Wednesday, December 26, 2012

how to make a ticker tape on canvas

Today I'm excited to share a fun little tutorial with you! You are probably familiar with my ticker tape quilt, right? Well, I've translated the idea to canvas! I made a few several months ago and shared about them here. Since then I've made a few more and took photos along the way so you can make one of your very own.
 
Materials needed:
-Artist canvas (11" x 14" shown)
-Sharp scissors
-Mod Podge (matte finish)
-Stiff bristled paint brush
-Disposable paper cup
-A sheet of card stock or two
-SCRAPS! Several fabric scraps in any various sizes. I like to use scraps that are less than 1" on at least one side. The smaller the better! Of course! :)
 
Assembly:
Take a piece of fabric and use sharp scissors to trim off any stray threads or frayed edges.
Place the fabric face down on a piece of card stock. Paint the back of the fabric with mod podge.
Place the piece close to the corner of the canvas. Paint over the top of the fabric with a thin layer of mod podge.
Repeat the steps as above to attach several more scraps.
An alternate way to attach the scraps is to paint the area of the canvas first.
Then place the fabric scrap on the canvas.
(This scrap has not been painted with mod podge at all.)
Now, paint a thin layer of mod podge over the scrap. This way may be a bit less messy. (I think?) Either way, after attaching several scraps, my hands tend to get goopy. But no worries, a little soap and water takes care of that.
Continue to add scraps in a random yet orderly fashion.
Keep filling in the blank areas of the canvas....
....until every last corner is filled.
Step back and admire your work!

These make great wall art for kids rooms! Or hall ways. Or....fill in the blank. :)
If you are inclined, you could do this project with your kiddos, too!

Hints and Tips:
I don't pre-plan the placement of pieces...I just design as I go. If this is the route you choose to take, remember to take a step back (so to speak) every so often and check your color distribution.

Use a high quality stiff bristled brush. Cheap brushes lose bristles easily. I picked up a high quality artist brush on clearance at JoAnn's for a couple of bucks.

The stiff bristles are helpful when you want to paint the stray threads back into place.

Use a new brush if at all possible. If you have any residual paint in your brush from a previous project, it will work it's way onto your fabric and canvas. Not good.

If you make a ticker tape on canvas, please consider adding your photos to the quilting with crazy mom flickr group! I'd love to see what you come up with.

If you have any questions, I will try to answer them in the comments. Hope you have fun with this tutorial!

Terms of Use:
This tutorial is for personal use only. Please do not sell items made from this tutorial. Thanks so much!

40 comments:

Palak said...

This is such a clever idea! I love it!

Mary on Lake Pulaski said...

Great tutorial! Thank you for sharing this option for your ticker tape quilt.

Karee said...

I have used your original ticker tape tut for many elem school art projects and NOW I have another one! Thank you so much.

peaknits said...

Very clever! Thank you for this fun idea I can do with my little ones!

Rachel said...

This is very cute! I have some smaller canvases that would work in this project - what a great way to use up those tiny little scraps (digging in garbage can...)

Robyn of Oz said...

This is a nice bit of art and great for the sewing room wall.
To alleviate that pesky stickiness and having to wash your hands frequently (you just want to keep crafting, right?), invest in a pair of long, tapered tweezers to hold the fabric with. That way, you use the tweezers to grip the fabric, the mod podged brush to apply the goop and the tweezers to lift and apply. Give it a go, you will be amazed! :)

Anonymous said...

That's really pretty! I have a big tip for you though - while Mod Podge is GREAT at sticking things to things, it tends to stay sticky forever! Especially with wall art like this it will collect dust very easily (and permanently!)

To alleviate this I always spray anything that I want to keep dust-free with an acrylic sealant (spray is easy but brush-on is fine too).

I love this way of displaying small fabric scraps that can't be used otherwise!

Emily said...

LOVE this!!

Maria said...

Looks fabulous,another one for my to do list....

bec said...

