DIY: Vintage sheet music decorated canvas

Lately, I've been decorating my house little by little. I have been making a lot of my own wall decor to save money. I created this wall canvas for my home and I'm going to show you how I made this piece! I am going to be making two of these, however I am going to show you one of them as they are going to look almost alike anyway.

You will need:

• 1 canvas
• 2-3 sheets of vintage sheet music (depending on the size of your canvas)
• Mod Podge
• various paintbrushes
• paper scissors
• glue gun and glue sticks
• ribbon or lace trim
• buttons 
• paper or silk floral embellishments or whatever kind of floral embellishments you would like to use

Step 1: Start cutting pieces of your sheet music to fit. I find cutting triangle shapes and long pieces to fit diagonal works best. Grab your Mod Podge and start  adding your pieces to the canvas. You can overlap pieces of paper just try not to overlap too much or it will tend to look bulky and very uneven. When I work with paper and Mod Podge I use a thin layer to smooth the paper on there. If you use too much it will cause your paper to look lumpy. As you attach each piece of paper, smooth out the paper the best you can to ensure you don't have any bubbles. 

Step 2. Continue covering the canvas until you have the entire piece covered including the edges. The edges are going to be the most challenging part of this project. I cut thin strips of the sheet music to cover the edges of the canvas. Plug in your glue gun by this point if you already haven't. 

Step 3. When your canvas is covered and the Mod Podge feels dry underneath, smooth on a layer of Mod Podge over the top of the sheet music. I used 1 layer of Mod Podge. The top layer of Mod Podge seals your paper to a smooth sealed finish. Don't use too much at once otherwise your paper will start to fall apart and smear. 

Step 4. When your top layer is completely dry, you can start adding your embellishments! 

I laid out my embellishments first before gluing to get an idea of how I wanted them to look. Glue each piece down and let dry. Lastly, add your ribbon trim. You are finished! 

Tips and Pointers: 

• This is a fairly low cost project and you can make it even lower cost by getting a canvas that has the staples on the sides. Generally, the canvases with stapled sides are less desirable for painting, however I like to use them for Mod Podge projects as the staples will be covered anyway. As a bonus, the stapled canvases are usually significantly cheaper. 
• I found my canvases at a thrift store for cheap. You can also sometimes find cheap canvases at your local bargain store or factory closeout store. 
• Vintage sheet music can be found various places, but it takes a little digging and/or searching. Some places will have it priced reasonably, and some places will charge a little bit of a premium for them. I was charged per sheet rather than per book. 
• I purchase my floral embellishments from crafts stores such as Michaels or Joann Fabric Stores. Always check the bargain $1 bins at the craft stores for ribbon and embellishments! Always take your coupons! 

DIY Kid's Craft: Hand Print Painted Coffee Mug

My son finished school for the summer a week ago and he has been asking to do crafts. I quite enjoy painting on glass so I figured this would be a perfect personalized craft to do! My son and I created this piece as a gift for Father's Day.

You will need:

• 1 plain white oven safe dishwasher safe coffee mug. The dollar store always has an abundance of these. 
• Folk Art enamel paints in various colors. You can find these paints at craft stores next to the regular acrylic paints. Another good brand is Martha Stewart. 
• sharpie
• various paintbrushes to include a thicker paintbrush or perhaps a sponge brush as well as a couple fine tipped paintbrushes.
• disposable plate

Step 1: Make sure your mug is clean and dry. Paint a layer of blue paint on the outside. Allow to dry completely. 

Step 2: squirt some paint on the disposable plate and kinda swirl it around to make a somewhat even layer of paint. Place your child's hand flat in the paint palm facing downwards. Have your child make sure their fingers are somewhat spread slightly and gently and very carefully place their paint covered hand across one side of the mug thumb side up. It is not going to be completely perfect, but as long as it somewhat resembles a fish you're good to go! Allow to dry completely.

Step 3: Add some seaweed, bubbles, eyes and mouth! Allow to dry completely.

Step 4: Take your sharpie and get your child to write a message whatever they want to write. My son chose: "Dad is fishtastic!" (my husband loves fishing). I went back over my son's writing with the fine tipped paintbrush and enamel paint. 

