Easy Wall Art

To make Easy Wall Art
The big plans I had for the leftover fabric from Quilted Wall Panels comes to fruition.  I had fabric for six 5 inch square pieces.

You need:
1 panel printed fabric (COGSMO BY COSMO CRICKET)
6 5" X 5" stretched canvas

Other Items:
Cutting mat & rotary cutters (or scissors)
Straight Edge 12" with cutting guides every 1/2"

Repositionable Adhesive Spray
Staple gun with staples

Cutting:
Cut fabric panels.  My canvas was 5" X 5" with a 5/8" edge.  I cut the panels 7 3/4".  If your fabric/canvas is a different size, make sure you have enough to cover the edges plus an extra 3/4" or so each side to staple to the back.

Mount Fabric on Canvas:
Spray the front of the canvas with repositionable adhesive, do this inside of a box so that you don't get overspray and end up with a sticky table.  Let dry 30 seconds.  Lay the canvas on the fabric, making sure it looks even.  Hold the fabric against the back of the canvas on one side, and flip over.  Lightly pull the fabric around the edges to see if its straight and centered.  If not, peel fabric off and try again.

Gently wrap 1 edge of the fabric around the edge of the canvas, making sure it is smooth and taught (don't stretch fabric).  Staple in place in center.  Repeat with remaining 3 sides.  (The picture shows me doing 1 edge, then working around the corners.  On subsequent canvases, I found it easier to staple the centers of each side in place first, then work the corners)

Pull the corner fabric over, making sure you have it centered well.  Hold the corner in place, and fold 1 edge neatly near the corner.  Staple in place.  Fold the other edge against the corner and staple.  Repeat with remaining 3 corners.  The corners will pucker slightly, but try to make them as smooth as possible.

My staple gun doesn't staple tight against the surface, so I tapped the staples in with the hammer.

Repeat with the remaining canvases.

Hang.  To make hanging simpler, I measured and marked the wall first, centering the first dot on the wall at height.  I used the laser level to make sure I was level, and put the next dots 5 3/16" to the right or left of the first dot.  Then measured down 5 3/16" from the center dot, leveled and make the left and right dots.  The extra 3/16" between marks allowed space for the wrapped fabric corners.  I put a wire nail at each dot and hung the 6 canvases as a unit.


Difficulty: very easy
Time: <1 hour total
Cost: $14 stretched canvases

I had the staple gun and adhesive on hand, and used the leftover fabric from the Quilted Wall Panels, so I didn't price them out.