Perfect! Idea for me, that is! I'm starting a room makeover for my 9 year old, and taking old things off the walls- perfect 'new thing' to add. And a Ticker Tape quilt later in the year hopefully. Thanks for the great idea!

mascanlon said...

Love this idea, I think I'll propose it for a. Fun workshop for my friendship group...we can all toss in our scraps and see what we get!

janequiltsslowly said...

I love this idea. I think it would be interesting to use it as a frame for a photo, especially for a child's picture.

Books_Bound said...

Very cute! My mom is a home ec teacher, and it would be fun to make a few of these for her classroom to brighten it up a bit!

Mull3g said...

I agree with Robyn above and would love to make one for my sewing space!

Jess @ Elven Garden Quilts said...

Awesome! Great holiday activity for the kids - thanks so much :o)

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful and fun idea! That would make for some cool lampshades as well!

SarahZ said...

So you start with one awesome idea, and by the time you read all the comments, your head is swimming with all kinds of good ideas! Thank you thank you!!!

And this would be . . . . said...

This would be perfect for when my daughter has to do a project for her 100 days of school.

kathy-o said...

What a great way to "save" some of those precious scraps that you love dearly and want to remember. Thanks!

Suzanne said...

Yay! I have mod podge in my drawer right now! hugs to you.

Rachel said...

LOVE it, so pretty and looks so easy! Thanks!

Elaine/Muddling Through said...

That is such a great idea! I may have to try one. Thank you!

Moje Małe Rękodzieło said...

Gosh, it's so easy to make, but very nice! Thanks for your idea !

Katrina said...

Amazing Amanda Jean! Thank you for sharing! :) I need to be a few of these for my studio and a few for gifts. I guess I need to find some good scraps!

Lauren said...

If only my scraps were as cute as yours!

Unknown said...

What a great idea! My hubby wants to run a few errands despite all of the snow we are currently getting, so I think I'm going to have to add a trip to the craft store to the list! :)

Kindred Quilts said...

Looks like a great, fun filled project! Hmmmm... grand daughter's 4th birthday in March... cute wall art for her room!

Kim said...

Wouldn't it be fun to cover a painted canvas,( like the many I have here that
my daughter has done but doesn't like) so just some of the painting shows through? It could look really interesting.
I have loved this idea since the first time you showed.

Thanks for your inspiration as always and Happy Sewing





Sarah Craig said...

Oh, thanks so much for this idea/tutorial, Amanda! This will make a great project for my granddaughter!!

Di~ said...

I love it! How DO you think of these things? :)

Annalia said...

I'm so doing this! Sounds like a fast way to use up some of the adorable, tiny scraps I just can't get rid of. :)

Maniks Read said...

Hi thanks for provide information how to make a ticker tape on canvas. Thanks for post the nice blog.

how to make a ticker tape on canvas

ChristaQuilts said...

I love it! That gives me a great idea for a quilt design layout....

Geta Grama said...

Great idea for keeping memories of older fabric collections. Thank you for sharing.

Angela Nash said...

Becket has been gathering my 'floor scraps' over time, and has a big shoe box full of them in his room. He told me that he's saving them until he has enough to make a quilt of his own with 'all the good mixed up colors'. A scrap quilter at heart! This would be a great project for his tiny scraps.

Maggie said...

Thanks for this great tutorial! I was so inspired, I went straight out and bought some canvasses and made two pictures yesterday. I'm really pleased with the results and it was a lovely way to spend the holiday Thursday. I'm sorting my scraps again and can't wait to make some more. I'll post some photos to your Flickr group soon. xx

Cristin said...

Super fun idea! I think I need a few of these for my sewing room... and for the soon-to-be girls nursery! Thanks AmandaJean!

lmrees said...

Love this idea!!! I am definitely going to try it:)

Mama Pea said...

That's a great idea! I could see adding some stitching lines to it with marker, too! ;-)

SewingKaren22 said...

I'm listening to you talk about this on Modern Sewciety as I type! I'm totally doing this on the weekend with my five year old. Thanks you!