At the last minute, right before leaving to cross the U.S. to move our daughter into her North Hollywood apartment, I created some inspirational art specifically for her.
As an aspiring actor, she has a challenging road ahead of her.
I wanted her to know that it's okay to follow your dreams, even if it takes a lifetime...
because that's what life's about.
So I went into my wood shop area to grab some materials I already had on hand, printed an inspirational message from my computer, and grabbed a small canvas from my crafting supply and started the creative process.
These Medai boards were bought last year in the craft section of Tuesday Morning. I had the white craft paint and the brush on hand as well.
I used the 5x7 inch board.
I started by covering the one side with a coat of the white craft paint.
These media boards have a texture and I didn't want that to hinder the final idea I had in my head.
Once it way dry, I printed out the inspirational saying on regular printer paper.
I knew it would wrinkle up because it was thinner than traditional crafting paper, but that was something I wanted to happen to "age" it.
The saying speaks for itself!
Before I started, I placed the canvas over the back of the printed paper, lining up the saying.
I drew a pencil line around the canvas. This will help with placement once I finish up the next step.
I took my trusty Matte Mod Podge and painted a thick layer right onto the canvas.
Using the pencil line, I placed the canvas down onto the back of the paper then flipped it over.
At this point is looked like a hot mess, but that is only because it was wet and wrinkly and not trimmed.
I used my finger to carefully push out some of the wrinkles but I didn't go over it too much.
I knew that when dry it would look much better.
Once it was fully dry, I took a cocoa brown craft paint and a slightly damp paper towel and began to "age" the front.
Light swipes and sweeps over the canvas, checking as I went allowed me to "age" it.
I went a bit heavier on the edges and sides, creating a "highlight" in the center. This draws the eye to focus on the saying.
I let this dry thoroughly as well.
Once dry, I flipped the canvas over and used a razor to carefully trim the excess paper away from the edges of the canvas.
Remember the "Jenga" piece projects (plant stand and coasters) I made with the Dollar Store version called Tumbling Towers?
I had 7 pieces leftover and knew these would provide a great underlying structure for this project.
I glued two at each of the top corners, leaving a space in between at the very top.
Two were glued on the bottom sides and one was glued at the very bottom.
I let these dry in place.
I had cut down and stained some leftover lathe strips.
I measure them so that the corners would overlap in a successive pattern around the piece.
I started by placing my wood glue onto the sides of the blocks and spreading with my fingers.
This creates a solid surface for the framing pieces to attach and "frame" the canvas.
The other thing those pieces did was allow the width of the lathe pieces to extend beyond the front of the canvas, creating a very modern style of framing with almost a shadow box look to it.
Here, you can see how to just butted on edge to the overlap of the corresponding lathe piece. I did this all the way around, creating cohesive and well met corners.
The back side looked like this.
You can see the overlap at each corner and then really appreciate how those small pieces created structure and support for the lathe frams.
While the frame was drying I used 2 large ribber bands to "clamp" it in place and provide enough pressure to stabilize it while it set up.
At the top, where I had left that gap, there's now small space for hanging it on the wall with a brad nail.
The piece weighs only ounces, so you could even use a thumb tack to hang it.
And voila... it was done.
Here I had it just sitting up on my craft desk, which would be another way to display it.
We actually hung this in Syd's apartment, right next to her bed over her nightstand. This way it can inspire her every morning and every night.
Sometimes life is about risking everything for a dream no one can see but you.
I think that's the definition of breaking the rules!
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