diy mod podge wall art

hi guys,

i wanted to share with you some cool wall art that you can make.  i saw this on the martha stewart show and couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a stab at making a couple.  the best part was that i had a friend's baby shower coming around the corner so i thought, hmmm ... not a bad gift idea!

they were given as baby shower gifts to a friend expecting her first baby.  i thought it'd be nice to make something so along with 2 pieces of wall art i also purchased some ralph lauren onesies.  similar pieces of wall art can be purchased here http://www.landofnod.com/kids-all-wall-art/kids-room-decor/wild-things-wall-art/f5378 & here http://www.petitcollage.com/wall-art/collage-on-wood for $129.00. i believe the mod podge was purchased at michael's arts & crafts store for about $6.  don't forget to use your 40% coupon in the mailer [or you can print it out online by just googling "michael's coupon"].  that'll save you a buck and some :]

i had some leftover swatches of paint colors from color picking and used some wrapping paper for this project too.  the other items i had to purchase were 2 pieces of wood cut to whatever size you fancy and a paintbrush.  the wood can be purchased at your local arts & crafts store or a hardware store [home depot, lowe's].  i did some sanding too since the pieces of wood i picked up were a little bit on the rough side.  the only other thing you'll need is a pattern of something you like.  i used one of these templates from martha's website:  http://images.marthastewart.com/images/content/web/pdfs/2009Q2/tv_owlflora_template.pdf

materials needed:

1.  scrap paper, wrapping paper, any kind of paper you'd like to use

2.  a piece of wood [i picked up a 10x10]

3.  paintbrush

4.  mod podge

5.  print out a template, any template for whatever occasion 

6.  scissors

7. newspaper to lay out for project

& here's what you will do from start to finish:

first print out and then cut out templates of your choice.  then take scrap/wrapping paper/designer paper and use cut out templates as patterns to cut with.  you can trace the cut out on to the scrap/wrapping paper and then cut it if that's easier for you.  i paper clip the cut out to my scrap/wrapping paper and then cut around and move the paperclip as i go.

step 1:  lay out newspaper for project

step 2:  cut out templates

step 4:  paperclip cut out and then cut over desired scrap/wrapping paper

step 3:  prepare mod podge

step 5:  showing you my paintbrush - just lay out your

 cut out scrap pieces where you'd like

 them to be positioned on the board 

and then start brushing mod podge right on

 top of it.  continue doing it to each and every

 piece you cut out.  sorry i don't have any photos of that part.

step 6:  i just picked up a small headed paintbrush.  make sure when 

you're all done adhering

 the paper onto the board, mod podge the entire board's surface 

to seal it up and then let it dry for about an hour. 

 i mod podged my boards several times for a 

good thick coating but it isn't necessary.  just make

 sure to read the directions on the bottle and you're good to go!

step 7:  result of my owl mod podge [it's still wet which is why you 

can see a bit of the white hues around the edges]

step 8:  the result of the elephant mod podge [still wet]

dried and ready for packaging :]

thanks for checking out this diy!

jen