J is for Juliet

    Ahh...I couldn't resist, In a previous post I talked about my new niece on the way and how I could see another letter project in the future. Well, she's here and just as sweet as only a newborn can be. She's a little over a week old and my daughter and I just can't get enough cuddle time with her. I wish I could post a picture of her, you'd just want to eat her up. 

Okay, enough about my niece and how good she smells and how unbelievably cute she is. I am just loving letter trend right now. There are just so many ways to display them and it's a super affordable project to give as a gift or match to your own decor. Plus it gave me an excuse to hit up Michael's.

Oh my goodness, don't you just love this paper?

Supplies from Michael's
Letter J 4"x 6" (I splurged for the more expensive one this time) $2.99
Paint: Martha Stewart Crafts, Pearl Fruit Punch  $2.49
Foam Brush 2 @ $.05
Scrapbook paper 3 @ $.16!

Thrift Store Find
Oval Frame $2.00

Lowe's
I had all of this on hand from other projects- so I'm unsure of the price
Odorless oil Based Spray Primer
320 grit sandpaper
White Lacquer High Gloss Spray Paint
Spray Adhesive
Liquid Nails
Mod Podge

As always I'll put this into steps.



1. I started with the frame, and took everything out of it and spray primed the letter and the frame. The J only needed one coat of the primer, but the frames were yellow and needed a few coats. I knew I was going to paint the frames white so I really wanted no trace of the yellow peaking through.

2. I let the primer dry for an hour.I then gave it three thin coats of the white spray paint. Look below for a few tips on spray painting. I've probably missed some, but here is what I've learned so far.

Tips for Spray Painting

• When you're spray painting it's best to keep the can moving and use very thin coats to avoid drips plus doing this makes the paint appear more uniform. 
• Wear a mask- Spray paint is nasty stuff, you don't want to breath that in.
• Spray paint outside- You'll be surprised how messy spraying is. I'm getting better at it, but the first time I painted 8 frames at a time, I had white paint all over my ankles and feet! Let's just say I'm so impressed with spray paint artists and how talented they are! I seriously have no idea how they do it.

3. I let the frames and the J dry over night.

4. After I dropped my daughter off at school I got to paint the J. I was a little excited about this, because the Fruit Punch color is so cool. It's a super vibrant pink that gives off a happy vibe. In large quantities it could be overwhelming, but it was a perfect amount for the size of the J. I used the foam brush to paint on three coats of this lovely goodness. Seriously, I just love this color. It makes me smile just to look at it while I'm typing.

5. While the paint was drying I laid out the paper in different combinations until I found one I liked. When I did, I went ahead and cut the papers to fit the cardboard from the back of the frame. I laid the paper on the back and used my craft knife to cut each one out.

*Ahh...this is where I kind of screwed up and should have used a tape measure and a straight edge instead of eyeballing the paper. So instead of doing what I knew I should have, I just laid out the paper and thought it was right. Well...It wasn't, the third layer was super uneven and I had to cut off  more paper than I wanted to make it straight. Then, that screwed up my polka dot layer, making it thicker than I wanted it to be.

6. For the yellow layer that filled the whole space, I took it outside and sprayed cardboard with the spray adhesive and laid the paper on it. A bonus to the adhesive is that you have a little bit of time to move the paper around before it dries, so you're not screwed if you didn't get it right the first time.

7. When it was dry, I covered the yellow paper in Mod Podge with the foam brush and then laid the polka dot layer on top of it. I then added another layer of Mod Podge on top of it. I did the same thing with the last layer.

I was doing great until I saw bubbles forming in the paper. Seriously, what the crap?! I thought I smoothed everything down, but I guess not good enough. I should add that most of the bubbles came out, when it dried, but not all of them.

8. I let the papers dry and turn clear, then it was time to attach the J to the paper. I used the liquid nails to attach it, and just slathered it on the back of the J and positioned it onto the paper. I put a book on top of it for some pressure and left it alone for a few hours.

*Side note- that may or may not be way too much liquid nails. I'm actually not sure, because it seemed okay when it dried.

9. When I did this project before I let the liquid nails dry for two days before I hung it up.This time after a few hours I put it back in the frame. I got a little excited because I wanted to give it to my sister and we were heading that way. Any other time I would have let it sit for two days.

So, here you go! It really is a fast and easy project. I just love these letter projects, and have a few more in mind for later. I think this will look at home in my niece's room

Have you done any projects like this? Or have any in the works?  I'd love to hear about it!

Oh, and if anyone can help me out with the bubbling issue I'd be really grateful.

Letters and Canvas

I'm having a hard time moving around today, so I decided to just go ahead and post this super easy project. We are heading to Ohio with the whole family to enjoy four days of camping and amazing music at All Good Festival. Did I mention it's going to be hovering around 90 degrees? No? Well, it's worth it and we will be covering lots of ground walking and I couldn't be more excited! So, while I'm letting my body take a break you get to read about this simple and cheap project. 

   What you'll need: I got everything I needed for this project at Lowes, Hobby Lobby and my mother in 

                                    law's house (scrapbooking paper)

• Letters, numbers or what ever you like (letters $1.50)
• Canvas ($3.00)
• Oil based spray primer (I used Kilz Odorless)
• Spray paint (I used Valspar high gloss, white lacquer)
• Paint, scrapbooking paper (We used what we had lying around)
• Painters tape (We used Frog Tape)
• Spray multipurpose adhesive (I used 3M Super 77)
• Liquid nails

 Optional- I didn't use these products, but really wish I had!

• Wood filler 
• Sandpaper

First I spray primed the letters with two coats of Kilz. This is where I screwed up. I really should have used the wood filler because there are little holes in the T. I know you can't see them in the picture, but they are there and you can see them when looking at the letter in person. I also should have used sandpaper and sanded them to make them smooth as glass. Oh well, next time!

I was also in the process of changing some of my picture frames, so I just did it at the same time. A quick word about the spray primer. I am a very messy spray painter and I got it all over my feet and hands! So, do it outside in a place where your neighbors won't freak out! The picture above is where I used two coats of the lacquer on the letters and the canvas. The lacquer was super stinky, so it definitely should be used outside!

Here is what the letters and canvas looked like all glossy white. You could just leave them like this and call it done, for modern look. I like it so much I'm thinking of doing it for the back of the bathroom door and adding a hook under each of our initials for towels.

For the B, our daughter used the painter's tape and taped out her design. To get the nice lines without removing some of the paint, just pull the tape as soon as you do your last coat of paint.

There's our daughter, Baylee hard at work. Actually, she's ignoring me taking pictures of her painting. Don't you just love the purple hair? It's purple for her summer swim team. Don't worry grandma, it washes out... eventually!

 

Here's the final project. For the E, I used painter's tape for the pattern. For the T, I simply flipped the canvas upside down on the scrapbooking  paper and traced away. I then took it outside, sprayed the adhesive on the canvas and put the paper on top of it. The next morning I put the liquid nails on the back of the letters and positioned them on top of the canvas and snapped the picture. That's why they are laying flat and not hung. The liquid nails package said to wait 16 hours before hanging. The only things I needed to buy were the letters and the canvas and it came to a whopping $4.50 a piece. Super easy and cheap, new wall art!

We will be welcoming a new niece very soon and I see another project like this in the near future with a J on it. Or a larger canvas with her whole name!

If anyone else has done this project, I'd love to see your interpretation!