Like all good projects, this one started with a shot:
Banana Split Shot
Equal Parts:
Vodka
Banana Liqueur
Creme de Cacao
This week I had my friend Nicole Lamb to craft and drink with which makes me seem less sad now, doesn't it? I don't always drink and craft alone! Just most Wednesdays. She even was gracious enough to let the crafting happen at her house, supervised by her dog, Gracie.We covered the table with a festive and completely out of season Christmas vinyl tablecloth. It made things oddly more festive than slapping modge podge on canvas should have been. The idea for tonight's craft came vaguely from some Martha Stewart article Nicole saw online.
Materials Needed:
- 1 or more canvases. ( We used the cheapest we could find since we were just covering them up with fabric and glue anyway.)
- Modge Podge (Glue that dries clear can be substituted but I don't recommend it.)
- Fabric (Get more than enough to cover your canvas. We got ours at IKEA.)
- Stapler (ideally you should use a staple gun, but we are drinking, so smaller stapler = less trips to the Emergency Room.)
- Paint - We used cheapy teal acrylic paint, you may use classier paints if you wish.
- Artist - I free handed the seaweed, if you can't draw, print something to trace.
- Scissors
- Sponge brushes or regular paint brushes (whatever you have laying around.)
Step 2: Take your stapler and staple one side. Pull the fabric taut and staple the opposite side. Keep doing that until the fabric is stretched and stapled tightly to the canvas. For the corners, experiment with folding until you get a clean edge. I did almost a napkin style triangular fold on the first one and then took two shots and subsequently had to do a much less attractive fold on the other corner. Since this is the back of the piece, no harm was done.*Remember to celebrate in between steps! Jump up and down, toast to dead celebrities or your creative prowess. Pet the dog... You get the idea.*
Step 3: Modge Podge! Get your largest brush you're never going to use again, and liberally coat the front of the fabric with Modge Podge. Nicole took over at this point. She had the steadier hand, even after several shots were had. Just keep your strokes even and in one direction. This will permanently adhere the fabric to the canvas so it doesn't bunch or move around. Don't forget to do the edges as well as the surface!
The Modge Podge takes at least 3o minutes to dry. At this point, Nicole and I did shots to dead celebrities. Then to one another's health. We were very concerned with giving the glue sufficient time to dry. We touched them about every 30 seconds to see if they were dry. I don't recommend that unless you like glue stuck to your fingers.Step 4: If you're free handing the design, get your paintbrush and get to work. Just dip the brush in the paint and fill it in. If not, now would be the part where you traced your design onto the fabric. Once your design is in place, just fill it it. I took over the painting of the seaweed while Nicole gave directions. When she wanted more branches on the seaweed she would insist upon more 'elk horns.' For some reason this worked for me.
And that's it, wait for the paint to dry and you're done! We waited about 60 seconds after cleaning our brushes to get to the hanging and admiring of our work. Here you can see me painting with my paper plate palette. At home I cover the table with trash bags and mix paints directly on the plastic but I was a guest after all!Pictures of the finished project are below. Special thanks to Nicole for letting me drink her liquor and mess up her place. But since she was the once who got the finished artwork, I think I can honestly say we're even...and assure you, that I will drink to that.
