Creating Me

I saw these tiny 2×2 inch stretched canvases at my local craft store (they come in a package of 6) and thought they were so cute!! I had to come up with something to use them for – they are just so adorable. 🙂 So…what to do?

They are the perfect size for magnets. I pulled out my trusty paints and card making supplies and here is the end result…

I painted them with Native Turquoise and Deep Peach chalk finish acrylic paint, let them dry, and then dry brushed a little Rich Brown on the edges and across the top. The paint is CraftSmart brand that I found at Michael’s craft store. Then I stamped the words “hello” or “friend” with brown ink on the corner of the canvas. The stamps are from the Heartfelt Sentiments set from Unity Stamp Company.

The butterfly on the peach canvas is stamped with turquoise ink on white card stock, die cut, and glued to the canvas by just the body, then the wings are folded up away from the canvas. The stamp and die set is from ART-C. (I found mine at Michael’s) The heart is punched from turquoise card stock using the Owl Punch from Stampin’ Up and attached to the canvas.

The flower on the turquoise canvas is punched from terra cotta card stock. I used an older punch from Stampin’ Up that is no longer available, but any small flower punch will work. I added a dew drop to the center of the flower and another one over the word “hello”.

To make them into magnets, I added a thin strip of magnet tape to the top and bottom of the back of the frame. Even though the magnet tape had adhesive on it, I added a bit of glue to make sure it would stay adhered to the frame.

Here they are packaged and ready to give as a small thinking of you gift.

The possibilities are truly endless with these tiny blank canvases – holidays, birthdays, monograms – anything you can imagine! Just have fun! 🙂

Thanks for stopping by,

Anita

I love this idea! Instead of the traditional picture frame, use a bulldog clip to hold your photo. It makes it so easy to change out your photo and you can make them to perfectly match your decor.

I started with an 8×10 inch blank canvas from the craft store and an extra large bulldog clip that I picked up at Target.

I brushed the canvas with one coat of Folk Art Home Decor Chalk Paint in Cascade. I didn’t worry about full coverage because I wanted it to have a distressed look. Just add another coat of paint if you’d rather not have any white peeking through. I cut a piece of heavier-weight patterned scrapbook paper to 6×8 inches and used an edge distresser to roughen up the edges a bit. I lightly brushed the edges with the same paint and also dry brushed a little over the rest of the piece. Then the piece is attached to the painted canvas with scrapbook adhesive.

When I put the clip on the canvas, the silver looked a bit stark next to the rest of the project so I brushed a bit of the chalk paint on the clip to soften it up. I used Crafter’s Pick the Ultimate Glue to adhere the clip to the canvas. I really like the way it turned out!

Here it is with a 4×6 print…

I found the canvas on sale for around $3.00 and the bulldog clip was $3.00. I already had the paint from this Painted Vase project and the scrapbook paper in my stash. A picture frame to perfectly match my decor for about $6.00 – a pretty good deal! And the possibility of color and pattern combinations are endless! If you need a different size, there are so many canvas sizes to choose from.

You can make these in your favorite colors to match your decor. Or make some for unique gifts – add a favorite picture or even a handwritten recipe card to make it extra special. 🙂

Thanks for stopping by,

Anita

You have some of these stashed away in your garage, basement, or attic. I know you do! Those clear bud vases from the florist that you just can’t quite throw away, but you don’t know what to do with them. Well, I have an idea for you!

I picked up some of this Folk Art Home Decor Chalk Paint in a beautiful shade of blue called Cascade at my local Hobby Lobby. I love that it comes in 2 oz bottles in several different colors – perfect for small projects! After washing the vase with warm soapy water, let it dry thoroughly. Then simply paint the outside of the vase with 2 coats of paint, making sure to let it dry completely after each coat. After the 2nd coat is dry, lightly sand the vase in different areas to give it a distressed look. Spray the vase with 2 light coats of a matte sealer spray to help keep the paint from chipping off. 

The finished vase…

Since the vase is painted on the outside, you can actually use it to hold fresh flowers – just be careful with getting the outside too wet – water could ruin your paint!

These pretty vases add a touch of color to small spaces – make several in different shapes, sizes, and colors. (Check your local thrift store – they usually have a ton of vases at very low prices!) Perfect little housewarming gifts, too!

Thanks for stopping by,

Anita