New Blog. A quick hello.
Hi. I'm Casey Cannolis and I am entering the world of crafts in a half hazardly fashion. I have never been particularly artistic (can't draw stick figure to save my life) but I have seen so many beautiful DIYs on Pinterest and wonderful blog sites that I have caught the fever.
I have found myself dying to learn how to sew, decoupage, make felt animals, craft with paper, paint, you name it, so I imagine this blog will be a bit schizo at first, if not forever.
This will be my first DIY blog post, and I'm a little nervous about it. I can be a bit of a perfectionist; to the point where I might avoid doing something completely if I'm convinced I won't be able to get the results I want. But one of the best things about creating something yourself, is even if things don't work out perfectly, you can chalk it up to first-time-gaffes and pride-protecting fibs, such as "Oh, that huge gash? That's what I was totally going for all along!". Terms like "Shabby chic" and "Rustic" are my new best friends.
So join me, won't you, on my new adventures in the crafting world. I'll be spending a lot of time on Pinterest, looking for inspiration (or Pinspiration, as it were), and I will ALWAYS try to link to the original idea that led me to my craft, because you have to give credit where it's due. Another thing I love about DIY is the openness of the community to try new things and share their ideas and how-tos with each other. As that goes, if you see something on my blog that inspires you to try a project, whether you do something exactly the way I did or change it up to suit your own tastes / needs, please link back to my original post and share the love. Pinning any project I work on would flatter me beyond belief, just please remember to make sure it leads back to my original post. Thanks so much!
-=CaseyCannolis
Newspaper Decoupage Artwork
First off, I must link to the inpiration artwork that prompted this project: Allison Kaye @ Craftedlove, whose end result was monochrometastic. As much as I wanted to replicate this artwork, I found myself anxious about painting even a few lines and some bird shapes. So I opted instead to use all newspaper and photos for more of a collage. I'm excited to frame and hang this.
This was an easy project especially if you've ever done decoupage before. Very few materials were needed, and most of it was found laying around the house. To do this (or something similar), you'll need:
- Mod Podge or in gloss or matte to suit your taste. If you don't have Mod Podge laying around, I've heard Elmer's glue mixed with some water in a cup at a 3:1 ratio is a very good plan B.
- Sharp scissors
- Newspaper with a lot of articles for tearing, for that monochrome look. Colorful ads will yield a different result.
- Sponge brush for applying the Mod Podge or glue.
- Cardboard / canvas / wood plank / hard plastic sheet... really anything you want to use as a backing that won't get destroyed or warped terribly by being wet for a couple hours. ( I used cardboard from a discarded furniture box).
First, I started by cutting a piece of cardboard into a rectangle roughly, knowing that I'd want to trim it down once it was finished. Starting with an ad-heavy inferior newspaper out of lack of options of what was laying around, I tore some pages into varying shapes and sizes to patch and layer over the cardboard.
I've found when it comes to Decoupage, there is a huge margin for error and this step is particularly fun, especially if you have kids around who want to help.
Hey, an article on Grimes, IA. I can't believe I tore it up without reading it first. I'm sure it was fascinating.
Next, I mixed my Mod Podge in a paper cup with water using a 3:1 ratio MP to water, with a narrow sponge brush. I mix the MP with water, so the paper won't get too bumpy or bubbly as it dries. If you have another method for decoupaging newspaper by all means use whatever works.
I applied the mixture directly onto the back of the piece of newspaper and splorted it (technical term) down onto the cardboard. I covered one of my fingers with glue and used it to smooth over the newspaper until it looked flat and shiny. Do this part delicately and with a lot of glue, so the print won't get stuck on your finger, or rub off on a sticky finger.
Repeat this step to continue covering the surface of the cardboard.
Once the first layer of newspaper is down and slathered in MP, I allowed to dry for an hour or so before beginning with the next layer. This is a good chance to fix dinner or run errands, like I did. On my errand run I got a smoothie for my daughter and bought a Wall Street Journal, for tearing. I lucked out when the insert in theWSJ had the gorgeous cityscape I nabbed as my image for this project. Happy accidents are the best.
After some dry time, I started another layer of newspaper pieces, utilizing this opportunity to cover up flubs and unsightly pieces I encountered during your first layer.
Again, I let this dry for another hour or so while I attended to other things. We put up a shelf and I took a nap, for instance.
After the second layer had dried, I did another small layer or flub-covers and got my focal point image, the cityscape, all glued-up on the back and laid it flat as possible. I coated my fingertips with glue too, trying not to lift too much of the dark image off the paper and on to my fingers. I found fingers worked best for smoothing out the image and getting the excess glue out from under the image, so it didn't bubble too much, since it consisted of two big pieces, instead of many smaller ones, like the newspaper bits. Then I trimmed the extra off the sides and bottoms to clean it up a bit.
This was my end result:
Sorry for the glare in the pic, I used the high gloss kind of MP and I don't have a great camera so there was little I could do about the shine.
As I mentioned, it differs quite a bit from the inspiration piece, but I really like how it turned out. I can't wait to frame this and hang it. Maybe in the dining room? Not sure yet. I have MANY more projects to do, so I may get back to this later and update, when I do.
So, if you find yourself doing a project like this (or have in the past), I would love to hear how you did it, especially if you did it differently, and feel free to link to pics or your blog to share.
I'll be back soon for another project, one of many waiting to be done. Paper flowers? Maybe a project my daughter and I are conspiring to do for my husband. We shall see.
-=CaseyCannolis
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