Tuesday, September 15, 2009

How-To: Fabric Wall Art

Mr. Designs by Vanessa and I have lived in this home for almost a year and while it no longer echoes (due to the bare walls and lack of furniture), there are still a few rooms in need of Nate Berkus' help. Because I don't have Oprah's personal cell number I had to channel my inner interior designer and this is what I came up with: fabric wall art! I found the perfect fabric (birdie themed of course) by studio e and developed a new founded love for the staple gun.

Go pick out some material, gather your materials (screwdriver, staple gun, wooden frame) and I'll talk you through this surprisingly easy project. I purchased my fabric from Fabric Supplies.


I found my wooden frame at IKEA, it came in four pieces and I had to screw the pieces together to make a frame. I started out with a regular old screw driver and quickly plugged in my electric screw driver (sooo much easier). Local art supply stores also carry these frames.



Next, cut your fabric larger than your frame leaving room to wrap the fabric around the back of the frame. I left about 3-4 inches on each side but this will vary depending on how thick your frame is.



Still hanging in there with me? I promise the fun part is coming up soon. Make sure your fabric is nice and ironed before we move on (no, this is not the fun part I promised).


Get out your staple gun and go to business (this is the fun part, trust me)! You can use tiny nails and hammer your fabric to your frame but staple guns are much more cathartic. I placed a staple every inch or so. Pull your material tight as you go but there is no need to stretch it tight.



Fold your corners just as you would wrap a present and add about 3 staples to secure the corners. This doesn't have to be perfect, just make sure it looks good from the front.




Now you have this fabulous one of a kind piece of art. I hope you had fun, I'm off to go staple gun something...



Don't forget to add your fabric wall art photos to the Designs by Vanessa Tutorial Flickr Group so we can all see your finished product!

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27 comments:

Gina (Prim and Polished) said...

I adore this idea! You are so creative!!!

Mija in the NW said...

Thanks a bunch Sunshine! I'd been wanting to add something to my living space and this is the perfect solution.

BeadedTail said...

What a great idea! Your art turned out beautiful and now my mind is racing on what I can do! I think you solved a problem for me as I had a spot but didn't know what to hang there - now I do!

Tina Bena said...

VERY cute idea! And, I so appreciate the step-by-step!

Lori said...

Very nice tutorial. I love my staple gun too!

Having worked at Michaels for three years, I just wanted to add that stretcher frames at craft and art supply stores are pretty pricey. So unless you have an odd size, or coupons, go Ikea!

And if you do go for a bigger size and need to hang it with picture wire for security, punch the frame with an awl a third of the way down on either side, use screw eyes and attach with picture wire.

Thanks for the inspiration!

Heidi V said...

Me and my daughter bought some fabric for curtains and we had some left over and been wondering what to do with it this is a fantastic idea and easy to do. Thank you for the How-To!!!

Mrs. Priss said...

This is such a great tutorial! I've been wanting to do this for the blank wall in our living room for a while now, but didn't really know where to start. :) Love the fabric too! Too cute.

Farah A said...

I loooove your tutorials. So creative!!

Miss Val's Creations said...

What a great, inexpensive way to spruce up a wall!

kaileenelise said...

I recently discovered your blog and am really enjoying your DIY projects! I can't wait to give this one a try...

SewSweetStitches said...

What a perfect idea for all the loveliness I see in the fabric shop calling my name!

Unknown said...

This is such a great idea and some really adorable fabric!

I have GOT to get a staple gun!!!

- Lindsay

Anonymous said...

Hey that's a great idea!

Crafts and Deals said...

I LOVE your fabric! So cute! Thanks for sharing..I am going to link you on my blog! (if thats ok..)

Unknown said...

Love this idea:) very creative:)

tamdoll said...

I love this project, a great idea for those pieces of fabric I just don't want to cut up!

Shelley said...

Love this idea! Such a cute and easy way to decorate empty wall space.

Unknown said...

What a wonderful tutorial. Back in the late seventies there used to be a store in NYC called Fabrications. You could go there, select your fabric and use their workstations to create your own wall art.

Great tutorial, and lovely wall art.
Karen

The Gilje Crew said...

Love it! Do you happen to remember what the name of the frames were at IKEA? I can't seem to find on the website and wanted to add to my list of things to buy when we are there next week!

Vanessa @ See Vanessa Craft said...

I'm sorry, I don't remember the name of the IKEA frames - they are by the fabric in the textiles area though. Or you could just make your own with 4 pieces of wood.

Tammy said...

This is fabulous! I've been looking for an inexpensive alternative for decorating my walls. Glad I ran across your blog too! Fantastic!

: )

Vanessa @ See Vanessa Craft said...

Thank you!! You can now visit me over at my new blog:

http://www.thecraftynest.com

nylon spandex fabric said...

nice fabric,thank you for share

canvas wall art said...

Great insights,I need to start my project before the deadline and your article help me a lot to have a reference to start my plans for my project.

Affordable Furniture said...

Nice art tutorial, especially for butter-fingered people like me...

Photographs to Canvas said...

Great creativity, I really love it. It's nice having different wall arts other than photo canvas. Very creative :)

Laura P said...

I'm doing some of these now, and I find that it helps to starch your fabric when ironing to keep it from wrinkling once on the canvas (I'm using stretched canvas instead of just a blank frame). This especially helps if your fabric is lighter, such as a simple dress cotton or quilting quarter.

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