I have a ton of stuff, I think we’ve covered that fact.  Among my piles and piles of things to be redesigned was a large, square canvas…full of holes.  I used it for a previous project where I filled the canvas with faux flowers for a piece of 3D wall art.  It was pretty but I took it apart to build the hanging floral ball. I didn’t throw the canvas away because I thought I would be able to find another use for it – but it’s hard to paint a canvas that is full of holes.  Well, here is my solution.

This project is dedicated to all you non-sewers out there.  You won’t even have to THINK about a needle and thread to create this piece of art!

Here is what you’ll need:

• a canvas (or just use canvas stretchers to create the frame)
• enough fabric to create your “fabric painting”. I used scraps of fleece left over from my blanket making days, but you can make a plan of your image ahead of time and make a trip to the fabric store for the specific colors and patterns you’ll need. The cost will be minimal unless you are planning a large wall sized piece!
• Staple gun or thumb tacks
• Fabric Glue
• Scissors

Okay, let’s talk how-to.  The hardest part about this project is having an image plan ahead of time, the actual construction is incredibly easy.  First you need to attach your base layers to the canvas frame.  I used blue for sky, light green for hills and dark green for the ground/grass layer.  Wrap the fabric around the edges and staple, pulling the fabric taut as you work your way around. If you don’t have a staple gun and have decided to use thumbtacks, follow the same instructions and make sure the fabric is tight.

Repeat this step with all pieces of base fabric.

Now its time to start layering in patterns. This is, of course, your choice to add patterns but it adds so much to the final look.  I used a pattern in green between the hills to show the separation between the layers.

I just tucked the fabric in between the hills and pulled it to the edges, stapling it to the frame.  Then take your fabric glue and glue the lower layer of hills to the pattern fabric. You don’t need much, the thinner the line of glue the better so it doesn’t show through to the front.

Once the glue is set, trim the pattern fabric along the hill line so there is a half inch of pattern between hill base layers.

Next step? Start adding details, you know, the pieces that will make this ART and not just a bunch of fabric stapled together.  Cut the pieces in “reverse visual order.” In my piece I needed to attach the tree trunk,  then the foliage, and then on to the birds and leaves and other small details.

Once you have your image completed you are essentially done with the piece.  I decided to make this as a gift for one of my cousins who just gave birth to her first daughter and wanted to make it more personal for her so I added a few extra touches…

Keeping it for yourself? Leave it the way it is.

But if you’re making this as a gift it is nice to make ALL angles as attractive as possible.  I wanted to clean up the back of the canvas as much as I could…although I couldn’t do a whole lot about the holes all over the canvas!

To create a clean look for your canvas just trim extra fabric, whip out that fabric glue and attach the ribbon to both the fabric and the exposed wood.

And that’s it. Seriously.  Hang it up, give it away.  Do what you will…you are now a fabric artist.  I’ll start adding more pieces so you can see how to achieve a more sophisticated, less child oriented look. Keep an eye out!