home {made} ikea frame canvas

This is my bedroom. Don't mind the layer of dust on the dresser, I'll get to that. Well technically, that dresser is no longer in the bedroom, so I guess I don't need to worry. What you should focus on is the hangings above the bed...I bought the frames at IKEA and covered them in toile, and well basically love them. I wanted something similar for the staircase going up to our room in our town home- because it was painfully empty and at least a gazillion feet high. So I thought, why not knock it off? hahaha.

So we'll be making this. Be patient, it looks a lot better than the picture. Actually, all the pictures look a lot better than this picture.

I have a TON of cheap dollar store frames just hanging around. These particular ones are 8x10. You'll want to make sure they have a flat side and are wood. I guess you could use plastic, but then it would be plastic.

I took the glass out and put the original cardboard backing in. You'll need some support so any cardboard will work.

I choose the fabric I wanted and cut it a little less than a half inch wider than the frame on all sides. Ok, I realize that some of these sides are bigger than that, but you get the point. :) I just ripped this fabric.

I originally attempted to staple it down as I would with the IKEA frames. The frames were too narrow/thin/cheap to do so, so I had to revise that whole plan and head down another track.

Bring on my favorite friend the glue gun. You'll be using a lot of glue for this project so make sure you are well stocked.

To glue the corners down I pulled it tight and put a glob on each side, laying it on top.

For the rest of the frames I just glued.

This is what happens when you rest your hand on the melting lava hot tip of the glue gun. You will hear a subsequent sizzling sound and then exquisite pain will shoot through it, while your husband laughs in the background at your moanings. Put some baking soda mixed with a tiny bit of water on it, it will draw the heat out. Thanks Mom. I don't really recommend this step.

Yes. So....crafting. Yea. The second material I choose was some brown felt I had hanging around. If you use a thicker material like felt you will need to be patient with the corners. I tried trimming one, but it didn't look as great.

And here they are. I laid them out how I wanted. At this point you could just call them good and hang them individually. They would make a pretty nice piece.

I however never know when to quit so I continued. I measured 5 inches in on the creme fabric and then glued each piece together subsequently. In retrospect I would have used a manlier glue like liquid nails for this part, but meh.

I found these letter at hobby lobby. They are originally $.99 a piece, but they were having a 50% off sale. I arranged them how I wanted them so I could also place where I wanted my burlap flowers to go.

To make your flowers cut five 'leaf' or 'petal' shapes out of the burlap. Try not to sneeze.

Seriously this is what everything looks like when you're done cutting. I can still smell it in the air and I'm pretty sure I have a million burlap particles attacking my nose cavity. *sneeze* *sniffle*

Put a little line of glue on each end and pinch it together.

Arrange how you want them and glue them down.

Pick a second coordinating material. I choose a charcoal felt. I love felt. Repeat the process just use smaller shapes.

For the inside I just used a circle of a lighter burlap, and then a little felt flower shape. You just roll a flower shape like here. Finish with a button and some brown leaves and you're done.

Almost. You have some more work to do still. I painted the letters a mustardy yellow and then added another flower to the other corner. Again, you could stop here and it would be a great piece.

But I'm gonna keep going. Of course. I wanted to be able to add pictures to the canvases. My original plan was to just have blank canvases and put the pictures in the middle with brads on the corners so they were interchangeable. You could do that I guess. Since I wanted to put all the fancy letters and flowers though, I had to revise so it didn't look like a third grader took a bunch of macarroni and glue to it. Maybe it still does, but again, meh.

So I decided on a 4x6 size and cut squares out that were 5x7. I guess technically that's a rectangle. Thank you ninth grade geometry class. Then I cut an inner square that was 4.5 inches wide and 5.75 inches high, so it overlapped the pic, but still gave room on the edges to glue down. And yes that is paint on my fingers, because I paint like a five year old. Actually your five year old probably does better.

Embellish it of course. Glue all sides but the top down to the canvas on the edges, that way your pics can be interchangeable.

And here it is! Sorry this could possibly be the WORST picture I've ever taken, but it is DARK in the stairwell. We're trying to find a new light to make it better, but we'll see. This project was very minimal in cost: the material, glue, frames, and paint I had on hand, so I only had to buy the letters. Happy Friday!