DIY Painted Cross Stitch Art

I have seen several painted cross stitch art pieces online and in some of my favourite magazines. This week I finally decided to try it out on a small wood panel. Overall it was a little time consuming, but I had so much fun with this project. I think it is so sweet and a wonderful project that both adults and kids can enjoy making.

I started off by creating a cross stitch design on paper that could fit onto a small board and kept it simple by selected only a few colours. I found it very helpful to work out my design on paper initially and it was a great guide. In the end, I did make a few small changes to the design, but stayed pretty close to the original concept.

Materials
8 x 10 inch Wood Art Board or Wood Painting Panel
Acrylic Paint (desired colours)
Paint Brush
Paint Tray
Pencil
Ruler
Sealant (optional)

Instructions
1.   White wash the wood panel (optional) and draw pencil lines one inch apart to create a grid.

2.  Select your paint colours and paint your cross stitch design onto the wood panel using "X's" within the 1" squares. I used "Martha Stewart Crafts" acrylic craft paints in the following colours: Peppermint Bark, Camellia Pink, Scottish Highlands, Green Curry, Pollen and Tartan Red. I also used a size 6 round brush. You can use a different brand of acrylic craft paint or use a smaller or ticker brush.

3.  Paint your design with the different colour paints your have selected. Use the paint with a dry brush to reduce the colour bleeding on the edges. Remember to clean your brush between colours.

4.  You can protect your finished art work by applying a protective coat of clear varnish or other clear sealant (optional). Now you are ready to hand and enjoy your new art piece.

This project can be done on several small panels to create one large art piece or you can use a single larger wood panel. I think it will be fun to place four small panels together that are each different, but with a similar motif. I did not invest a lot of money into my panel, I actually found the panel at the dollar store, which was a great buy. If you will like to use a larger or higher quality wood art panel, try your local art supply store.

Let me know what you think of this project and if you will try it yourself.

Happy crafting!

DIY Artwork

I think that art is very personal and means different things to each person. The possibilities are endless when it comes to finding art or creating art for your home. Recently I have been exploring some DIY art ideas as past of the Home Decorating Challenge. In my quest to find interesting art pieces for the gallery walls I am designing, I have decided to explore several options.

I have seen some wonderful "dictionary art" pieces and I really love the idea of combining beautiful images with the written word. I love the look and wanted to try some of my own. However, I really hate the idea of destroying a book, so I decided to copy some words from the dictionary and place them together to make my own dictionary page.

After copying the words I had to trim around the edges and then placed them together to create a new page. I then copied the new page onto a sheet of vintage scrapbook paper, which has a beautiful aged look. I had to cut my scrapbook sheets down to an 8 ½ x 11inch sheet, and used my laser printer.

The image I used is a vintage coral print, which I found online several years ago. I did a few small edits in Photoshop and printed on top of the words. There are a few other ideas that I will like to try, and I will include a couple coloured vintage prints. For my other pieces, I will also play with a combination of words that are connected to the image and will also play with some other elements. This project can easily be done with other types of copy, so I will explore some other options as well.

I hope that my project has inspired you to try making some DIY artwork.

Family Art Night

Last year my husband Don and I were looking for a way to engage the kids. Our boys have a bit of an age gap, so we wanted to do something that would be fun for both a 9 year old and a 19 month old. We have a family game night, but most family games are designed for older children not toddlers, and it is usually a challenge playing games when Miles starts running with game pieces or putting them in his month. We therefore came up with our "Family Art Night," which has been great for all of us. Miles can get in on the fun with crayons, while it gets my eldest Matthew away from playing too much video game.

We gather our art and/or craft supplies and let our imagination and hands go wild. Sometimes we create around a theme or concept, but most times the idea is to just create what comes to mind. For our first family art night of the year, my son Matthew wanted to do a comic strip style drawing. We all had to create three frames and include a thought or speech bubble.

I wanted to share with you images of our drawings, with the hope that it will give you ideas about your own art night.

Here are our drawings!

My drawing was done with colour pencils and Sharpie.

My son Matthew used pencil.

My husband Don and son Miles decided to do a pastel drawing with cutout speech bubbles.

As you can see there are no classic masterpieces in the works, but a fun way to spend some time with the kids. The idea is to find something fun and creative to do. If you are looking for something to do with your family, perhaps this is something you can try. Have fun!

Wishing you a Happy New Year 2012!

May your year be filled with good health, joy and lots of creative energy.

  

Creating With Paper

On our Crafted Spaces Radio we have been looking at "Paper as a Design and Craft Medium." Over the pass few weeks we have been looking at working with paper from different perspectives. We also posted a paper craft project and have had the honour of talking with guests on the topic.

Stacy Altiery, InkSpot Workshop

Last Wednesday, August 24th, we were happy to speak with guest Stacy Altiery, Graphic Designer and Owner of InkSpot Workshop and Fire Hydrant Press. Stacy launched her company in April 2008 and works from her home based workshop in Atlanta, Georgia. She specializes in a full selection of personalized "paper goodies." Her fun, bright, and modern note cards, invitations, stationery and other unique gift items are available off of her website. Stacy shares with us her creative venture and love for creating unique paper products. Listen to our interview with Stacy on our episode titled "Designing with Paper."

Lizz Aston, Fibre Artist

On Wednesday, August 31st, we have two guest joining us; Lizz Aston and Nadia Tan. These creative ladies are both based in Toronto, Ontario. Lizz is a Fibre Artist and Nadia is a Film Editor, Visual Artist and Designer. On our episode titled "Artful Paper Creations," we discuss why these ladies have chosen paper has an art medium and further explore their work.

Nadia Tan, Film Editor and Maker

You are invited to listen to our segment by visiting our show achieve at; www.blogtalkradio.com/craftedspaces. We will also like to thank Freedom Clothing Collective for their support in this segment.