Triptych Completed

This week I finished up (mostly) my triptych. I like how it turned out!

I couldn't get rid of the glare. The blue is actually more of a denim blue.

Here are some close ups of the third piece. I couldn't get rid of the glare.

For the middle piece, I made a collage (which I loved and hated to see go!) and then masked off the tree. Then I gave it a good coat of paint followed by modpodge.

I haven't hung them up yet, but I will.

Maybe I will try for some better pictures later--
til then, enjoy.

Triptych, part 1

Jasmine made a collage I just loved at our craft-a-palooza last December, and I have been wanting to try it myself. I have pondered and wondered what I should do. Finally this week, with the help of a friend (thanks, Alisa), I made a decision.
Today I will show you part 1 of the triptych (a three paneled artwork) that will hang above my mantle. I hope Jasmine doesn't mind that I am going to steal her collage for my craft.
So... I decided to have 3 collages with a branch crossing all three. I may put a bird on the branch of the last one. For the first panel, I used all black and white prints from magazines for the background. I used Modpodge to adhere them to a 12" x 12" flat canvas.

Next, I found a picture of a branch I liked. I was too lazy to go outside and take one myself, but that would have been cool!
I told my printer to print it on multiple pages (3 x 3). If that doesn't work for you, you can crop out sections of the picture one at a time and use the Paint program to make them the size you want.

Next I cut out the branch and laid it across the three canvasses. It didn't fit exactly, so I stretched some pieces and added some smaller branches here and there. (I decided to use a different branch, as you can see.)

Take a picture so you can remember how it goes after you create the stencil.

Now, create the stencil. I used my Xyron machine with a temporary adhesive. It was a little hard to see exactly where the clear laminate was on my canvas, but it worked ok. I also used masking tape.

I carefully dabbed on the paint and let it dry. I added a quick coat of Modpodge over the paint. I carefully removed the stencil and did some touch up. It isn't perfect, but I like it!

Stay tuned. Next week I will show the finished triptych.

Lyrics + Photograph

First and foremost, Cassie if you are reading this, STOP! This is a present for you! No, seriously, stop reading!!!

My freshman year of college, I was introduced to Jack's Mannequin. I quite enjoy their song "Swim". It was stuck in my head the other day and I was immediately inspired to craft. I talked to my friend and we collaborated some ideas. Finally, I settled on a picture (from my friend's trip to Tahiti) and some lyrics from the song.

I printed out the photo on card stock. I let the picture dry for about an hour. I then trimmed the photo using the canvas board I would attach it to as a guide. I left some white as a boarder for the picture.

Then I painted the board with a layer of mod podge making sure I covered the entire board so there wouldn't be any air bubbles.

After letting that sit, I painted the front of the picture with mod podge. I did this quickly so the color wouldn't have time to bleed. I also made sure all the brush stroke were going in the same direction. I let it dry over night (it dried quicker than that but I had to help out my roommate with a project.) Taking an ultra fine point permanent marker, I wrote some of the lyrics in all lower case across the top and on the bottom of the picture in the white space.

Finally, I added the title of the song in white puff paint to the bottom of the picture. I set it aside to dry and voila!

Pictures will be added later tonight after I download them from my phone!

Wall Display

I just returned from wonderful spring break with Jasmine and Jordan and her family. Jordan wrote about one of the discoveries we made down south, and now I will tell about something I found up north at my sister's house.
This is a picture of her wall decor. I plan to make one to go over my bed soon.

You need 9  sheets of  coordinating 12" x 12" printed scrapbook paper and about 4 sheets of a coordinating solid color
1/2" thick foam core board-- you will a need 3' square from which you will cut 9  one foot squares
Modpodge and something to hang the finished artwork.

Cut the solid scrapbook paper into 2 1/2" strips. Use these to finish the edges of  foam board squares with Modpodge as shown. Miter the corners.

Use the Modpodge to adhere the printed paper to the front of each square.

Sistor (that's what we call each other--- don't remember why!) used  Monkey Hooks to hang up her artwork. I think I will use Command Poster Strips. I will post a picture when I have mine completed.

Craft-A-Palooza: Collage Painting

So I made the collage for Craft-A-Palooza and then I made another one. This time I wanted to do something I saw on Pinterest but not exactly copy it. They took a collage, covered part with a stencil and then panted over the rest. It was quite pretty but I didn't want a bird. So I chose a bear. I Googled animal silhouettes and found one I liked. I adjusted the picture to the size I wanted (print preview helps you gauge the size) then printed it out.

Then using my mom's sticker maker machine thing-a-ma-jig I made it into a sticker. Strategically placing my bear silhouette, I stuck it to the dry collage. Side note: I spent a lot of time and effort to make one spot on my board look good since the rest was going the be painted and wouldn't show. I just left the part I knew would be painted boring.The mod podge glue was slick enough the sticker would be easily removable.