I also added the words" "Father's Day 2014" and went over the writing again in enamel paint. Allow everything to dry completely.

Step 5: Place your finished piece into a COLD oven. Heat the oven to 350 F and leave in there for 30 minutes. This is going to seal your child's artwork onto the mug. Using potholders, take the piece out of the oven and place on a heat proof surface to cool completely. 

Ta da! Finished! 

Tips and tidbits of info:

• I went back over the sharpie words with enamel paint as I knew the enamel paint would seal on the mug. In my experience, regular sharpie tends to come off even after baking the glass to seal. To save time, I recommend buying the sharpie paint pens. I was at home ill at the time of making this craft, so I just used what I had on hand as far as supplies.
• If you make mistakes with this craft with the enamel paint, the paint will peel off. This is ONLY before placing the mug in the oven to seal. The first attempt at placing my son's paint covered hand didn't go well as it was just a giant smeared blob and he was complaining it didn't look like a fish. I took a wet rag, wiped off everything to a clean slate and started again. 
• Patience is key with this craft as far as drying time! Make sure you allow layers to dry. Enamel paint is very thick so it takes longer than regular acrylic paint to dry. If you try to handle the mug when the paint is wet, the paint will stick to your fingers and come off. 
• I'm not sure if any mug will be safe to use as far as oven curing, however I preferred to keep safety in mind and use an oven safe mug. 

DIY: Turn a Junk Shop Lamp Into a Beautiful Shabby Chic Lamp!

Behold: $13 junk shop lamp. If you want my honest opinion, I think this lamp has seen better days. When I spotted this lamp amongst numerous sundry items I knew it had potential and it definitely piqued my interest!

In this tutorial I'm going to show you how I upcycled this plain looking lamp into an ornate Shabby Chic inspired piece!

You will need:

• 1 junk shop/dollar store lamp. The more detail the lamp base has the better.
• approximately 1/2 yard of pretty floral fabric. I purchased mine from Joann fabric stores. 
• 2-3 strings of clear beads. I purchased mine for $1.00 per string at Joann fabric stores.
• 2-3 strings of craft store glass pearl beads. I purchased mine for $1.00 per string at Joann fabric stores.
• 1 container of Mod Podge
• various paintbrushes
• 1-2 tubes of good quality satin acrylic paint for all surfaces. I used Martha Stewart brand in summer linen.
• a clean old rag
• protective covering for your work surface
• scissors
• thread
• needle
• antique/old lace. You could also use new lace. 
• paper, fabric, or tulle flowers
• hot glue gun and sticks
• super glue
• 1 container of Folk Art brand Home Decor antiquing wax.
• Sandpaper. Grit depends on how chippy you want your finished piece to be.

Step 1: You will need to paint the entire lamp. Yep you read that correctly! Paint your base, the outside of the shade and the inside of the shade. Leave the electric cord, lightbulb, metal components, and lightbulb socket paint free. 

It may take you a couple coats depending on the color of your lamp. Since mine was red and black, it took me two coats. Your paint finish doesn't need to be perfect as an uneven paint finish will add to the charm later on in the finished piece. Allow the entire lamp to dry completely between coats. Next up: Mod Podge!

Step 2: Cut out fabric triangles from the fabric you selected for this piece. Don't cut big triangles you want to cut them a little smaller as they will sit nicer on the shade. 

If you have never Mod Podged anything before don't be intimidated! I promise once you get the hang of it, it is easy peasy (and addicting!) The key to Mod Podging fabric is to use thin layers of Mod Podge. Before you start spreading that Mod Podge onto your fabric, you need to decide which area of your lampshade you wish to cover. When you have decided, Add a layer of Mod Podge to the wrong side (non patterned piece) of your fabric. You need to work quickly and carefully once you have your Mod Podge on your fabric piece. 

Place your Mod Podge coated fabric triangle on the lampshade area you want to cover. I always start from the bottom and work my way upwards. I placed the bottom of the triangle alongside the seam of the lamp shade. 

