Tutorial Tuesday - Chevron Wall Art!

Remember than Tutorial Tuesday post I did about chevron? Let me remind you. Remember? Do you also remember how I wanted to put a pattern on one of the walls in our apartment, but one of the guys living there (neither Ralph nor Ted), didn’t like the idea? See picture of said turd in the punchbowl here. And do you remember me mentioning that I’m developing hoarding tendencies with my fabric? There’s no link to that because I’ve said it many times. All of those problems have been semi-solved. Well, the chevron wasn’t a “problem,” and I didn’t get the hexagons on the wall and I also still have a crapload of fabric since this project just uses scraps. So nothing’s really been remotely solved I guess. But I made something that touches on all those things. It all came together in a dream. Ok. No. It was when I went to get my sewing machine one day and an old canvas that I’ve been holding on to practically fell on my head. I’ve been toying with just covering it with a piece of fabric, but that seemed a little snoozeroo. Then I glanced down at the entire BOX of fabric I had next to me. It was a chocolate/peanut butter - peanut butter/chocolate moment.

See, I’ve been looking for something to put on the wall to cover over our thermostat.

Ugh. It just makes that entire area look crappy. It’s especially enraging since we barely use the heater. The perfect solution would to put a picture over it. We can just lift it off on the rare occasions we use it. I mean, it’s ugly. Why should I have to look at it all day? I shouldn’t, right? I had a picture over it years ago, but Ryan wasn’t wild about it. It was a little strange, so I can understand why. I’m going into way too much detail here. Let me just say that I was looking for something to hang on one of my walls. Good grief. Here’s what I made:

Pretty, right? I LOVE all the fabric. And it’s so colorful that it adds a nice pop to the wall. Take that, thermostat!

SO, if you like it (duh, of course you do) and would like to make one yourself, here ‘s what you’ll need:

• A canvas - you choose the size
• Fabric - I used a lot of scraps that I had hanging around
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Rotary cutter and self-healing mat (you could use scissors, but it would be time-consuming and a bit of a pain in the butt)
• Mod Podge
• Foam brush

The steps:

1. Measure your canvas. Now, obviously, you might already know the size since you just bought it, but I didn’t know mine because I was recycling one that I already had. Maybe you’re like me. I’m just covering my bases.

2. Measure and lightly (like super lightly or it might show in the finished product) draw a line in pencil down the center of the canvas. Do the same between the edge and the center line. This will give you 4 quarters. Again, I know some of you may be all “DUH!!!! Why didn’t you say divide into quarters???” I’m just trying to be helpful, guys.

3. Cut scraps of fabric to desired length and width. Depending on the shape/size of your canvas and how angled you’d like the pattern to be, you’ll have to adjust the length. You can cut whatever width you like. You really have lots of choices here. I cut strips that were 1 inch x 7 inches.

4. Arrange the fabric strips on the canvas. I really liked having each row be one fabric and the next row a different fabric, but you can, once again, change it up.

5. After you decide on your layout, get to gluing! Start at the top and paint a layer of Mod Podge on a portion of the canvas and then adhere the fabric. Don’t spread it over a large area, though. Mod Podge can dry pretty quickly, so you want to make sure the fabric gets stuck on there while it’s still wet. After you’re finished with all the fabric strips, wait until all the glue dries and apply a layer of Mod Podge (I did two layers just be safe - I don’t know why) over the entire canvas. That way, it’ll be all locked in. Like a freshness seal.

6. Wait for all of that to dry and then glue a strip of fabric around the outside of canvas.

7. Let it dry and then hang it on the wall. I figured I’d throw that in there in case you were all “What next? WHAT NEXT??!!!” And I don’t know if you noticed, but Ryan hung it upside down. Not that there’s a right and wrong way. Don’t tell him I said anything, though. He’ll feel bad. It’s my fault for saying “please hang this picture” and then walking out the door. Poor guy.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy! Right?! Oh, and you’re welcome!