Lake Word Art - in Color

Here's some Lake Love

Expression in Word Art:

You might remember an earlier post

when I talked about making subway art

in greys and blacks.

But I wanted to try the prints

with a background color.

The main difference between the black and the colors

is the poster finish

and the cost.

When making the black and grey art,

the print comes with a matte finish

and is around $3.

The colored posters are a shinier finish

even when ordered in matte

and they cost around $13

(unless you can find them on sale which I did

at Zazzle for about $8)

Then there are shipping costs as well.

It is fun to experiment in Photoshop

with different colored backgrounds.

You can see on the red that I added a lot of shading.

Here is the original design in Photoshop

and then the finished sanded look:



I built the box frame with 1/4" MDF

and wood trim .

Paint the edges

a darker shade of your poster color.

I used Mod Podge this time to glue the poster on.

The colored paper is heavier so you can use a heavier glue.

Remove any stickers

from the back of the poster.

Here you can see the poster edge

before

and

after

sanding:

Then use a finer grit sandpaper

for the front poster surface.

The colored poster only needs

a very light sanding to distress..

These can be customized for any lake

Hope you found some inspiration today!

Thanks for visiting, Deb

**update**

be sure to really press paper repeatedly.

Although these first projects didn't get air pockets,

some have.

To resolve that, I used a pin to put a hole in front,

wiggle around and put some glue under.

After dry, then sand lightly.

There is another tip on "Plaid's" site

that says to spray both sides of paper and let dry.

(evidently all of the shrinkage will occur before application)

read here.

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Canvas Monogram - Make a Wedding Gift

Just think -

You could personalize wedding gifts

for your friends this summer!

Or-

make one for yourself.

Either way, this is a good punch of pattern and color

for your front door

or inside your home.

Start with a canvas Panel (about 2 or 3 dollars)

This one measures 16 X 20.

Start with painting the back semi-gloss black

for a nice finishing touch.

Paint the front of the canvas one solid color

or mix two tones.

I double loaded a brush using

lime green on one side of the brush and

darker sour apple green on the other.

When you look at the background pattern,

what shape do you see?

diamonds?

circles?

4 leaf design?

I suppose you could pick any of those shapes

to make your stencil.

I chose the 4 leaf pattern:

For my stencil

I started with a piece of cardstock paper.

Draw your shape

leaving good margins around your design.

I cover both sides of my cardstock with

wide packaging tape to sturdy it up

and make it reuseable.

Then using an exacto knife

on my cutting board, I cut out

the 4 leaf pattern.

This pattern shape

needs to be a 4 inch square so it

will fit nicely on the 16 X 20 canvas.

Then lay in the white paint

and repeat so that the edges of the

stencil repeat just touch.

Any rough edges can be cleaned up with paint

or wiped off if you catch it right away.

Baby wipes are a staple on my art table!

To give the white leaf pattern

a nicer finish,

take a 1" flat brush loaded with white paint

and pull it on it's side making a clean line.

Lightly sketch in where you want

your flourish pattern to go.

I made a large paper pattern

to trace around.

Then use a liner brush

loaded with grey and white to paint  the flourish design.

I add clear glaze to dip my brush in

to extend the paint and

get better flow.

Then make a large pattern

for the monogram letter.

Trace around and fill in.

Now for the grommets on top:

Using a 3/8" inch spade bit

drill two holes away from the edges

Clean up front and back edges

with an exacto knife.

Put top grommet extender through the front of the canvas.

Hold flat piece on back.

Using the grommet tool kit,

lay the front ring into the receiving flat disc.

Hammer the little silver driver

down from the back side.

You need to be firm with your hammer

and working on a hard surface

(a concrete floor is good).

Ta Da!

You're ready for the ribbon.

You can do it!

Wouldn't that make a great gift!

Have a great weekend,

Deb

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Route 66 - How to Paint a Canvas Sign

Hello DIY Friends!

I'm excited to share this project with you.

I was so inspired to paint this Route 66 sign

after visiting my son in Arizona.

I'll show you how it all started:

Traveling a very primitive and winding Route 66,

we came to a small mining town

in Oatman, Arizona.

Burros, Motorcycles and Gift Shops Galore!



We even got to watch a "shoot-out" at hign noon:

Oh, and I almost forgot,

MJ was arrested...

So all of that! "

Turned into this:

Starting with a 24" X 30" canvas,

I didn't do any base painting.

I just started with a template design

and traced around it with a pencil.

Then using a 1" flat brush

paint in the outline.

Make a template for your letters.

I penciled mine on tracing paper

(pencil lines on both sides of paper)

Then penciled over the tracing paper

which leaves a faint pattern on canvas

for you to follow.

Here are the colors I used:

Keep those worn out old chip brushes!

They are great for this dry brush technique:

So now our bathroom

has a sweet dose

of our Fun stop

on Route 66!

Have you traveled the winding Route 66?

I hope this inspires you to create a fun piece of graphic art!

Thanks for stopping by, Deb

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