Materials:
Modge Podge:
1 part School Glue
1 part water
Canvas (I used a 16x 20, but you can use whatever size you'd like!)
Scrapbook papers, or card-stock in various colors
Scissors
Acrylic paints
Foam paint roller
Paint brush
First things first. I find working with a friend makes crafting much more enjoyable. We usually set up one day a week, at the most biweekly that we get together, have lunch and craft through the afternoon. A great tradition we have set up, and by planning our day properly, we can usually accomplish a lot during her baby's after lunch nap time.
Okay, now onto the good stuff!
Our inspiration piece, compliments of a great post on Pintrest.com
Step 1: Choose your colors and plan your painting. Don't worry if you have never painted! So ... take a breath and we will continue. Remember crafting is supposed to be fun, and de-stressing! Now pick up your paint brush. Are you ready? Did you do it? Great! Paint whatever design you would like, it doesn't have to be anything fancy, because this is just a background for the foreground of your modge podge project.
Megan, my bestie, chose to add a pop of color, while I chose a more subtle, contrasting sunset to my green base color of the flower.
Here's what we came out with.
Megan's. I thought it was a great painting just as it was, but despite that, we pushed forward! We had work to do!
And my sunset inspired background:
Once again. Don't fret if you have never painted! You will hardly see the background once you have attached your petals, so as long as you have some color. You can paint a solid color like the inspiration piece, or you can do a variety like we did.
Now, let your paint dry completely.
We started cutting out petals while we waited. If you look at the end product, Megan's purple leaves were small in comparison to my bigger ones. This product is -mostly- fail proof! Now get out those scissors and start hacking!
Once you have what you think to be enough leaves, set them out on a flat surface and arrange your pieces.
Two purposes for this. One- you will see if you have cut enough leaves and Two- You will see what order you want your flower to progress.
Now in my project, I chose a dark center, progressing to a lighter edging:
(My leaves were laid out on a craft storage bin, but you can use a table, or floor, as long as it is big enough to accommodate your project. Go on, be a kid again! Grab a pillow for your bum and park it on the floor!)
Once you have completed these steps your canvas should be dry. You want to wait until your canvas is completely dried! You do not want to smear your paint, or tint your modge podge.
Is it dry yet? Yes? Good, now we are ready to get our Podge on!
To mix your modge podge, it's as simple as this!
Empty one part Elmer's or other brand school glue (I buy mine in bulk from my local craft store, where I get a case of 12 for 3.99. Check your local craft store for awesome deals!)
Add one part water.
Mix well and bam! All done.
The easiest way for me, is to make too much rather than not enough. So I grab a big container ($1 from your local dollar store) Then, I add one whole bottle of School glue (hold it upside down for about 10 seconds) then fill the bottle with water, shake, and pour. Remember this is crafting, the measurements don't have to be 100% accurate, they just have to work! And this worked fabulously!
So far, we have:
Painted and dried our canvas
Cut out like a million leaves (Or so it seems!)
Mixed our batch of Modge Podge
Now for the fun part! Take off your jewelry. Your hands will get messy. We tried the "neat" way, and well that's just a drag. And a plus! When you're finished, let the glue dry on your hands and you have a cost free exfoliation of your dry skin!
Roll your foam brush and fully coat it in glue. We squished (very technical term, you know) in the Modge Podge, so it was completely saturated.
Once saturated, roll your foam brush against a small area of canvas. Remember! Roll where the bud of your flower will be, and work your way in circles around it. Otherwise you will be pulling your hair out trying to figure where you went wrong.. and no one wants glue in their hair!
Now that you have fully coated your surface, roll the back of your paper. What I did to make sure it was fully coated, is I wrapped my paper around the foam roller and pressed it in.
**Once the cardstock went limp, I knew it was well coated. Another way to make sure you have a good bond, is you should be able to slide your paper on the canvas. There should be no hesitation when you glide the paper on the canvas.
Continue moving in rounds until you have reached the edges.
Now here is a dilemma/ decision you will have to make on your own.
When you reach the edge of your canvas, you can choose to fold the leaves around the edge, or clip them flush with the edge of your canvas.
For my project, I did both. I clipped some of the leaves, and wrapped some around.
Once you have glued down all of your pieces, let it stand for 15-30 minutes. I always lean to the longer side, so the bond has more time to adhere the paper to the canvas. You can even stop here, and come back to finish later.
Continue? Let's!
We have let time warped and sat out out 30 minutes (Usually means a glass of white wine spritzer for me!) Ready for your final step?
Easy as pie, we southerns say.
Roll out a layer of Modge podge over your entire project. Note** You want to cover the entire painted area of your canvas. If you don't you will have a sheen where the modge podge is, and not so much over the painted. We love the finished look of our project right?!
Here is my finished canvas hanging on my sage green living room wall!
Side note:
Okay, see some bubbles? STOP FREAKING OUT
Your paper, and your Modge podge very well may bubble. I saw this the first few times I modge podged, and was devastated. But here's some great news! If you do exactly as this tutorial instructed, you will be just fine. Just to assure you, I have added a few snap shots of the bubbling on my project and seeeee, it came out great!
My bubblings:
All done! Now enjoy hanging this fabulous piece on your wall and smile with absolute adoration, knowing YOU DID THIS!
The great feature about this project, is it is completely customization to the colors of your room, or wall.
And it's a universal piece. You can hang it top, bottom, or either side and it will look gorgeous!
Thank you all for following, and be sure to comment if you have tried this out! I think you will love it as much as I do!
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