DIY Mini Canvas Ornament Tutorial
November 18, 2014
DIY Mini Canvas Ornaments
Eve and I have been searching for different projects that we are able to collaborate on and the Blick Art Materials Project Ideas Page has some seriously genius ideas. We just finished making the DIY Watercolor Paper Earrings and decided to go with the Mini Canvas Ornament as our next collaboration DIY.
I love being able to share all of these experiences with her but I want to make sure she gets a well rounded artistic experience that doesn't always involve simply painting. I'd like to teach her there are many ways to create and crafts are a fantastic way to show that, especially for her age! There is something so special for a child (and adult) to see a pile of objects that, standing alone, have very limited purposes, but being able to get creative and use them together you can make magic.
There is a sense of wonder when you witness materials working together under your command to create something completely new and unique to your creativity and imagination!
So we got out all of our materials and planned our attack. One thing I couldn't get over was how FREAKING adorable these mini canvas panels are. I see many more projects in the future that will include these (Canvas magnets, wall collage of transferred photos, miniature book, my mind is going a mile a minute!)
Materials Used for this Project:
- Ribbon Assortment
- Paintbrushes ( I used the Blick Wonder White Set)
- Blick Studio Acrylics
- Mini Canvas Panels
- Glue Gun
- Scissors
- Mod podge or Varnish (optional)
TIP:
If you are letting a child help you with this project you might
want to have an apron or cover to help protect them from becoming covered with paint. You will also have to determine to what extent a young child can participate. Eve is 2 1/2 and I am confident that she won't eat the paint and can focus on creating her own painting, however for a younger child or infant you might want to limit their access to the paint. One of the pieces we created used just Eve's fingerprints which would be a great way to create memories with your infant but still having them be able to participate.
STEP ONE:
Remove the protective coverings of the mini panels and lay them out in front of you. If you are sharing this project with someone else you can decide how many you each want to work on as individuals and which you will collaborate on. You can use a pencil to lightly sketch out a design beforehand or just wing it!
The important thing is to have fun and be creative!
Begin painting!
Since these will be Christmas ornaments you can go with that theme or think outside of the box, I mean who said Christmas has to be just red, white and green! Eve ended up using pink, purple and silver, obviously some of her favorite colors, to create her mini masterpieces.
While I made one using her favorite colors I wanted to make some keepsakes with the other two by using our fingerprints. Our lovely snowman was made from my hubby's thumbprint on the bottom, mine in the middle and Eve's little one for the head.
We made a the Reindeer's head from my thumb print and the nose and eyes are from Eve's fingerprints. We then used an ink pen to write "Merry Christmas," as well as the year, and added the eyes and antlers.
While the paint is drying (I would give it a few hours just to be safe) you can get your ribbons out. Depending on the desired thickness and color, pick out some ribbons that go well with your mini paintings and cut them at around 6 - 8 inches long. Make a loop in the ribbon and tie a secure knot, these will be how your ornaments will hang!
Using your glue gun you can safely attach the ribbons to the back of the canvas panels, I glued at around 1/3 of the way from the top. Once it is secure you can cut off any extra ribbon if you wish. This is a great opportunity to make them even more creative and festive by adding additional ribbons and bows for decoration.
This
is an extra step I added that wasn't in the original DIY project where I
decided to add a sealant to the canvas panels. Eve ended up grabbing our Reindeer panel, unfortunately smearing the ink writing, and I realized these ornaments could use some Mod Podge or varnish just to keep them safe from loving hands.
Although our canvas panels were turned into Christmas Ornaments, the Blick Art Materials Project Ideas Page had even more great ideas for what you can use these for! They turned some of the panels into gift tags where the recipient can end up keeping them as keepsakes in addition to their gift. (You could even include a small easel, gift wrapped, so they have something to display it on)
Make sure to check out their other DIY projects for some more great gift or craft ideas, Eve and I are enjoying going through some of our favorites projects from that list right now, our next one will be a photo transfer and I can't wait to share it with you so stay tuned!
Eve sporting some purple painted hands!
The important thing is to have fun and be creative!
STEP TWO:
Since these will be Christmas ornaments you can go with that theme or think outside of the box, I mean who said Christmas has to be just red, white and green! Eve ended up using pink, purple and silver, obviously some of her favorite colors, to create her mini masterpieces.
While I made one using her favorite colors I wanted to make some keepsakes with the other two by using our fingerprints. Our lovely snowman was made from my hubby's thumbprint on the bottom, mine in the middle and Eve's little one for the head.
We made a the Reindeer's head from my thumb print and the nose and eyes are from Eve's fingerprints. We then used an ink pen to write "Merry Christmas," as well as the year, and added the eyes and antlers.
STEP THREE:
STEP FOUR:
STEP FIVE:
(OPTIONAL)
(OPTIONAL)
Make sure to check out their other DIY projects for some more great gift or craft ideas, Eve and I are enjoying going through some of our favorites projects from that list right now, our next one will be a photo transfer and I can't wait to share it with you so stay tuned!
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