Quotes on Canvas

For Christmas presents to close friends and family, I try to do something thoughtful. I had the idea of making a canvas for my sister, mother, and best friend that included meaningful quotes.

First, I used a stencil and pencil to draw out the letters. The canvas below is one I did for my sister. I free handed the stars.

Then, I took a permanent marker and traced the pencil markings.

I blended colors to choose the base coat for each canvas and used a wide brush to apply the base coat of paint.

I then used a thin angular brush to color in the letters. I used two coats of paint and finished up by outlining the letters with a black sharpie to make them pop.

For the blue canvas above, I decided to add photographs. I applied them using Mod Podge and then used a foam brush to coat the entire canvas with horizontal and vertical Mod Podge streaks. This gave it an linen effect.

I'm very happy with the way all 3 canvas turned out and my mother, sister, and best friend loved them! :)

"Must Love" Sports-Themed Canvas

For another teacher on my team (who absolutely loves the Dallas Cowboys), I made this cute sports-themed canvas for her classroom. She has already hung it on her wall! :)

Here is a previous post where I describe how I make these canvases:
http://ihaveacraftproblem.blogspot.com/2013/12/must-love-pet-canvas.html

"Must Love" Pet Canvas

As a gift for two of the teachers on my team, I wanted to make them something special. I used smaller canvas (9x12) that they could hang in their classrooms. One teacher really likes dogs and the other really likes cats, so I decided to go with that theme. :)

First, I used a pencil and lower case stencils to trace my words. I drew the cat and dog paw print free hand. I then traced over the pencil markings with a permanent marker.

I mixed paint colors to make my background and used a large brush to completely cover the canvas with the background color. I then used a smaller, angular brush to paint in the letters. My last step was to outline the words and paw prints with a black permanent marker.

My teammates really liked the pet canvases and I enjoyed making something personal for them. :) 

Holiday Duct Tape Bracelet

Last year, to raise money for Sierra Leone, my class decided to make items out of duct tape to sell. Long story short, we raised a ton of money because duct tape items were so popular AND I learned how to make several items from duct tape. One of the most popular items was a the duct tape bracelet below. Because you can use three colors, you can really personalize it and make it fun. I've made sports-themed ones and school-themed ones. 

Because duct tape items are so popular, I always try to make each of my students something for Christmas. For this bracelet, I decided to use red, white, and metallic silver duct tape. You always want to make sure you use the DuckTape brand. Scotch makes duct tape in all kinds of fun colors but it is difficult to tear by hand, cut with scissors, the quality is not as good, and it is not as adhesive.

I won't go into too much detail about how I made the bracelet because I'm attaching a YouTube video below that taught me how to make them. You basically measure out a strip of duct tape, tear it in half, and then fold the halves. You will eventually have several little strips like the ones below.

You then braid the three colors. 

Here is the tutorial video on how to do the bracelet specifically:

I close my bracelets with a piece of duct tape. The sizing is not always perfect. If it is too small or large on a student's hand, I can peel the closure off and readjust it. I love the way the bracelets turned out...they make me think of peppermints :)

School-Themed Argyle Wreath

As a 4th grade teacher, I try and look for ways to give meaningful gifts that don't cost a whole lot of money. For my principal and assistant principal, I decided to make them each a wreath themed after our elementary school for Christmas. Our mascot is a gator and our colors are blue and green. I chose to go with a 12" wreath because I thought that would be a perfect size-not too big or too small-to go on their office doors. For these wreaths I had minimal supplies: (2) 12" Styrofoam wreaths, green/white/blue felt, green/blue yarn, 2 wooden alligators (thank you, Michael's!), and 2 wooden sparkle letter "G's" (for the name of our school). 

Because my principal and assistant principal have offices right next to each other, I wanted their wreaths to be somewhat different. I decided to wrap one in blue yarn and the other in green.

For the wreaths, I used white, blue or green felt diamonds and crisscrossed the yarn to create an argyle effect.

The last few touches were pretty simple. I used the glue gun to attach the wooden gators and letter "G's." Those personal touches really connected our school to the wreath. I really like the way they turned out and think they have a preppy "school spirit" sort-of feel. Go Gators! :)

Argyle Christmas Wreath

It is typical for me to create wreaths, especially ones for specific seasons, with friends. Last week when I was making my monochromatic wreath (see my previous post), my good friend Brandi make this beautiful Christmas wreath below. I love the argyle and classy detailing. She used a 16'' wreath and found the accessories at Garden Ridge. Enjoy! :)

Monochromatic Christmas Wreath

I wanted to create a wreath for the holiday that was a little different. I didn't want it to scream Christmas but I definitely wanted there to be a Christmas feel with some sophistication.

I used a 14'' styrofoam wreath and wrapped it in a maroon-ish yarn. I created the argyle effect with white and red felt diamonds. I bought a cherry red also, but it did not look as good against the maroon toned yarn. I used silver yarn to finish the argyle effect.

I went to Dollar Tree and purchased several items I thought would be pretty detailing to add to the wreath. I stuck to the colors red, white, and silver to continue my monochromatic theme. I found small plastic red ornaments with a shimmer, small red bells that will add a fun sound when the door opens and closes, colored pompoms, and a snowflake ornament. I broke off pieces of the snowflake ornament to make it smaller and used the broken off pieces to add silver detailing to the pompoms.

I am very happy with the end result and look forward to hanging it on my door! :)