Art How To: Shim Canvas and Applique Flowers

Now let's get detailed...

This art project was a very simple undertaking and I love how it turned out. It is exactly what I pictured and I can't wait to make the second piece in the series for the larger wall above the *commode*.

First, gather some materials... I actually had wanted to use some scrap 1" x 4" boards, but when I went to scrounge the garage and the Mr.'s tool bench area I found they were, well, nowhere to be found. I vaguely remember said scraps being used somewhere... and quite possibly burned in the fireplace this winter. Whoops!

So, being resourceful AND determined to make this from scraps and NOT have to leave the house, I rummaged around looking for anything made of wood that I could either use as was, or destroy :) Destruction = good craft-therapy as well. I found shims. If you've ever had to actually purchase shims, you know that you have to buy an whole freakin' package of them. Granted it's like three bucks, but still.

Next, I gathered an old container of stain (I was looking for a dark jacobean stain and only found honey... I found the jacobean yesterday, too late, but I ended up liking the honey pecan color better anyway!), some gloves, a piece of steel wool, sandpaper, my handy friend Welder, a 3M velcro Command strip, some coordinating solid color jersey fabric backed with Wonder Under, a pair of scissors and an iron.

 

First off I cut the strips to the length that I wanted. I varied them ever so slightly as I wanted a natural edge on the top and bottom once they were assembled. I very lightly sanded off any big splinters. Again, I wanted the natural texture. I stained the shim pieces using the steel wool as a 'brush'. I let these dry to the touch and then assembled them together using, you guessed it, WELDER! See, isn't he so handy?

 

Next I cutout some really simple leaf shapes. They're very similar to some embroidery appliques that I've done in the Kung Fu Bambini collection. I just started placing and playing until I found two that I liked together. I painted on two stems and then ironed on the leaves. Now, DON'T DO THIS with your good iron. This is my been-through-hell-and-back craft iron. I wanted it to actually sizzle the stain which still wasn't completely set. It did! And it put a little bit of texture onto a couple of the leaves as well.
 

Since the shims are very light and I was attaching to a tile wall, I place a 3M velcro Command strip on the back and hung it up! Whalah! Art! Mia reminded me that I need to sign my art. I think she might be right.

 

Now, you know what to do... GO CRAFT!