Then I painted over the whole board. I could've been a little more careful around the edge of the sticker. A little bit of paint went under the edges but oh well. After the paint dries (either mostly or all the way) I took off the sticker. And voila, a collage painting!

Here's a tip:
If you want texture when doing mod podge, allow there to be air pockets or wrinkles in the paper. If you want it to be smooth, good luck! Just kidding. Apply the mod podge all the same direction (to the left or up or whatever.) Also, apply smaller piece since it's easy to get air out if it gets under there. When applying pieces, start from one side and work to the other. If you do all the edges then the middle, you're going to have some air under there. When you paint over the collage you can see the texture a whole lot better.

Craft-A-Palooza: Collage

The first craft I did during Craft-A-Palooza was a collage. Since I still had some old gossip magazines, I thought it would be perfect to rip them up and use them. Collages are pretty simple to do. I decided to rip pieces instead of cut them out to give it a different look. I also went the long time consuming route and organized all my pieces by color to make sure I evenly distributed colors on my canvas board.
All you need (is love) is mod podge or watered down glue, a canvas board, and lots of ripped pictures from magazines. Fashion magazines or magazines covering red carpet events are great because they offer a lot of different patterns and fabrics that you could use. I avoided using people's faces or body as much as I could. First, I covered the board making sure to get the edges. Paint a layer of mod podge on the board then lay down your pieces. Try to get all the area coated in mod podge to avoid air bubbles. I chose colorful pages in case the background showed some after covering the board.

 (yes, that's Zac Efron's attractive little face)

After letting that dry I started putting on the pieces one at a time first applying mod podge then placing the pieces over the wet area. I painted another layer of the pieces to make sure they stuck and other pieces would stick if they overlapped.

I filled up the whole board which took quite a while since I was being very meticulous. And just like that, you have a wonderful collage.

You could also do it in a color theme (ie warm colors, cool colors, secondary colors etc.) I think maybe I'll do that next....when I get a break in homework!

Mod Podge Halloween Decorations Giveaway

First and foremost, it is Brooke's birthday! If you want to wish her a happy birthday, feel free to leave her a nice little comment on her post.  
So in case you all didn't know, Brooke, my mom and I had birthdays this month. To celebrate, the Wayward girls have or are going to have a give away each week. This week is my week! 


This week's giveaway is 2 Halloween themed vases!  Last week I posted about mod podge and meant to not tell what I was doing. But I forgot I had put it in the title and totally gave the surprise away. Silly me! 

And I know by next week Halloween will be over :( But there's always next year!
There are four different ways to enter:

• One entry for becoming a follower of our blog, and commenting on this blog post to tell me about it.
• One entry for following us on Twitter, and commenting on this blog post to tell me about it.
• One entry for tweeting this post, and commenting on this blog post to tell me about it (with a link directly to your Tweet).
• One entry for Liking us on Facebook, and commenting on this blog post to tell me about it.

Each of these should be in its own SEPARATE comment! So if you like us on FB, follow us on Twitter, tweet about this giveaway and or are a follower of WGC, each of these should be it’s own separate entry.

CONTEST NOW OVER!
PS my birthday was on the 11th and none of you wished me a happy birthday, how rude...I guess I can forgive you all... :)

Mod Podge Pumpkins

This is a really easy and inexpensive project to do. I went to the dollar store (great store of course) and found 2 small glass vases (for lack of a better word) and some tissue paper to make a mod podge/decoupage vase. But here's the deal, I'm keeping what I made under wraps (AKA not done yet so why not add suspense to my post?) Next week I'll be giving away what I mod podged (if that's a verb) so you'll have to stay tuned next week to see some pictures and enter to win it!


It's super easy to make some fun mod podge anything. Cut or tear the tissue paper (it can be different colors or shades of one color, it's totally up to you) into pieces. It's just easier that way. Paint a thin layer of the mod podge on the outside of the vase in a small area. Apply piece(s) to the painted area. Then apply another layer of mod podge over the tissue paper. Make sure the tissue paper is saturated from the glue but not over saturated so the paper rips. Continue until the the glass is covered. It it probably better to add a couple of layers as well but that's totally up to you. You can also cover the bottom if you want but be careful not to glue the vase to the table or anything! Now set aside to dry. It depends on how humid it is as to how long it can take to dry. If you want to speed up the results, set a fan on your vase or use a hair dryer. It could still take a while to dry. It could take up to 24 hours to dry but I don't typically have that kind of patience!

Here's some fun tips: Now, colors of the tissue paper may bleed so be careful in your color choice. Also, if you layer different colors (colors that go with one another) it can help add dimension. If you want to make your own mod podge/decoupage just water down some white glue. Simply mix equal parts white glue and equal parts water in a jar or bottle. If it's too thick just add more water.