Tuesday, April 29, 2014

How To: Stenciling Burlap with chalk paint , freezer paper and Silhouette Cameo

If you have been following my post lately you know that I have managed to get a stash of burlap.  You can read about the pillow project here.  Or the coffee burlap art here.
The main tools in this project are: Silhouette, computer, freezer paper, Iron, Glue gun, old canvas , Black paint or color of your choice, sharp scissors, ribbon or trim and blank burlap.

Choose a design for your signs , measure to make sure they fall on your canvas where you want.  These were 8x10 inches so my design was roughly 6 x 8 inches.  You can use the grid in the Silhouette software and if you are using a Cricut it has the same feature with their online program.  Note to Cricut users if you have not set up your cricut on line software account you may want to.  If will make projects like this so much easier.   If you decide to use a printer you can set your page size to 8x14 and get the dimensions you need.  cut your freezer paper to 8.5 x 14 to feed into the printer.  Note make sure you print on the non shiny side of the freezer paper.  This way your image will not smear because the wax will not soak up the ink and your image will not be backwards.  Cut your images out of your paper using craft knife or scissors.
Once you have your design cut out iron it onto your burlap.  The more texture your burlap has the longer you need to take to press.  I used a little 1950's GE travel iron for this Job and it was set on the lowest cotton setting no steam. 

 Iron slowly giving the wax time to adhere to the textured burlap.  Once you see that the wax paper is adhered with out gaps on the edges you are ready to stencil.  I used what ever black I had since this was hanging on the wall and not going to be washed or worn.  Note that you will need to load your stencil brush heavier than normal to get good color .  I started in the center of my cut out area and worked my way to the edges.  


When the paint dries and is no longer tacky peel off the paper. Note if you peel the paper while it is wet you risk smudging paint where you do not want it. I did not press or heat set this because it is going to hang on the wall.  
Mounting the burlap to the re cycled canvas is a tricky step simply because the burlap will stretch.  I used clamps to hold it in place after I centered it.




Glue one edge top or bottom does not matter...then glue the opposite edge pulling slightly taught.  Make sure to check the front to make sure you are not getting the design out
 of whack.  Then go side to side checking regularly.
In order to cut the bulk out of the corner I cut a flap on the top and pulled it taught and glued it to the side.


 I then mitered the corners in the back.  
I trimmed the fabric on the edges and applied ribbon to cover the raw edges.

All finished..

I hope this has inspired you!  
Sheryl

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20 comments:

  1. What a great tutorial and a great project! thank you for sharing the details of how to use the silhouette...(I need to get one of those things!). I love your finished results!-aimee

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    1. Thank you Aimee for for the wonderful comments....The Silhouette is worth every penny..Sheryl

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  2. These look fantastic, I especially like the deer head :)

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  3. Awesome tutorial with beautiful results!! Thanks so much for sharing!!

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    1. Thank you ..Hope you give it a try...this will work on most fabric..Just load less paint in the brush before you stecil thinner finer fabric...Glad that you stopped by.

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  4. Very cute! I love these - I made something similar and had to LOAD the paint on and do several applications! Thanks for the tip of clamping the burlap.. :) Julia

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    1. Julia Thank you for stopping by...You are correct you really have to load your brush for this project....I loaded heavy and worked my way from the inside to the edges...hoping it did not bleed...I hope you are having a good day and thanks again for the Lovely comment. Sheryl

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  5. These are so cool! Thanks for the tutorial!

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    1. Thank you and I hope that you find time to give this project a try....Sheryl

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  6. Sheryl,
    Great score on the burlap! The project spot on trend, directions perfect and detailed. Wonderful finishing makes it a perfect.
    Thanks,
    Karen Marie
    Dragonfly & Lily Pads

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    1. Thank you for the wonderful comments....wow so glad the tutorial made sense...was a fun project...Thank for stopping by....

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  7. Love this project--thanks for the great tutorial! :)

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  8. Neat project and a great silhouette tutorial! I bought one and haven't used it yet. Love your old iron, I have one similar to it!

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    1. YOu may need to break that toy out...it is so much fun!

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  9. Thank you for sharing this tutorial, it will be on my must do list.

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    1. I hope you get around to this...the sky is the limit on what design you decide on....You have a great holiday weekend.

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  10. I don't have a silhouette and no hope of getting one so will have to find other way to do this like use regular stencils. Have to be sure the stencil is on burlap/fabric well before I paint. I tend to have too heavy a hand when spraying stencil adhesive so will have to practice I guess. Isn't there a cricut that's a newer model to use like silhouette? They're just as expensive tho. Was on sale at Jo-ann's for $249. not much help,lol. Living on SS just doesn't leave disposable cash for things like silhouettes.
    Anyway I'll make do with stencils and be very careful how I secure burlap on back side, your way is very nice, looks professional. Think I'll put something in back of canvas so canvas doesn't bend in while stenciling. Where there's a will there's a way. Very good tutorial and project, love it. Happy weekend

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  11. You can always run the freezer paper through your printer and then cut out your designs. the Freezer paper is so much easier to use then stencil adhesive ..it peels awasy easy and is cheaper.and the internet is a great source for designs... I do sell my creations at a local antiq. store and my profits buys me toys. just a thought...Good luck and I hope that you have fun!

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