worn out old chip brushes!
They are great for this dry brush technique:






So now our bathroom
has a sweet dose
of our Fun stop
on Route 66!





Have you traveled the winding Route 66?
I hope this inspires you to create a fun piece of graphic art!
Thanks for stopping by, Deb

Linking to Tater Tots and Jello
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House of Hepworths

IhookedupwithHoHlamespice










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