Shoe Addict Thriving: Binge vs. Budget-- Canvases

Shannon:

02/23/2011

Image Credit {diyideas.com}

I went to go buy some canvases for the wall art collages in Ben's mancave. I took Ben with me because I was getting some pretty large canvases and needed his large manly arms to carry them through the store for me. (He did very well at this task except for when we got to the registers and he turned abruptly towards me to ask me a question and hit me in the face with them.) He gasped quite loudly and protested greatly when we walked around the corner and he saw a 16x20" canvas on sale for $50. 

 
I quickly explained that this was the professional grade, heavy duty, gallery wrapped canvas....we were going for the cheap stuff - back stapled, on sale, and about $20 (sale price) for a 24x48" canvas. If you are a professionally trained artist and you are planning on doing high-end works of art worthy of the MoMA then by all means get the professional high quality canvas.

However, if you are like me and just dabble in DIY wall art made on the cheap so you don't feel guilty when you swap it out in six months, then I suggest you get the cheap stuff. Here are some fun article ideas for DIY wall art on canvas.

Paint Four Separate Canvases

Enlarge Textbook Copy on Canvas

Homemade wall decorations with canvas

My chair to canvas project

Shoe Addict Thriving: Crafting on the Go

Shannon:

02/01/2011

I am in the process of packing for my vacation and I always take along a few things with me to do on the plane. I usually take a small crochet project and a sketch book with me. Here are some tips for taking crochet on the plane.

1. Get yourself some bamboo or plastic hooks. This goes for knitting as well as crochet. Crochet hooks tend to look less threatening than knitting needles. This article has great tips for knitting. While plastic hooks are cheaper I have to say I would invest the money in the bamboo. I purchased them a year and a half ago for an Orlando, FL. vacation with my husband and they are now the only hooks I use.

2. Small, blunt craft scissors with a blade under 4 inches are allowed on the plane! TSA's prohibited sharp objects list shows that "Scissors - metal with pointed tips and blades shorter than four inches" are allowed in carry one. I am always paranoid that they are going to take away my craft scissors even child ones with blunt tips. Also, the cruise line that we are going on has notorious crazy scissor confiscation stories and a whole message board dedicated to ways to outsmart the scissor police. So here is an out of the box option - Empty Floss Container!

3. Don't get to carried away. Be realistic you will probably only work on it during the flight so work on something with only a couple of colors.

Shoe Addict Thriving: Hat Pin Heaven... And Gluing My Fingers Together

Shannon:

01/27/2011

I finally got my hat pin findings in and with cruise a mere 7 DAYS AWAY!!!! I was excited to start putting together some hat pins. I got a very good start on them and made myself a variety to go with the different things I might wear on the cruise.

Hats are going to be a must on the cruise...staying out of the sun for a very fair skinned melanoma survivor is priority number one! I quickly discovered a couple of things about the hat pins:

1. They are very very sharp.
2. They did not come with a nail head like pictured.
3. They are a lot more bendable than I expected

To try and prevent the top bead from sliding off I used a bit of beading glue - essentially super glue. I managed to glue my fingers together and to the hat pin finding the last one I made for the night.

So with one hand and some nail polish remover....

I tried to get my fingers free. 5 minutes later I had one free.

5 more minutes together and I managed to get the rest of my hand free. I will admit to still having super glue remnants on my fingers this morning.

Here are some of the results.

Shoe Addict Thriving: Practicing with Mod Podge

Shannon:

01/26/2011

 

I have been wracking my brain and searching the Internets to figure out how to achieve the look I wanted for the wall art in Ben's man cave. I wanted to mount the pictures from the University of Maryland on canvas and then hang the canvases on the feature wall of his room.

When I searched the Internet there were many websites that had snarky answers such as, "Why would you want to mount a photo on a canvas? Why wouldn't you just have the photo printed on the canvas?" I had basically given up on the idea and just decided to do the collage in giant frames from the craft store.

Luckily at the homemade gift exchange last Friday my friend introduced me to the little product known as Mod Podge. I am not quite sure how I have made it this long without knowing what Mod Podge is, but am I glad she let me know about it! I searched Mod Podge the other day and found that there are many how to articles on how to mount photo's to canvas with it.

digitalscrapbookplace.com had a lovely tutorial on making art on canvas. They used one print out to cover the entire canvas. Check it out for lovely ideas for canvas art.

ehow.com had many articles on how to use Mod Podge on canvas. They say to use the fabric kind to mount things on canvas.

For my test run I simply used the matte finish regular kind. I used an old canvas and painted it blue with left over latex wall sample paint. I then took pictures of my niece, nephew, and dad to make a canvas "scrapbook page" for my dad and mom.

