Fabric Makes Great Art

First of all, sorry I have been MIA this week.  I was ambushed by that nasty cold that is going around.  But 4 days in bed and I am back in action with a bunch of new projects on deck.  And I just finished one 10 minutes ago...

So you have seen this fabric in a few of my earlier posts.  Well, it is time to put it to use.

This is the easiest project in the world and really thrifty too!  Fabric canvas art...you have probably seen it done before but let me break down the simple steps for you here. Start out by strolling through your local craft or fabric store (this is the fun part).  Pick out a couple of fabrics that inspire you.  To make the size art I did you will need 1/2 a yard of each fabric.  So we are talking $10 investment so far.  Then head to the art isle and pick out 4 canvas boards.  I used 10x10 boards.  About $6 each.   

Simply lay the board down on the fabric and cut squares about an inch larger then the canvas on each side.  No exact measurements needed.

Grab your iron and quickly iron each piece of fabric using the "dry" setting.  Then lay the board on the fabric and start wrapping it and stapling it like a present.  (You will need a staple gun here.)

Easy enough...right!  It really is that simple.  And the grand total for all 4 art pieces was $34!  That is $8.50 per piece.  Seriously!  $8.50!  You can barely buy Starbucks for that much!

Now please ignore the top right canvas.  I ran out of staples with 6 left to go. Grrrrr!  That is what I get for thinking "I wont have to come back here for a while" as I was walking out of JoAnn's this morning.  So one more trip to the store and the project is done. 

Now I will reveal more details as the week goes on, but this is all part of a bigger project I have in the mix.  But the project is top secret!  Hehehehe I love the suspense!  You will just have to wait and see!

What a Difference an Hour Makes!

Before I begin I would like to dedicate this post to Autumn at Space For Living. She writes a great "organizing your life" blog that I often read.  And since this post is about my own quick organizing project I thought it appropriate to send her a virtual high five right here!  Check her out! 

SO when I woke up this morning my garage looked like this...

 mixed with this...

topped with a little bit of this...

Then while driving home from the Kids Disco....yes we spent our day rockin out to "Celebrate Good Times, Come On!"  Did I mention Kids Disco is at a Brewery and a free beer is included for the adult crowd.  Sounding better and better, right!?!  But back to the story...while driving home my husband said "How about we get to do one of my projects during Bean's nap time today!"  clearly indicating that our free time has been filled with painting, thrift store shopping and talking about fabric.  Probably not his first choice.  So what was "his project"?  You guessed it...organizing the garage.  YUCK!

Now we are lucky enough to have a 3 car garage.  So although our garage is a mess it is mostly contained to the third unused garage space.  But I admit it is impossible to find anything in this space.  And I do manage to knock over one of our four bikes at least twice a day.  So it was time. 

We committed one hour to get as much done as we could and let me tell you two people focused on a goal not letting themselves get distracted can get A LOT done in one hour.  Want to see?

ONE HOUR to go from this...

 to this...

What!  Seriously!  No I swear, that is all it took!  And now when I walk in my garage I sigh with contentment, do a little dance, spin in two circles and then try to remember why I walked in there in the first place.  I mean look at it!

One Hour People!  You have one hour!  The only trick?  You have to be focused.  No texting, checking Facebook, looking for new posts on Mission Decorate (do that as soon as you are done however), NO getting distracted.  That alone can be an epic challenge but it is what you need to do!  Otherwise you loose track of what you where doing and you loose motivation.  Next thing you know one hour is one day and one day is 6 months and you garage, basement, craft room...whatever the space...is still full of crap!  Also having 4 hands is way better then 2 so recruit a little help from your teammate and make it happen and then tell me about it by posting a comment below!  Can't wait to hear what you can get done in one hour!