Wednesday, July 6, 2011

KISS Wednesday- Heroic Canvas

Hello, readers! The Hubs and I are back from (very) sunny L.A. We decided to use the long weekend to play tourist in the City of Angels and I have to say, we both had an awesome time! I know L.A. gets some serious flack, but I have to say there were a number of things that L.A. has that I would put W-A-Y above my local stomping grounds, like customer service for one. But I digress.

For today's Keep It Simple, Silly post, I am featuring a canvas that needs a total of five things to complete. You need a t-shirt, Mod Podge, a foam brush, scissors, and a canvas. That is it. Add a few hours to harden and this is a quick project for some original home decor.

It started with a t-shirt that I loved. The image on the shirt, that is, not specifically the shirt itself. I bought this Wonder Woman tee at Comic-Con four years ago, (don't judge), because I LOVED the relief type image and the touch of bling. Yet, I had only worn it a handful of times, so I decided I wanted to figure out another way to keep the image but make it more useful.


I used a 12x12 wrapped canvas with deep sides because I wanted to have the image wrap around the sides as well. I like the look of canvases that have the image continue around to the sides. I cut the front of the shirt from the back and positioned her where I thought she looked best, while making sure I had enough material to cover all edges. I pulled the shirt front off and spread Mod Podge all over the front of the canvas.

*Now let me add a side note here. I had recently purchased Fabric Mod Podge and thought this was the perfect opportunity to try it. I started with it and realized as it dried, it creates a shiny, hard finish to the fabric. This was not the look I was going for, so I decided to change to the Matte Mod Podge to seal the art.*

I laid the shirt on the wet surface, positioning it so that the edges could be wrapped and that it was straight. To wrap the edges, I added more Mod Podge to the edges of the canvas and wrapped them at the corners like you would wrap an edge of present. I stepped away and let the base coat dry.

For the top coat, I used Matte Mod Podge and I tapped the foam brush across canvas to pull up the nap of the fabric. I did run the brush over the rhinestone areas and then followed by wiping them lightly with a paper towel so that the bling stayed sparkly. I was trying to get a more soft, hazy canvas look as opposed to a shiny glass picture look. The first coat actually caused some odd white spots on Wonder Woman's hair, so I applied a second coat and focused on those areas. Once it dried, it was exactly like I wanted and even The Hubs was impressed with how it turned out.


Here is the side view so you can see the edges that I was trying to get. 


This was such an easy and fun project that has great impact. The Hubs does wear hero shirts and when they get kind of raggedy around the edges, I am going to do this to them as well and make an entire series. I think this would be wonderful for a little kid's room and it is fairly inexpensive if you get the canvases on sale.

6 comments:

  1. Wow, this looks awesome, Lora! You can't even tell that it was a t-shirt, either!

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  2. And I thought KISS Friday was going to be about scrapbooking in black platform boots and scary make up!!!! Wow! It came out so bright!!! It almost looks like you painted over it to get it to pop like that! Way Cool!!!

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  3. That is simply amazing! Wonderful job! It's very cool how the image wraps on the sides. I, however, CANNOT let Jim see this. He'd want me to turn all of his hero shirts into wall art. LOL

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  4. (I could have sworn I left a comment but I don't see it here so I'll leave another.)

    That is simply amazing. Wonderful job! It's very cool how the image wraps on the sides. I can't let Jim see this, though. He'd want me to turn all of his hero shirts into wall art. LOL

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  5. Susan, LOL- I started singing "Rock and Roll All Night" when I saw the post title.

    I am so digging this piece Lora! You did a beautiful job! :-)

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  6. I'm with everyone else, I was thinking KISS the BAND....and I'm not even a fan...
    Any-ways.....Love, love, love your canvas! That is a stunning Wonder Woman pic and made a super-ific canvas!
    And now, I've got the Wonder Woman song in my head....at least it's not KISS!
    Smiles,
    Courtney

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