Letter Canvas

On Black Saturday when I was trying to entertain the children, I tried to get everyone excited about a craft project. Well, you'd thought that I'd suggested that they help me clean out the refrigerator. The Boy started wailing and threw himself on the floor and declared that only football would make everything better. I do feel for the Boy. I know it must be hard to hang with the girls and me all the time, especially when you're a boy who likes typically boy things. When the Baby was born he was willing to keep her, but he asked if we could "swap" the Girl "for a brother from one of those countries with lots of boys, like Russia or England." I told him that, unfortunately for him, it didn't really work that way.

But, back to the project. About a month ago, the Baby and I went to Paper Source which is a dangerous place if you like paper, stationery, gift wrap, ribbon, stamps, stickers, and high-end crafting materials. I could spend hours in there and waaaaay too much money, so it turned out to be a good thing that the meter parking at the Virginia-Highlands Paper Source was something like 6.5 minutes for each quarter. Plus, the meter maid (is that still what they're called?) was literally sitting across the street from where I parked, poised to slap that ticket on my windshield if my time ran out. So, the Baby and I had every incentive to browse briskly.

I ended up getting fixated on these cardboard letters that they had displayed with jars of Modge-Podge. I've always wanted to Modge-Podge, but I've never taken the plunge before. There are some great websites and blogs with Modge-Podge projects and tons of pins on Pinterest, if you are so inclined. Did y'all know you can Modge-Podge shoes?? 'Tis true!

That seems ambitious for my first trip to the Modge-Podge rodeo, so I grabbed a "K" for our last name, picked out some pretty wrapping paper, and the Modge-Podge and the Baby and I were pulling out of our parking space right as the red "expired" flag popped up on the meter.

All my materials sat in my "Mom's Stuff Keep Out" basket, which the kids have more or less respected, for a month before I got to actually do the project. So, I was psyched to work on it, even if the kids were not. Here is what I had:

Plus, a canvas I bought at Michael's with one of those ubiquitous 40% off coupons and burlap that I had left over from my Thanksgiving wreath project and the wrapping paper that I picked at Paper Source:

First off, I traced the letter on the back of the paper and cut it out. I have no pictures of this because I was trying too hard to engage the kids with this project and forgot to take any pictures. Take my word for it. My next step was to paint the sides of the letter with some yellow paint. It took about four coats of paint because the craft paper kept showing through. Then, I Modge-Podged the paper onto the letter.

After it dried, I sealed it with several coats of the Modge-Podge:

Do you feel like this post would lend itself to a drinking game in which you have to do a shot every time you read "Modge-Podge?" Modge-Podge, Modge-Podge, Modge-Podge, Modge-Podge! Are you drunk? Good, maybe you won't notice how crookedly I attached the burlap to the canvas and the K to the burlap-covered canvas in this next step! (Note: when I refer to "the K" in this post I mean the letter, not the husband. I did not attempt to attach my husband to the canvas).

So, I attempted to stretch the burlap over the canvas, securing it with a staple gun. The best part of this step was using the staple gun, which I liked a little too much. 

Next, I used fabric glue to attach the K to the front of the canvas. Voila!

I have a gallery wall in the kids' play room, so the K art found a home there:

Is that wood art on the left driving you as crazy as it is me? It just needs to be shifted a smidgen to the right. I'll get to that after the holidays. And by holidays, there's a good chance that I mean Flag Day and the Fourth of July. Not a chance of that happening before Christmas. Hope you enjoyed the craft! Have a great week!