DIY Photo Canvas in 4 Easy Steps

When I went to my sister-in-laws wedding last year (yes I am so slow at blogging!) I fell in love with these photo canvases that they had hanging up around the reception.  And I couldn't believe it when she told me she had made them all herself and how cheap and easy it was.  I knew I had to try it myself, especially when I heard the words mod podge.  I love mod podge.  I have been mod podging photo prints on blocks for years now, and was excited to use this amazing wonder on canvas.

I watched this video on how to mod podge a picture on to canvas, and it is very straightforward and indeed easy.  In case you don't want to sit through a video, here are the 4 simple steps with some additional insight below:

Supplies:

 Mod podge (recommend matte)

Black acrylic paint

Paint brush (I use a foam brush)

Printed picture 

Canvas

What to do:

1. Paint black border (let it dry)

2. Paint the canvas with mod podge

3. Stick picture on.  Gently push down, rubbing out all air bubbles

4. Top with a coat of mod podge, make sure to the seal edges with mod podge

Step 1- Painting black border

Step 2 & 3- Cover with mod podge, then place picture on canvas.

Step 4- Another coat of mod podge

*Additional tips:  I always like to put newspaper or a tablecloth down so I don't have to worry about paint spilling.  A blow dryer works great to speed up the process of the black paint drying.  To paint the sides more easily, I always place the canvas on a plastic cup or bowl.  Don't worry if the top coat of mod podge looks messy, it always dries clear.  

A few other DIY Photo Canvas Projects I've been up to...

Love how these simple, easy projects turn out!  They make such a beautiful addition to the home!

Chore Chart Bingo

I came up with this chore chart to try to add some fun (and regularity) in my kids doing chores around the house.  When they do 5 of these chores and complete a bingo, I reward them with stickers or candy.  When they have completed all of the chores and achieve blackout then they get a bigger prize.  Maybe a trip to the dollar store or ice cream cone.  

Here is the chore chart bingo sheet I made-

I put it in a sheet protector to help it last longer.  (It would be cute in a frame but I was too lazy to make it look nice).  :)  My kids use a dry erase marker to mark off the chores they complete.  They always get excited when they complete a bingo.  My favorite square is Mom's choice which allows me to choose anything around the house that I need done.

Relief Society Garden Party

Our ward recently celebrated the Relief Society's birthday by throwing a garden party.  (Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of the actual event, sorry!) Here is what we did:

Who: Not only did we invite all of the women in our Relief Society, but we also extended the invitation to all young women in the ward ages 8 and up.  Everyone was encouraged to wear a hat.

Decorations: We had a bright, spring theme with lots of yellow.  We purchased a few spring decorations from the dollar store and had fresh flowers on each table.

Food: Cucumber sandwiches, ham sandwiches, chicken wings, tortilla wraps, vegetable plate, lemonade, herbal tea, water, cookies, baby cupcakes, cream puffs.

Activities: We mainly ate and talked.  There were also a few door prizes (having to do with our garden theme- gardening gloves, tools, flowers, etc).  We had paper hearts on each table and asked everyone to write one thing they loved about Relief Society.  (We later used these hearts to decorate our Relief Society bulletin board).

Handout: I made each of the women this magnet- something bright and yellow and optimistic to go with our theme- with one of my favorite quotes: "In all of living, have much fun and laughter.  Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured." (By Gordon B. Hinckley).

I printed these as 4x6's (2 fit on a page since they are 3"x3").

I would recommend printing one to start off with to make sure the coloring is right.  At the first store I printed them at, the yellow was too dark, so I made a lighter version as well. 

I ordered this adhesive magnetic sheet that worked great to apply the prints too and was perfect for the size of the prints (fit 28 on one sheet, possibly could have fit 32 but I was little conservative).  Also fyi- the magnetic sheet comes rolled in a small tube, so I would suggest sticking it to your fridge for a few hours to flatten it.

Feel free to use this print for your own personal use!  It makes a great little gift!

Homemade Tablet Holder for Car

We have found that long trips in the car go so much smoother when our kids have a movie to watch.  After months of having my kids hold my tablet in their hands, I decided we needed a better plan.  I went online to purchase a tablet holder for the back of the seat in our car, but I was amazed at how expensive they were.  I thought it probably wouldn't be that hard to make one, so I decided to take that route instead.  This project began before I had a sewing machine, so I constructed this tablet holder with as little sewing as possible.  (If I were to make it again using a sewing machine, I probably would have planned it a little differently and could have saved some time, but it works efficiently nonetheless).

This is what the tablet holder looks like.  To limit on sewing, I kept all of the fabric as one piece, except for the top strip of fabric running across the top of the tablet.  I had some leftover clear vinyl from my quiet book which provided a clear screen over the tablet while also holding it securely in place.  I started by rolling up the bottom edge of my large rectangular piece of fabric and sewing that to the vinyl.  I then sewed my top strip to the top of the vinyl.  Then I rolled the sides of the main fabric in and sewed that to the vinyl as well.  I hemmed the top so it looked nice and neat.  Then I sewed elastic to the back, about the same size as the seat's headrest in the car.  Lastly I attached velcro to the top of the fabric and the strip above the tablet.  (Once again, to minimize sewing, I decided to just roll the top down rather than having to sew anything in place).  I made sure to constantly put my 7" tablet in the holder as I made it, to make sure I wasn't making the holder too small.

Backside

There are a billion different ways one could design this, and like I said I probably would do it a little different if I made it with a sewing machine.  But it's been working great so far.  The fabric is thin enough that I can still access the on/off and volume button without taking the tablet out of the holder.  And the tablet is responsive through the vinyl.  Since I already had the fabric and the vinyl, I ended up spending just a few dollars on the elastic and the velcro so it was a very cheap project to complete.  

Family Night Board (Magnets)

My kids have taken a greater interest in participating with family home evening, so I wanted to make a board to keep track of whose turn it was to do what.  I didn't really want to spend a lot of money on this and couldn't find anything I really liked online.  And then I thought of these wooden animals I had bought from Walmart a few years ago on clearance.  (Jo-Ann's also sells these (usually a $1 each) and has a huge variety).  So I put our names on them with scrapbooking stickers.  Then I put magnetic tape on the back of each one to get it to stick to the fridge.  (Loved how this didn't have to take up any extra space on my wall).  Then I made labels on scrapbooking paper and stuck it to the adhesive side of the magnets.  My kids love rotating the magnets each week.  This was a cute, easy, cheap way to make a kid-friendly Family Home Evening Board.  This would also be a great way to make a chore chart for kids.  

Toy Holders/ Storage Containers

What I used:

Paper scraps (about 1 1/2" x 2")

Mod podge

Paintbrush

Old cans (I used old formula cans)

This was an easy project and makes great holders for little toys and other odds and ends you have around the house.  You can use any size can/tin depending on what you want to store inside.  

I removed all of the wrapper/covering from my empty formula cans and cleaned them.  Then I painted the back of a paper scrap with mod podge and stuck it to the can.  I held it for a moment, making sure to get out all of the air bubbles and making sure that it was securely sealed to the can.  Then I continued that process as I added papers all around the can.  Once the can was covered, I painted over the tops of the paper to help secure them and hold them down.  I added stickers on cans that I wanted labeled, and painted over the top of the stickers with mod podge as well to seal it on.  It didn't take too long to do, but they do take awhile to dry.