Follow Your Dreams Reverse Canvas

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Every month I usually participate in a craft challenge with a group of creative blogger friends. Every month we have a different theme based on a material. Some months it is really easy to think of a project using the assigned material and some months are hard. This month was one of the hard ones. I think it ended up being hard for everyone and that combined with the craziness of the end of the school year led to cancelling the challenge this month. I had already made my project and as hard as it was to decide what to do I was actually pretty happy with how it turned out. Especially since it meant trying something new, something that I had been wanting to try for a while but hadn't gotten around to.

The theme for our challenge was drawing materials. I honestly had no idea what to do, I don't even really have a lot of drawing materials. I actually like to draw I just haven't done it in a long time and most of my drawing stuff, like colored pencils, ends up being used by the kids. I love the look of handrawn cut files, like brush lettering or simple drawings turned into an svg and used to iron on or add vinyl to something. I decided to give it a try.

I tried brush lettering at a conference a couple of years ago and found that it is not something I am very good at. I could not get the pressure down at all. Instead of trying to write using that technique I just sketched out the words and picture I wanted to make lightly with a pencil and then I used a Tombow marker I got at Snap to trace and fill in the design. It may not be the traditional way to do it but it worked for me.

Then I used the Adobe Capture app on my phone to take a picture of the design, saved that and then on my computer I put it through an svg converter (I used svgcreator.com) and then I was able to import it into Design Space.

At that point you could use it to make whatever you wanted. I chose to make a reverse canvas, another thing I had been wanting to try. I thought it would be perfect for a wall in my craft room that I am trying to decorate.

It was kind of cool to see my drawing go from a sketch on a piece of paper, to an image in design space, to a finished project.

How to Make a Follow Your Dreams Reverse Canvas

You will need:

• canvas (I used an 8" x 10")
• staple remover, or something you can use to pull out staples
• scissors or craft knife
• paint or stain
• paintbrush
• black iron on
• Cricut Maker or other cutting machine
• Cricut EasyPress
• stapler or glue gun
• Follow Your Dreams SVG

Instructions:

First remove the staples from the back of your canvas and remove the canvas from the frame. 

Paint or stain the frame and set aside to dry.

Import the svg into Design Space, or the design software used with your machine. Cut the design out of black iron on or htv. Don't forget to mirror the design. 

Iron the design onto the canvas.

Center the design behind the frame and staple or glue to the back of the frame. Trim excess canvas.