I have a Pinterest habit that goes something like this: Pin, forget, move on to next pin. I really want to get to the projects that inspire me but my life doesn't exactly allow for the crafting hours I need to complete them all. When I saw this drop cloth wall hanging that Dana from House Tweaking made, I knew I had to try to make one!
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We have a high ceiling and a double sided stairway in our foyer so the amount of wall space allowed for a really large statement piece but I never found the piece that seemed to be a perfect fit. I hoped that this might be it.
I followed Dana's description of her project almost exactly. Both the idea of using a drop cloth and the font she used both really appealed to me.
I bought a 4x5 canvas drop cloth from Lowes and ironed it quite a bit until it was ready for trim. I then added a black grosgrain ribbon around the edge using Steam a Seam fusible tape. I felt like I needed to add the black ribbon because our wall color didn't really contrast enough with the color of the cloth and it would have gotten lost on the wall without it.
I created a PowerPoint slide of the text using the Copperplate Gothic Bold font except for the word happy which I decided to make with Lucida Handwriting font.
I hung the cloth on the wall, projected the slide from my laptop onto the cloth and outlined the letters with black marker. The cloth was so rough and thick that I decided to prep the lettering with a Liquitex gesso before painting. I thought that it could help the acrylic paint application go a little smoother. I hand painted the letters with a small paintbrush and when dry I applied a Liquitex varnish to the letters to add shine and to prevent any cracking that might occur.
The area that the canvas hangs in is flooded with light so the varnish helps the lettering reflect the light and really pop.
I love the result so much and love that when I'm rocking my son in his room, I can look out and see it. Even if the window above the saying is framing a pounding rain or a snowstorm, seeing these lovely words brightens my day and the house.
