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Mount your pictures on canvas - DIY

My youngest son is growing up (heartbreaking but true) and I am in the process of redecorating his 'big boy' room. I have used this very effective method of displaying wall art and wanted to share this very very simple DIY idea for mounting pictures on canvas:

 

 

 

I love this method of block mounting for a number of reasons:

1. It is easy - picture, paintbrush, scissors, glue. What could go wrong?
2. It is cheap - you can usually purchase canvases in a range of sizes at your local craft store for a very reasonable price.
3. It is easy to hang - canvas is light so you can use removable hooks and blu-tak to hang them. Easy to move too if you don't like where you put it the first time!
4. It is effective - I love mixing it up on the walls, different colored frames, canvases, block-mountings etc. Something different with a 'Wow!' factor.

It is so easy to do:

What you need:

• Pictures! - paper a little thicker than standard copy-paper works best. If you are a deft hand with Photoshop you could create your own pictures to print out or use some of the many free printable, downloadable, artworks out there (if you don't have your own printer Officeworks or Kinkos or something similar will print a file for you for minimal cost). Your favorite scrapbook paper could work too for a patterened block effect. In this instance I used some of my own designs from my Transportation series.
• Scissors, ruler, pencil - to cut your picture to size.
• Canvases - your size of choice.
• Glue & brush - I use Mod Podge although I am sure you could use something similar just as effectively.

Process:

• Cut your picture to size.
• Use a generous amount of glue and paint the face of the canvas
• Attach the picture to the canvas, smoothing out any airbubbles with a clean, dry cloth, being careful not to get any glue on the front of the picture.
• I didn't seal the front of the picture, but if you do want to seal it, be careful that your printout is not going to smudge.

 Tips:

• My paper curled a little when in contact with the glue so I put the whole thing upside down on a clean dry surface until it was dry.
• Don't stress that it looks buckled or warped at first. Canvas stretches when wet but will reform it's size and shape when dry so it should all flatten out when the glue has dried (as long as you get out the air bubbles and don't crease the picture when smoothing).

I LOVE the end result:

 

 Because these were smaller, lighter canvases, I attached them to the wall with Blu-tak (wall mounting putty like fun-tak) so that I can move them around easily. With any of these wall putty products, be very careful to test on your walls first and super-careful when removing it so as not to remove any chunks of plaster with it!

 While I was in the mood, I also created some fun typography and mounted them on canvas too:

 

 

Twinkle Twinkle is always his song of choice for his bedtime song and 'Banana' is his favorite word (don't ask). I have hung these at the foot of his bed for a personal touch. They will be cheap and easy to move or replace as his 'favorites' change over time.

I am planning to do a collage of larger canvases and printouts for my older son's room, so I will keep you posted.

Have fun creating!

Superhero Party - DIY 3D City

I can't believe that it is that time of year again! No, I don't mean the holidays, although they are also creeping up, I mean time for organising and planning the kids' birthdays.

This year my eldest son turns 4 and he is determined to have a superhero party. You may or may not be a fan of stereotypical 'themed' parties for kids, but once your nearly 4 year old gets his mind set on something, it is very difficult to shift.

I am still in early planning stages for the party but I thought I would share with you this fabulous DIY project I have begun for the decorations.

 

 

This 3D superhero city-scape looks so effective and was the easiest thing to make, seriously anyone could do it.

 

 

Superhero party decoration DIY tips:

• Save boxes of various sizes over a period of time, the more variation in sizes the better. If you are using the decoration on a table setting then keep your boxes smallish so as not to take up too much space.
• Color the boxes black or grey. Your options on how to do this are endless, I simply 'wrapped' them in black crepe paper, keeping all the daggy bits at the back and bottom where I know they will be out of sight. You could of course paint them for a bit more durability, but I thought wrapping was a lot quicker.
• Add windows. I simply cut rough squares and rectangles out of white copy paper (yellow could work too) and glued them on. Don't try and be too perfect, mishapen windows give it more of a 'comic book' feel. Again, I guess you could paint them if you felt so inclined.
• Have fun arranging!

If you can get hold of some superhero figurines you could scatter them throughout your 'city' or you could cut out pictures of your favourites and prop them up for effect:

 

 

 

My original intention was to use it as decoration on the desert table with various superheros scattered about, but it is currently in the playroom and the kids love playing with it!

 

 

 

Now the only problem is to keep it in one piece to last until the party..... oh well I guess I could always make more!

 

 

Bull Cake Compromise

A mother is nothing, if not a dealer in compromise.

My son wanted a rainbow bull cake for his 3rd birthday and while I managed to talk him out of it in this post I couldn't disappoint him completely.

This is where compromise kicks in:

This party was my first (and only so far) attempt at cake pops. Although guests said lots of nice things, I pretty much considered it a fail in general which I painfully detail here.

