60 Cent Wall Art!

I promised to share some crafts along the way, so here it goes.  I found a tutorial for this adorable ruffle canvas here.  Only problem: I did't know how to work my sewing machine.  My mom gave me her sewing machine (which belonged to my grandmother) a few weeks ago. I've been so eager to use it but wasn't even sure where to start. I visited the craft stores a couple of times in attempt to get the supplies needed. Once I'd get into the sewing sections, I'd get completely overwhelmed with options and didn't know where to start. The other day I went in determined. I picked out a pack of bobbins and spool of plain white thread. I went up to one of the employees working in the sewing machine section to ask for her advice. . She should be able to help me, right? I started to ask, "I have never sewn anything in my life but my mom just gave me her sewing machine and I was wondering what the very basics were for me to just sew a straight line."  She looked at me like I was a complete idiot and I thought to myself, "Didn't I just preface that with 'I've never sewn before'? I need help!"  She really didn't give me an answer so I made some good guesses and went home to get started.

This was the set up. All the necessities for an afternoon of sewing:  the machine, google, phone, pizza rolls, and water. Now I'm ready!   I had been trying to get a hold of my mom the whole time I was in the store so she could tell me what to get. Well, I finally heard from her when I got home. I told her what I was up to and that I was about to learn how to sew from YouTube videos.  She told me she would just walk me through it.  I remember watching my mom sew on this machine when I was younger. She could thread that thing and go to town sewing in her sleep! It had been several years though and I wasn't too sure how much she would remember. Lesson: Never doubt your momma! She taught me how to sew over the phone! I loaded the bobbin with thread, threaded everything, and began sewing.. all by my mom's over-the-phone instructions.  Thanks, Momma!!

Now let's get to the tutorial. You will need a roll of crepe streamers, a canvas, a hot glue gun or modge podge, and a sewing machine. I had all of this except for the streamers. I bought a huge roll from Hobby Lobby priced for 99 cents. And since I can't bare to pay full price for anything (yes, even a dollar), I used a 40% off coupon.  I added a little touch of my own to it by applying some gold to the edges with a stamp pad I had around the house.

 

I used an 8x10 canvas. I cut about 15 strips of streamers that were 2 and 1/4 times the width of the canvas.

Now time to sew. I set the machine on the longest stitch and released the tension.  Begin sewing a straight line. After every few inches, you can pause, hold the top stitch and then slide the crepe streamer down so that it ruffles up.

Once you have all the ruffles, it's time to attach them to the canvas. The tutorial I used called for a glue gun but I used Modge Podge (I'm tired of burning my fingers on the hot glue).  Start from the bottom and work your way up.

Turn the canvas over and attach the ends to the back.

Continue the process until you fill the whole canvas. I added a flower to mine by just rolling the crepe streamer and attaching it with hot glue.


I also found a cardboard "H" on sale for under $2, and bought a piece of scrapbook paper on sale for 25 cents.  I pretty much wrapped it like a present and sealed it with more Modge Podge (I love this stuff!).

I put the two new projects on a shelf.  Now I have cute shelf decorations and it was all less than $3!!

I apologize for the length of this tutorial, feel free to use the one I linked to above.  Also, excuse my poor quality pictures. The camera phone doesn't quite capture the greatest pictures. Hope you all enjoyed. Let me know if you try it out or have any questions. Happy crafting.