Fabric Wall Art

Want to learn to make this??
Well, all your wildest dreams are about to come true...because here's a Step By Step tutorial on how to make your very own wall art that will dress up any room...

Making a Wooden Frame:

You'll need the following:

1. Wood, it comes in long boards at Home Depot or Lowe's, I picked out my wood, measured it and wheeled it to the saw and had the guy at the store cut it for me. Justin told me later that they won't typically make precision cuts for people and that i probably got away with it because I'm cute! OK... I'll take it because i got what i wanted (cut wood) and i didn't lose any fingers and i didn't have to bug Justin. SO, however you get it done...husband, boyfriend, brother, batting your eyes... cut your wood like this...
two 12'' boards
two 17'' boards

(This will make one wood frame. You can also change the size of your boards depending on how big or small you want your frame.)

2. Something to piece together the wood, 'Mettle Claws':
This is what i used. Not sure what they're really called, but i found them at Home Depot.
You'll need 8 for one frame. (Watch out they're sharp...)

Note & Strong Warning: I recommend doing the following step on a table or floor you don't care about... or better yet...go outside on the sidewalk (not on tile!)... because you'll hammer this pretty hard, then you'll flip it and hammer again. There: ye are warned...

3. Arrange wood how you want it and hammer spiky metal things in, attaching the two ends together. Please forgive the pictures... this was taken 2 years ago before i realized i had sweet photography skills...
When all 4 "claws"are in the first side, FLIP wood frame -carefully- then hammer 4 on the other side... now it should pretty solid.
4. Polyester Quilt Batting: Why polyester batting? It will not rip when you pull it tight like 100% cotton batting, and the extra fluffiness offers a nice round finished look around the imperfect wood edges; plus it protects your fabric from the wood!

Make sure you cut the batting so that there's enough to fold around to the back side, then lay it flat on ground (or yes, you can go back to the table now) and place wood frame on top...like this.
I found this 'Easy Shot' staple gun at Home Depot. It's very EASY to use, just make sure you read loading instructions and get the right sized staples!
5. Staple down batting on one side, then move to opposite side, pull batting tight and wrap around, and staple in place... like this:
Finish by stapling sides, again pulling tight before stapling in place. Fold corners in and staple--avoid hitting metal claws. Should look like this when you are done!

6. PICK a FABRIC! If you are using one solid piece of fabric go ahead and skip to step#10. Remember to iron your fabric first!

I'm making this art for Brinley's bedroom. I wanted something girlie but not babyish and something she'll enjoy looking at with a lot of colors!

I found this crazy fabric at IKEA, and I just love the colors--they are PERFECT for her room... but the pattern was a little bizarre for a baby's room...(i mean, floating yellow goat heads?? weird.) so, i decided to cut 8 x 8" pieces of the sections of fabric that i liked and piece it together with the sewing machine!

This is what i came up with... (I'm kinda in love)
7. Iron, cut and arrange squares in the 'set to sew' position (above). Start by sewing squares together left to right, making horizontal rows... (use 1/2" seam allowance). Press open seams:


8. Then sew rows together, top to bottom, also using 1/2" seam allowance.
9. Press open all seams, turn over and iron the whole thing...

10. Lay on a flat, clean, sturdy surface with the wrong side facing up. Place frame on fabric with wrong side also facing up... like this:
11. Using your trusty Easy Shot just like before, start on one side & staple down.
12. Then go to opposite side, pull tight and wrap around, and staple in place...
13. Staple 3rd and 4th sides: pull tight, wrap around, staple in place. It should look like this...
14. Really, there's no rhyme or reason to it... just do what looks good to you...tuck and hold down fabric, staple in place (remember not to hit the "metal claw").

... if you want to go the extra mile and make the reverse side appear more finished you can add 4 inches to your fabric in both directions so you can fold the raw edges under and staple it so it's 'pretty'... no one will see the back so i don't do it, but it's your choice.
Finished product! Enjoy, best of luck to you in all your happy projects!!