I guess they look 'OK' but I have said it before and will say it again, "I am no Bakerella!". The most important thing though was that the birthday boy loved them, and he did! Although not as much as his Raa Raa cake.

The Coolest Play Center Ever?

In Australia we have indoor play centers. These play centers are commonly (with exceptions I am sure of, but yet to experience) pretty standard variations on a similar theme; small play area for toddlers with the treacherous ball pit (where you can find all sorts of foreign objects from other kids poo to intravenous needles) and a smattering of half-broken wheeled toys; larger area for the bigger kids consisting of a framed climbing gym with slide.

If you are really lucky there will be signs on each of these areas, one declaring 'FOR CHILDREN UNDER 3 ONLY' and the other insisting 'NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN UNDER 4' leaving you clutching your 3 year old's hand and scratching your head.

This week I went to what I think might be the 'Coolest Play Center Ever':

The Imaginarium Project in Geelong, Victoria might not strictly be a play center, but it sure is a great alternative. It is literally a mini-world of imagination, color and wonder:

Face-painting in the Alice in Wonderland garden

A large warehouse has been sectioned off into a series of themed rooms with the most amazing attention to detail. Someone very talented (and very busy) has painted murals on every wall and there are a range of toys and games for the children to get involved with:

Underwater themed room

Pirate room

There was also a 'down the rabbit hole area, a western room, a glow-in-the-dark room with a haunted house and a room covered in chalkboard paint where you could draw on the walls and the chalk glowed.

Best part is the cafe with hidden coffee nooks throughout the center as well:

The price was good at $5 per head for the kids (adults free) but might get a bit costly for the older ones (4-12 years $12 each). You might also have some reservations around the appropriateness of some of the guns, swords and skulls in the pirate and western rooms but the kids LOVED it.

Maybe not the coolest place 'ever but it was certainly a welcome change to your run of the mill center.

Website Launch - and a SALE

After lots of hard work and dedication the WallFry website has finally launched and it looks pretty cool, if I do say so myself - www.wallfry.com.au :

 

And of couse, to celebrate, there has to be a sale. Available at the new website only:

The Etsy shop is still open and going strong so now you have multiple choices of where you would can browse for your next WallFry artwork.

NEW Prints

We have been sooo busy lately, building and creating the new website (which is very exciting, but also very hard work!).

I have been having a creating streak at the same time though and here are some of the new prints I have added to the shop recently:

 I love this Jane Austen quote from Pride and Prejudice (Mr Darcy to Elizabeth of course) and I love it for nursery decor! Share your love of great books with your little one while telling them you love them at the same time!

This baby deer is the latest addition to the Woodland Series. I am working on more too so will be adding and sharing them once they are done.

There are so many dogs in my dog series, but always more that I haven't added yet. This one was a popular request and here he is! There are even more, all pictured below:

Now, back to working on that website!

NEW GIVEAWAY - yes another one!

It's giveaway time again, this time hosted by the amazing Maggie at Smashed Peas and Carrots. There is a set of 4 - 8x10 prints of the winners choice up for grabs and you only need to comment to enter.

Good Luck!

Some of the huge range of prints that you can choose from if you are the lucky winner:

Puppy Dog Cake for a 2 year old - Can I keep this up?

Each year I make my two boys a cake. You may remember my post regarding the dilema with my 3-year olds 3rd birthday cake which ended up being a pretty satisfactory lion (albeit a licensed TV character, but that is all part of the story). This time it was nearing my youngest son's 2nd birthday so again the preparations begin:

Me: What type of cake would you like for your birthday?
Nearly 2: A birthday cake
- 1 point him, 0 points me

Me: Ok, then what color would you like it to be?
Nearly 2: Grey
 - I didn't even know he knew that grey was a color

Eventually we got an answer and ultimately he wanted a 'Dog Cake'. This was lovingly supported by his 3 year old brother and seemed easy enough to me so a Dog Cake it would be.

TIP: when let your kids choose their cakes, encourage them to choose something generic like a dog rather than an existing character (Raa Raa anyone?) there is so much more room for error. What starts out as a rottweiler might end up as a beagle and that will still be OK. There are only so many ways you can do a Dora cake before it starts to look like a football or an Elmo cake before it starts to look like a big red mess.

ANOTHER TIP: if you keep making each cake better than last year's cake you will end up with no where to go. At least at the ages of 2 and 3 the expectations are not too high, but I can see that the pressure will continue to mount.

TUTORIAL: I keep getting asked for tutorials or tips. I always plan to take great photos and post them here with a tutorial, but then end up making the cake at midnight the night before the party with no time to do any of that (most of the time I am lucky to get the cake done) so apologies that again, there is no tutorial.

If you have any specific questions though, feel very free to ask and I will answer where I can. If it helps, I got my inspiration (and a lot of my 'tips') for making this cake from this lovely post here: http://www.coolest-birthday-cakes.com/coolest-dog-cake-41.html

Where do all the Furry Little Creatures Go?

