The Trashy/Scrappy Wall Hanging Post (Part 1)

I was perusing one of my favorite craft blogs Make It and Love It and I saw this post. I loved the idea that they used to make custom sized wall-hangings. I'm sure you've seen the tutorials where they do the same sort of thing except with canvases, right?

So, I don't know if I've mentioned it or not, but I'm a cheapskate...Yep...total tightwad... I was trying to figure out how to put this same idea together another way...except this time it wasn't because I was a tightwad over the expense of the building materials, it was because the battery pack to my drill/saw is dead and I need to buy a new one. I recently had 2 dental implants done--that process included braces...plus 3 kids...so yeah...I've got other things to pay for right now.

I digress...

Here are some of the things I used for this puppy:




So, I was trying to decide what size to do this thing. I had an old our Wii Fit Board box that I was going to get rid of and so that's what I used...a Wii Fit Board box. It was perfect, the size and the thickness of the sides (how far raised from the wall it'd be) were about right, I though. I almost used an old diaper box-- which totally would have worked. Originally I went and measured about 3 inches down (on the long side) and was going to cut around that (so it'd be about 3 inches off the wall).

Okay--so after I had my "frame" this is what I did.

I unfolded my fabric, which I think may have been folded as it was for at least a decade. Thank goodness for a spray bottle and steam, right? Thanks mom for cleaning out your stash.

I decided that I needed to have a layer between the fabric and the box--so that the Wii Fit people didn't show through.

Remember, a couple posts ago I mentioned that I love freezer paper stencils and my Silhouette machine? Yep...Mmmmhmmm (like they say in the alley on 'King of the Hill') that's what I used.

I heard this quotation by Thomas S. Monson, the president of the LDS church, and I loved it, so that's what I decided to put on my wall hanging. Originally I was going to do mine like the one on Make It and Love It, but...as crafty ideas floating around in my head...it changed.

I typed it up in Silhouette Studio and I apologize, I'm not sure what font I used. It was one of the basic ones that come with the software or Microsoft, then I cut it out. Yes, I used my Silhouette machine to cut out a stencil. It's pretty easy actually.

I'm sure there are better ways to do it, but this is how I do it. I cut off a piece of freezer paper and just lay it on top of the cutting mat not really worrying about how straight it is--as the freezer paper is always bigger than the mat. The biggest thing to try and do right there is try to get it on without any air bubbles. If you can get it on the first go it's even better. Then, I just trim the excess paper from around the mat and off it goes. **Oh and I usually send it through on patterned paper with the yellow tip cover thingy.

Before you take the paper off, check and make sure that it's fully cut. Once in a while it'll miss a little spot--not always, just sometimes. After that, you're golden, just remember to keep the middles of the letters--like the centers of the o's and so forth.

Once you've got your stencil, your set to iron it to your fabric and silk-screen it on. If you aren't familiar with freezer paper stenciling, head on over here real quick; it's where I learned.