Monday, November 15, 2010

Handcrafted Holiday ~ Critter Friends Wall Hanging Tutorial

This is how I made the wall hangings for the little boys new forest room. The original idea came from Maple Shade Kids on Etsy. She creates her decoupage wall hangings on sheets of well made plywood with beautiful varieties of scrapbook paper. Since I am more of a recycled decoupager (I doubt that's a word, but I am stickin' to it) I decided to use my favorite medium... old calendars!

There are many craft wood backgrounds in the craft stores, but the ones that appeal to me most are the ones with the rugged bark edges. I haven't bought many of them because I was never sure how they were sourced or if they were even from our country. This time I had a bit of digging to do, but found out that they are source in the USA and manufactured in Wisconsin. So, not local, but domestic. I was happy enough with the purchase to grab quite a few of them (Ie: I took their whole stock over a weeks period with quite a few coupons).

Ok... on to the how to. *glee*

Materials you need:

Mod Podge

paint brush

tacky glue

scissors

a good piece of well sanded wood

scrapbook paper or old calendars

hair dryer (trust me)


~~~~~~~~~~ Now the fun part ~~~~~~~~~~~~


#1: Collect inspiration:

This was the inspiration page for this project. I wanted a sleeping owl. So I put "Sleeping Owl" into Google Images and I picked the ones I liked, printed them out and designed my owl around these ones. The shape of the owl was from the pillow on the girls bed set. The eyes were from the drawing of the two owls on the tree. It all comes together in paper.

#2: Making your critter. Before you do any gluing on the board, lay out your design. If you really like the way your critter looks, use the tacky glue to glue him together as much as you can without putting any glue on the board. (Glue on the board doesn't come off. It soaks in like paint would.)

#3: Making the background design. Once you have your critter just the way you want him, design the area around him to fit. I wanted this to match the others for the boys room, so I used a similar twig and leaf design to tie it all in.

#4: Gluing your critter down. When you have everything just the way you want it (this can take hours... but it is a very fun process and it feels so good when you get it just right!!!) paint the back of your pieces with the Mod Podge and place them on the board. Make sure to coat the critter especially well so you don't get bumps or bubbles under the paper.

#5: Paint over the top of your critter and design. This part is pretty basic. Just slap the Mod Podge all over your design. Don't worry about being neat, it all dries clear. Do worry about getting around every corner and each piece. ALLOW TO DRY COMPLETELY! If you do not, there will be bubbles and all sorts of imperfections in your coat of Mod Podge. However, this is where the hair dryer comes in. Use one! It's awesome. An hour long process broken down into ten minutes of standing in the bathroom with your art work under the hot air. ;)

Adding more. . At this point you can not take anything off. However, you can add something if you feel you need to. I wanted to add an extra leaf to the bottom branch to round out that part of the picture. So I just went back to step #4 and glued in a third leaf.

#6: Sealing the picture. Paint over the whole thing. Even the bits you didn't put any paper on. This will make a clean, even coat over your design. You will need to do this at least twice. (Hairdryer!) and when you are done, you will need to let it sit in place for about 24 hours before it can withstand anything that may be damaging (dropping stuff on it, being laid on it's face so you can hang it, or most of all, water on it.)

And that's it! Tomorrow I will show you how to hang it. :)

For more of my decoupage designs (just in case they inspire you) here is the link to the Papercraft tab. Enjoy!

~~~~~~ Links to this project and a great way to find other amazing projects like this (Sorry, the hyperlink isn't working) ~~~~~

http://www.thethriftyhome.com/2010/11/60th-penny-pinching-party.html

http://www.oneprettything.com/?p=12577

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7 comments

sarah in the woods said...

I really like these. Thanks for showing how. I think something like this would look good in our forest room. :)

Sherri said...

Absolutely love it!!

Rachel@oneprettything.com said...

Aww, that's super cute! I had a deer like that when I was younger. Thanks so much, I'll be linking.

Stephanie Griffith said...

Thanks for the tutorial! I love it! My little ones' room is camping themed, so this would be a great addition!

Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing this! What a fun idea and great way to use old papers.

Krystal~ said...

Oh~ I hadnt seen this one yet!!!! Dont be surprised if you find it missing one day........ ;)

Val in the Rose Garden said...

Must be faster Krystal! ;) It was a gift for my friend Erika, but if you EVER want to get together and play with paper while the kids play, let me know... cuz I'm addicted! :D

I don't know if it will go well in the bathroom though. We'd have to get a harder Modge Poge for that I think.... what do you think?

Blessings,

Val

PS See you today!! YAY!

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