My main "ingredient" in this whole project was Mod Podge, a white goopy liquid that dries clear. It comes in a couple of different sizes. I got mine at Hobby Lobby, but any craft store should have it. It's a little spendy, and I know there are tons of tips and tricks to make your own. I've never tried it, though. I also utilized a small black foam brush to apply my Mod Podge. Any size will work! You can buy them individually or in packages with multiple sizes, and they're pretty cheap.
My inspiration for the coloring came from this placemat my cousin gave me as a gift a while ago. I think the mats came from Pier1. I doubt they're still in production, but who knows.
First I ripped all of the cardboard backing and staples off the back of the wall hangings to see what was actually inside and what I was working with. They turned out to be hollow with no filling.
In order to get a rough adhering surface on the top of these very shiny, glossy boards, I took some rough sandpaper to the face of each one. I wasn't sure how well the Mod Podge would stick to the slick surface, so I figured "scoring" the face of the surface would allow somewhere for the glue to soak in. After that was completed, I used a damp cloth to wipe the excess dust off the face of each board. This is important to do - it will allow your glue to stick to the surface of the board, not to the loose dust lying on top.
I took the wall hangings (each one was about 24" tall and 12" wide") and cut each one in half (to create 4 12" x 12" squares) using my husband's 10" compound Miter saw.
Do NOT use power tools unless you know what you're doing!!!
If you DO use them, keep your fingers clear, follow the directions, wear safety glasses (I know they're uncomfortable and ugly, but your eyes are pretty important), and if the noise bothers you, wear ear plugs or headphones. If you're not sure or uncomfortable, ask for help. I could've also used a hand saw. I think the material is too thick for a box cutter, though. Just please be careful - I don't want to be held accountable for someone cutting off her finger! I also don't want to be taking care of you in the hospital. Don't get me wrong, I love being a nurse and I'm sure you're nice, but it's best if you stay out of the hospital and leave only your creativity behind, not blood and pieces parts!
Now this is where I run out of pictures until everything is completed. I'll do my best to describe the process!
Wipe down the surfaces again to get any sawdust off the face.
Because of the way the boards were originally built, one side of each square has no edge. The other three sides have about 1" deep edge with a hollow space behind it. I arranged the squares face up so that the bottom and sides had a solid edge while the top was "open." That way if you look at the squares from the bottom or side, it appears to be solid all the way around.
Decide what paper you want to use for each square. I used four different pieces of 12" x 12" decorative paper found at any craft store/Wal-mart/Target, etc., to match the colors of my placemat. I would recommend drafting your designs on a flat surface first so that your can have an idea of what you're doing and where to place things. This way your Mod Podge doesn't dry before you're ready for the next step. I used a combination of decorations, all paper, to create my designs. Some things were simply cut from other scrapbook pages, some are torn, and some are cut using my Cricut. I utilize a small 12" paper cutter/trimmer in order to cut my straight lines - scissors and pencil never work well for me.
The first one is a pink background with some birds cut from another piece of scrapbooking paper. I used a pair of craft scissors (similar to sewing's pinking shears) to create the funky edge - they can be found at any craft store/Wal-mart/Target, etc.
The green background is paper with texture, which didn't turn out the way I wanted, but it is okay. The decorations include a bird and flower cut with my Cricut from the "Hannah Montana" cartridge. The petals in the lower left-hand corner are pieces from the cut-outs on the flower (the yellow is one side of the paper, the pink came from the other side of the same paper...some scrapbook paper is two-sided). The stripe is ripped from the same paper as the birds used in the pink square.
My method of ripping the paper is to draw a straight line lightly with pencil, align the pencil line on the edge of my plastic Fiskars template thing (I have rectangles, circles, and squares - bought at Hob Lob), and with one hand firmly holding the template in place I rip the paper straight down along the edge. I did this to both sides of the strip of paper. The picture is an example of what I did.
The dot paper is simple again, just ripping a bird from the same paper used on the pink and green squares.
The last square utilized birds cut with the Circut, again from the "Hannah Montana" cartridge, a strip ripped from the same paper used in each square, and the leaves are the same as the afore-mentioned petals. They are from the cut-outs of the flower used on the green square.
Now that you have each squared designed, you can start gluing! We'll be working one square at a time, just to be sure the glue doesn't dry before you have the opportunity to complete your design. Pour some Mod Podge (from here on, it will be referred to as MP) onto the surface of one square and spread it around, edge to edge, with one of your foam brushes. Be sure to get the entire surface covered with a visible film. You don't want puddles of it because it will pucker the paper, so use your judgment to make sure it is as even as possible.
Place one of your selected backgrounds onto your wet surface. Make sure if the paper has a design on it that it placed appropriately (i.e. the "top" is the open edge, the "bottom" edge is the solid edge). Press your paper onto the surface - I just used my hands to be sure the paper was smooth, pressing and running my hand from edge to edge and through the center to adhere everywhere.
Pour a small amount of MP onto your background and spread from edge to edge, covering your entire surface and even going over the edges of the paper - MP is useful as a sealant, too. This layer should be pretty thin, otherwise you'll get puckering from paper that is too wet. It's noticeable in a couple of my photos. While this layer is wet, start placing your design. Don't worry if you need to move something, the MP doesn't dry right away. My usual method is to place a piece of the design and then spread a light layer of MP over the top of it to "seal" it in place, making sure to get edges adhered well. Use your fingers, or if you don't like getting goopy, use a different tool (a ruler maybe or even the handle portion of a piece of silverware). For instance, the pink and dotted squares only needed a couple of things glued on, so I placed the birds and then MP'd over the top of them - viola! Done! The green and teal squares required a bit more patience and glue. The single layer items were placed with a layer of MP on top of it to adhere it. The "branch" on the teal square was a two part process - laying the branch down, MP over the top of it, then place my "leaves" and MP them. I guess the best way to describe it is to go layer by layer. Place a layer, MP, next layer, MP, etc. You always want MP to go over the top of your placed piece so that it will seal well.
Continue this process with the other squares so that you've got four paper-covered and decorated squares. Let your creations dry completely, then you can apply your ribbon for hanging.
In order to place the ribbon for hanging my new creations, I cut 8 different length pieces of black ribbon. I folded the edge of one end of the ribbon under and placed it on the outside edge near the top and stapled in place using a staple gun (again, don't use tools if you're not comfortable).
I repeated this process until I had stapled all 8 pieces of ribbon, again on the outside of the square near the top edge. I then tied bows in the ribbon so that each square had a bow in a different place.
The finished product, hanging on the wall...this photo just makes me realize that they're not evenly spaced from the TV. The clock came from Wal-Mart and the birds on either side of the clock came from Target I think.
This whole process of describing and explaining has taken me more time that I thought it would and now my brain is a little scrambled. I'm pretty sure that my explanations make sense, but if something seems left out or confusing, just ask and I will clarify. If you have any insight or other methodology, please share so that we can all learn! I hope this gives someone somewhere inspiration! And while I'm sure it's not necessary, I'm going to let you know that I'm not sponsored by anyone and the brand names of things used are what I happen to have in my craft closet. There are millions of brands and types of crafting tools. Use what you have and what works best for you - it will lead to the best success! Most importantly, thanks for taking the time to read through this process!
<3 Sarah
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