    As you can see from my photo above, I started figuring out roughly how I should cut my fabric triangles to fit. You want to place the triangles in a neat manner where the edges of the triangles just barely overlap the neighboring fabric triangle. You don't want to place the triangles to where they greatly overlap other fabric pieces as it will start to look bulky and it will be harder for you to smooth out the fabric. 

    Once you have covered the lamp shade, you need to start smoothing out any bubbles and creases. It won't be perfect, however just do the best you can to get the surface as smooth as you can. I simply used my fingers and added a dab of Mod Podge to any edges that needed smoothing down. I did not cover the seam part of the shade as you can see in the photo as it will be covered with lace. Allow the fabric to dry slightly underneath. Next up is sealing your fabric!

Step 3: Take a paintbrush and start gently smoothing a generous layer of mod podge over your fabric on the lampshade. 

Your lamp shade is going to look a little weird. It's going to have a white opaque look to it. That's normal. Allow the Mod Podge to completely dry. What you have just completed in this step is sealing your beautiful fabric art!  Next up comes the antiquing part! 

Step 4: Plug in your glue gun now so you're ready for step 5. 

Start painting a thin layer of your antiquing wax over the base of your lamp. A little bit of this stuff goes a looooong way so use sparingly. It's best to use the wax in small increments. As you have covered sections start wiping back the wax with your rag until you have reached your desired level of antiquing. Keep reapplying the wax and wiping back with the rag until you are satisfied with the way your piece looks. I used the wax in two layers before I reached desired shade. 

Allow your wax to sit for about 10 minutes. After that point, take your sandpaper and scrape away areas you want to look shabby or chippy. I find scraping along edges looks lovely and gives a timeworn look. 

Step 5: Adding pretty stuff! In this step you are going to want to gather all your beads, floral embellishments, lace, etc. 

You are going to be using a glue gun and super glue a lot in this final step. You will need to work quickly with the glue gun as the glue dries very fast. 

Start putting hot glue along the edge of your lamp shade. Carefully and quickly start adding your lace. Glue the lace as you work it around the lamp shade. Once you have completed the lace, you will need your super glue and pearl beads. Turn your lamp on its side slightly and put a few drops of super glue at the top of the shade where you want the end of the string of pearls to sit. Hold the end on the super glue spot for a couple minutes. Don't use your fingers!! I used the end of a paintbrush placed slightly away from the super glue spot so as not to glue the paintbrush to the shade. Repeat this step with another string end next to it and on the other side. Hot glue is not recommended to add the pearls as it won't hold. You could also use thread and needle to hold the pearls. 

Once you are certain the pearls are firmly held in place with the super glue, add a layer of lace to the top of the lampshade. 

Next, we will start adding the clear beading to the underside of the shade. Grab your needle and thread. Thread the needle with a generous amount of thread and knot the ends together at the end. Start stringing your clear beads on your thread in a pattern. Carefully hand thread the thread of clear beads onto desired spot on the shade. I hand sewed the threaded beads to where the stitch was hidden just underneath the lace. Repeat all the way around the lampshade. Lastly, hot glue your flowers onto your lamp to decorate. Ta da!! You're finished!!

Elvira gave her seal of approval! (naughty girl on the table)

Tips, side notes, and safety precautions:

• Make sure you read all labels on paints etc you are working with on the inside of the lamp shade. Make sure nothing flammable is used on the inside of the shade.
• Whatever you do, don't use super glue on fabric! It produces an unpleasant chemical reaction! This is why I used hot glue for the lace and the layer of Mod Podge over the fabric helps to create a little bit of a barrier between the fabric and super glue. 
• Always always make sure you have a coupon for the craft store! The Folk Art antiquing wax and fabric might give you a little bit of a price sticker shock, however the blow was lessened on my final receipt with a coupon! The antiquing wax cost me $8 for the container, however that container is going to last me a long time as a little goes a long way. The wax costs a little, but in the long run it will be a great addition to your craft supply as it will last quite some time. 
• Check out the bargain bins at your local craft store! I got those pretty paper flowers in the dollar bin at Michael's! 
• You will get very messy with this craft! I recommend warm water, a mild soap, and a pumice stone or soft brush to get the Mod Podge off your skin.