Saturday, October 16, 2010

Fabulous Halloween Silhouettes

Sometimes, late at night, after I been blog hopping for hours (though it seems like just a few minutes), I discover hidden treasure! I am in love with this super smart and creative craft! I LOVE the possibilities Tammy the adorable author of She Wears Flowers has inspired in me, but what I want more than anything right now is to steal her creation!

I'M LOVIN' IT! ( I sound like a McDonald's commercial ;)

I've had this one in my mind for a while now.
I had no idea how much I was going to love it when it was done, though!


Last year, I made a bunch of these.(I found this idea HERE.)

I love, love, love silhouettes and have forever so this totally worked for me. I wanted more, though - more, more, more silhouettes. This year's idea just sprung up from last year's Halloween project. I love it when that happens!

Materials:Halloween Canvas1
9 mini canvasses – 3 inches square
11 3/4 square board (1/4 inch thick)
black paint
newspaper
Mod Podge
9 silhouettes (just do a Google search--there are tons!
sponge brushes
hot glue gun
ribbon

Instructions:
{1} Cut several 3 inch long strips of newspaper. Cut 18 strips that are 3 inches x 1 inch.  Halloween Canvas2
{2} Paint the board black. Be sure to cover the edges and one side completely. I used “hardboard” for this. It is a really cheap board and works perfectly for this project. Halloween Canvas8
{3} Use Mod Podge to glue the small strips of newspaper to one side of the canvas. It should cover the edge and wrap around the top of the canvas.Halloween Canvas3
If the edge of the newspaper is just a little longer than the canvas, you can gently fold it in and glue it down. This works really well since the Mod Podge gets the paper “wet” and the newspaper is so thin. It will look something like this:
Halloween Canvas5
Repeat on the opposite side. I didn’t worry about which direction the printing was facing, but you can match it if you want to.
Halloween Canvas4
{4} Take the long 3 inch strips of newspaper and wrap them around the canvas from the top edge to the bottom edge covering the rest of the canvas. I just left the newspaper a little longer than both edges and glued it to the wood on the back after I trimmed it closer to the actual size.
Halloween Canvas6
{5}  Adhere silhouettes to each canvas. I used my Silhouette paper cutter to cut vinyl for this, but I know another way to do this using your printer and no cutting.

I used to get so frustrated when people did projects with a paper/vinyl cutter because I didn't have one and I don't live in a place where vinyl products are easily accessible. So, I learned a whole bunch of tricks. Stick with me, I've got you covered!

If you do not have access to a cutting machine, you can print the silhouettes on vellum paper. Cut around the shape in a 3 inch square very precisely. You can Mod Podge the vellum right to the newsprint. The newsprint will look a little frosted when you use vellum, but it doesn’t take away from the project in any way! You can Mod Podge over the printing, but be sure your printer ink is very dry before you do this.
Halloween Canvas7
{6} Mod Podge over the entire thing and let dry completely. Add another coat of Mod Podge if you would like. (I always do—it just seems to work better!)

{7} Use a pencil to lightly mark where you will glue each canvas. You will place them with about 1/2 inch (a little less) between each canvas and 5/8 inch around the whole thing (like a margin). I marked where I would place each corner so I could line the whole thing up. It doesn’t show up in a picture so you’ll just have to understand what I am explaining! You could also set your center piece and line up from there just eyeballing the whole thing.

{8} Hot glue (if you want it quick like I always do) your canvasses in place. If you are worried about lining it up before the glue dries, try another glue. My other favorite glue is E-6000. Wood glue would work fine since you are gluing wood to wood and I bet Elmer’s glue would work perfectly, too. This is easy!

 I love the statement this piece makes with the stark colors and the "grunge" of the newsprint.


If you would like to soften it up just a bit, add a fluffy ribbon.


You could also add a picture hanger to the back or a ribbon to hang it with.
 I like the way it looks just sitting on a table easel. I'm pretty simple!
Thanks Tammy for allowing us to share your fabulous tutorial!

Halloween & Autumn Tin Star Decor

This is a very simple project to create.  

All it takes is a little measuring ( which I will admit was not my strongest skill during this little creative moment ), some Mod Podge, a sponge brush, scissors, a tin star, ribbon, and decorative paper.
Using a ruler, measure one side of the star "spoke". By looking at the star, you can see what I mean.
Draw a template from your measurements, cut the template out, and double check it by holding it up to the star. Make sure you leave a tiny bit of the tin showing on each of the 4 side's of the spoke ( or try using a 5 x 7 piece of printing paper, fold over the spoke of the star and crease down tightly at the ridge, edges, and indent, then cut at the creases and re-measure, removing about 1/8" from all 4 sides).
Check your template measurement a 3rd time!
Now, if your satisfied with the measurements, trace the template onto a piece of cardboard & cut it out.
Choose a selection of decorative paper, anywhere from 2 differing pages to 10 papers. ( the star in the photo above has 10 different papers ).  My star has 5 spokes, with 2 sides per spoke, hence the need for 10 pieces of paper. However you can make your pattern completely to your own likes!
Now this is where I kept screwing up my pattern...
Trace your template on the papers you have chosen, but ONLY TRACE 5 PIECES!
Now, FLIP YOUR TEMPLATE OVER and trace the additional 5 pieces. If you notice, the 2 sides of the spoke are opposites in measurements!  ( I ended up with A LOT of extra pieces, but they are all for the same side of the spoke-lol ).
I laid out the paper pieces I had cut from my template, and placed them against the star so that I could make sure I liked the balance of the colors, patterns, etc.
Once you have that decision made, simply start Mod Podging them on - lightly coat 1 side of the spoke with Mod Podge, then center your piece of paper over it and smooth it down, removing any bubbles. I used the side of a Popsicle stick to carefully smooth the paper down. Work your way around the star following these steps.  Once you have all your papers glued on, go back around the star and coat the entire surface of the star (over the paper) with another light coat of Mod Podge.
THAT'S IT!
Allow the star to dry completely, string some ribbon through the hook on the back of the star and...
VOILA it's ready to hang!




I made a couple using Halloween theme paper, and a couple using fall color papers.  I love them all.  They are absolutely darling hanging in the center of a large grapevine wreath, or hung as a pair.
Have fun creating your own combination's-like for your daughter's bedroom, a newborns nursery...