Party Like It's 1776

Fourth of July is quickly approaching, which means it's time to get a little decor up around the house. I've always loved the fourth of july, and I think it's one of the most under-appreciated holidays. This year, I decided to make this canvas. I have to admit, I wasn't clever enough to come up with the saying on my own, I saw it on some cups at Pier 1 and immediately thought it would look great on a canvas.

Confession: This canvas was a Vino Van Gogh painting gone horribly wrong. I can craft all day long, but make me paint a picture of trees starting with a blank canvas and I promise I will fail. I just started the project by giving the canvas a couple coats of white spray paint, magic I tell ya! I wasn't about to let a perfectly good canvas go to waste. 

Do you ever decorate or do anything special for the Fourth of July? 

Check out my wreath from last year here.

If I have time, I may even squeeze in a few other patriotic projects.

Tutorial: Canvas Wedding Vows

I figured I would post today about my most popular, and personal favorite, craft on my old blog. It is wedding vows written on a canvas. I originally saw this on Etsy, and immediately fell in love. Of course I didn't want to spend the $100+ to purchase it, so I was determined to find my own way of doing it. I came across this tutorial, tweaked it a little, and this is how it turned out.

I plan to use this first as decoration at my wedding reception, probably on the table with our place cards and guest book. Also, after the wedding, it will find a nice place on a bedroom wall or somewhere else in our house.

For anyone who is planning to do this, I must warn you it is a  L O N G  process that requires a lot of patience. 

In order to make this, you will need:

canvas (12"x24")

contact paper

x-acto knife

spray paint

iron

First, you will need to create a design of how you want the words to be laid out and what fonts you would like. I did this on Photoshop to make sure the sizes would be correct when I printed it. Once you have printed your design, the fun begins! You will need to trace all the words onto contact paper, and cut them out using an x-acto knife (some fonts I found easier to cut with scissors).

Next, lay out the letters as you would like them on your canvas. Then, peel the backing off the contact paper and stick them to the canvas. The contact paper may not stick perfectly onto the canvas, so I ironed the letters to prevent paint from getting underneath. I placed a paper towel between the canvas and iron so it didn't leave any marks.

Once you are certain none of your letters are pealing off the canvas, you are ready to paint. Continue spraying until you have the desired color. You may need to spray multiple times before you are satisfied. Then let dry.

When your paint is dry, peel the contact paper off to reveal your final product!

I love the black and white of mine, but you could make it any colors you'd like. Just paint the canvas first the color you would like your letters, then follow the steps above.

I LOOOVVEEE the way this turned out and I am so glad I decided to do this project. It was definitely worth all of the hard work I put into it. I hope you feel inspired to make this, or something like it as well!