A Little Bit of Burlap

This was a fun, quick and easy project. Just the kind I like! I got the idea a few weeks ago from the Shanty 2 Chic blog by Ashley and Whitney. They have the cutest ideas and this was one I wanted to give a try. And it was so quick and easy that I made two!

I started with a stretched canvas and I cut a piece of burlap slightly bigger than the canvas. It needed to be big enough to wrap around to the back of the canvas but not so big that it created too much bulk. Lay your canvas face down on the middle of the piece burlap. I pulled and staple the top and bottom and then did the sides. You will need a upholstery/heavy duty stapler for this job. Check every now and then to make sure it looks fairly even on the front.

I folded over the edges as I stapled them for a cleaner look on the back.

Next was the fun part. I used blue painter’s tape to tape down the stencil on the front of the burlap covered canvas. Then I took a stencil brush and some black acrylic craft paint. Make sure you do not have too much paint on the brush. You do not want globs or extra paint to seep under the stencil. I used my fingers to keep the stencil flat against the burlap as I was applying the paint. I tried not to pounce so I wouldn’t stretch out the canvas and instead rubbed it on in circular motion to get nice coverage. I did the center stencil first. Then applied the border in the same way.

And here they are! I loved how they turned out and now I am brave enough to try again on a larger scale.