You may have already heard of the 'Boon Animal Bag' but I was lucky enough to get one the other day!

It is a great idea for storing the copious amounts of soft toys that kids accumulate (if you don't have at least 30 soft toys scattered around the house right at this moment then you must be throwing them out - go on count them, I dare you!) and doubles nicely as a pouffee (albeit a little bit slippery).

It does look a little bit like the teddy bears are being held hostage (or about to rob a bank):

and the kids want to open it all the time to release the hostages (and re-scatter them around the house of course). On the plus side it is easy to open

:

If you over stuff it, it is a little bit big for little bottoms to sit on:

But heaps of fun for wrestling:

In all seriousness, it is very well made, great quality and you can fit heaps of stuffed toys in that thing! Such a great idea and the kids are playing with toys again that they forgot they had.

Simple Party Treat for Kids - that they will love!

This is such a simple idea and SO cute that I had to share:

All you need are

• Tiny Teddies
• Mini Milkyway bars
• Smarties
• Icing (to attach the wheels)

No cooking, no fiddly assemblage and no need for instructions, cos I think you can see how they are put together. They are so effective and the kids absolutely love them!

I was lucky enough to have an Aunt bring these along to one of my boys recent parties and they were such a hit! Probably not so healthy, but for a party.. and teddy bears driving cars c'mon!

Too cute:

 
 

Giveaway Time Again

There is a new WallFry prints giveaway, this time hosted by Mammamoiselle -

2 lucky winners will win a set of WallFry Prints of their choice. Head on over to enter:
http://www.mammamoiselle.com/2012/02/feature-wallfry-wall-art-for-children.html

Good Luck!

Raa Raa the Tasty Little Lion

Sorry, we've just transferred this blog and it seems this link is not working the way it should. Please click here to access this post: http://www.wallfry.com/blog/raa-raa-the-tasty-little-lion.html

Picking colors that Pop!

The WallFry Inspiration Cliche Prints have been HUGELY successful. So many customers are using the oppotunity to customize the color of their prints to be able to pick colors from their bedding or decor to tie the room together. Here are some examples for the nursery or kids room:

Land of Nod - How does your Garden Grow?

Pottery Barn Kids - Navy Star Bedding

Target - Little Tree Bedding

Land of Nod - Robo Bedding

I love how this really makes key colors in the room Pop! Customers have been able to choose their favorite inspiration quotes too from the full selection:

Such an easy way to customize your special little one's space just the way you want it!

Cake Pop Fail..

Let me tell you about the day that I learn't that I am NO Bakerella!

 

I love baking decorative cakes, although with time constraints it is pretty much limited to birthday cakes for my two boys. I have made attempts with increasing complexity and so far I have been pretty happy with the results:

 

 

Then I discovered Cake Pops. How could I go past this:

 

Photo by Bakerella

It looks easy enough, right?

 

So I researched a little (thank you YouTube) and using my own expertise limited knowledge I bought some cake mix (a traditionalist I know), some icing in a can (hey that is what they are all using on YouTube), some chocolate and bits and pieces of 'stuff' for decorating.

 

I thought I would start with something simple (as advised) just balls with sprinkles and such added. I was warned - "it is not simple, don't try something too complicated to begin with" and they were right.

 

I will give you a sneak preview of the results:

 

 

That doesn't look tooo bad you might think, and you might be right. The end results were visibly 'acceptable' but I learnt a few lessons on the way:

1. Get longer sticks - it is nearly impossible to operate a ball of cake on a short stick
2. Use compound chocolate, not normal chocolate - I know, I know, I already knew this but when it was purchased in error, I thought I would try to make the best of it - not happening.
3. Don't try to do this on a hot day - it is summer here and it was a super muggy, hot night when I made them. Cake ball sliding down a stick anyone?
4. Don't try to freeze the balls before adding the chocolate because it is a hot night and the are sliding down the stick... - if you add hot chocolate to frozen cake balls the chocolate cracks! Who knew? I have since been told it would have been better to refrigerate them only.
5. Don't leave it too late in the day for your first attempt -This took a LOT longer than I expected and it ended up being late at night when I was finished.
6. Take better photos - ok, so these ones may not be worth too much effort with photography, but if you are going to put so much time and effort into something, make sure you have a decent photo for evidence.
7.  Make them smaller - I think they were too big? A bit more than a couple of bites is too much.

 

The most IMPORTANT TIP though is related to the main reason these were a fail:

 

7. Use better ingredients - they didn't taste very good and I was told so by guests who made the brave attempt. Next time no frosting in a can and cake in a packet, I will get a good recipe, make my own and make it taste good.

 

 

 

 

 

And I did attempt them again, but that is another post.

Another Giveaway!

WallFry Prints is having another Mega Giveaway this time with Chic & Cheap Nursery. Head on over for the chance to win a set of 4 8x10 prints (your choice). Two winners & up to $144 in prizes.

Good Luck!