I didn't do the most perfect job on it - some of the pictures are mounted crookedly. I really just wanted to get an idea of how the product would work. I was pleased with how easy it was to use, how it adhered the photos to the canvas, and how the finish looked. I believe I have found the technique I am going to use...now to plan out the canvases themselves.

Shoe Addict Thriving: Tying Up Loose Ends

Shannon:

01/21/2011

Crochet patterns always instruct you to weave in the tail of the knot after you end a color. I have never liked the results of this method. The kind of yarns I like to use are often very soft and sort of slick. It tends to loosen and slip out of where you have woven it in.

I sew down each knot in order to eliminate the worry that the crochet product will unravel or come loose. This is how I do it:

1.) I take needle and thread that closely match the yarn and sew through the yarn knot 3-4 times in different directions.

2) Then I tightly loop the thread around the "tail" of the yarn 3-4 times to make a tight hold on the tail.

3) I then guide the needle down the middle of the thread holding down the tail and make a knot and then cut the tail off close to that knot.

This leaves me with a nice finished end that I don't have to worry will come loose.

Shoe Addict Thriving: Homemade Gift Exchange

Shannon:

01/22/2011

I recently participated in a homemade gift exchange with my friends.  We agreed to make or buy gifts for each other for a $10 limit.  I decided to make scarves for everyone doing different color / pattern combinations for each girl. 

I took a basic pattern and then changed it up for each one to make a different pattern of stripes. 

My friend Mrs. Oomph was a part of the gift exchange and made these awesome book page wreaths for us.  I actually had these on my list of projects to try, but a whole lot of deadline projects were way ahead of trying to make them.  I immediately picked the tiny one featuring an adorable owl ornament and it looks perfect in my room.

Despite the questionable literature featured on the leaves it is an awesome, unique, and handmade treasure that I love!

Shoe Addict Thriving: Scarf Disaster

Shannon:


01/07/2011

{Image Credit: http://www.patonsyarns.com/}

 So  it all started with my love of Paton's Divine yarn.  It is the fuzziest, softest feeling, puffiest looking yarn ever.  I fell in love with it.  I promptly made myself my very first crochet project of a scarf and matching hat.  I made scarves and hats for a few of my friends.  Unfortunately the yarn contains 10.5% wool and 10.5% mohair.  I discovered quickly that I had reactions to wearing anything made with any kind of animal hair.  Rabbit hair, mohair, wool, cashmere...all out.  

I always look longingly at the cashmere displays in the department stores.  I run my hands over soft fuzzy knit hats, scarves, and sweaters immediately begin itching and break out in a rash from face to belly.  I had to give up my first scarf and hat.  I now religiously read labels to see what the fabric contents are, and I constantly search for soft fuzzy yarn that is made from acrylic or some other material that will give me the same feel of the Paton's yarn.

Recently I went to my local craft store and saw a new brand of yarn in its expanded yarn section.  There on the shelf with a shaft of the purest light shining upon it was the yarn - Loops & Threads Sante Fe Striped Brushed yarn.  It looked so inviting, the color combinations pretty, and I thought to myself, "It can't be soft because it's probably wool."  I ran my hand over it.  It was soft.  I held my breath as I pulled it off the shelf and looked at the content... a host of angels began softly singing as I read  - 88% acrylic 12% polyester. 



I was so excited.  I broke my budget rules and binged.  I got three skeins of each color, and at $4.99/skein it was not a cheap bill.  I got home and began my scarf.  I used the skein that was hand painted in reds, pinks, and oranges.  Well, I made a huge mistake.  Almost at the end of one skein I looked down and realized - It looks like I skinned Animal from the Muppets and made him into a scarf.


Not every project turns out how you pictured it in your mind, but in crafting you learn from these happy failures and move on.  There is always the good and the bad and the unintentionally ugly.  I am still going to wear the scarf...it does have some kind of retro 70's appeal to it.  If you realize early on that your project is headed for disaster try to abandon ship.  If you realize it half way through try to think of a way to correct course and fix it.  And if you get to the end look down and realize you have created a great big pile of fugly - toss it, donate it, or wear your mistake proudly. 

Animal {Image Credit: Muppet Central.com}

Shoe Addict Thriving: New Focus -- New Blog

Shannon:

12/30/2010

"To see my history visit...
www.shoeaddictsurviving.wordpress.com

I may occasionally post some Melanoma related things on this blog, but mostly I will be showing my many projects I get myself involved in. I am one of those people that loves to get into everything. And I do mean everything... I have piles of half finished projects lying all around the house. I am constantly signing up for lessons of some sort and I have a "room of shame" full of supplies for crafts some of which I haven't actually done in years.

I have learned a whole lot of lessons of the years of getting into  every craft known to mankind a bunch of different hobbies. I plan to share the projects, tips and tricks to doing them, and what I have learned about being a hardcore crafter. "