Door decor

I have hung many things on my front door over the years, mirrors, plates, baskets of flowers and the occasional wreath to name a few.  I think your front door should be welcoming and let guests get a glimpse of what lies inside.  I think of the front door like the cover of a book.  It should look interesting so that the guest will want to read the rest. 

For spring, I currently have a wreath made of willow branches and decorated with hydrangeas and ivy on my front door. 

You can get the directions on how I made this here....
http://dragonfliesandthistles.blogspot.com/2014/04/spring-wreath.html

I love the wreath but decided I wanted something different for the summer months coming. So I made this...

I had a real difficult time with the 'D'.  I glued it on, it fell off.  I hot glued it on, it fell off.  Finally I came up with using a bit of ribbon and stapled it to the back to get it to stay.  That sucker isn't going anywhere now. 

You will need:
A piece of canvas.  I used flat canvas that came in a 3 pack. You could use any kind. 
Faux flowers
Ribbon of your choice - I chose light beige and dark brown
An initial
Scrapbook paper of your choice
2 strands of pearls or other embellishments
Scissors
Modge Podge - or glue and water mixed in equal parts
A sponge to paint the 'glue'
Hot glue gun & glue
Stapler

I chose all my colors to coordinate with one another.  You can choose anything you like.

Step 1 -
I took the initial and traced it out on the blank side of the scrapbook paper.  So upside down and backwards.  When you flip it over right side up the color will be in line with the letter.

Step 2 - Cut your letter out.

 

Step 3 - Using Modge Podge cover the wooden letter with the glue.  (Modge Podge is just white glue and water mixed in equal parts).

While the 'glue' is still sticky carefully place the scrapbook paper down on the surface.   Try to line it up as best as you can.  Doing this while the glue is still sticky makes it easier to work with. 

 

 

Step 4 - Using the glue paint the scrapbook paper.  This will give it a shiny look and protect the paper.  Don't worry if the paper buckles a bit you can flatten that out as you go.  The glue will dry clear.

 

Step 5 - Now you need to embellish your canvas.  I used pearls.  You can use any kind of jewels you like and in any color (s), the options are endless.  I used a craft glue that dried clear.  To get it fairly evenly spaced I glued my pearls on all four ends, then in the middle on each side.  Then I took half again and so on. 

 

I did this all around the canvas until I was satisfied with how many pearls I had on it.  I used 2 strands. 

Step 6 - I decided that I wanted to put pearls on my initial as well.  I have a really hard time with Modge Podge - it always, ALWAYS, ALWAYS buckles on me.  So to hide these imperfections I put pearls on the initial. 

 

 

Step 7 - After the pearls fully dried and the glue was clear I hung my initial on the canvas.  This is where I got stuck for 2 days.  I used craft glue, the initial fell off, I used hot glue, the initial fell off... I was almost ready to throw the project away when I came up with the brilliant idea to just hang the initial with ribbon.  BRILLIANT! 

I measured out how low I wanted the initial to hang and looped the ribbon around the back of the canvas and stapled the ribbon to the back.

 

 

Step 8 - Next I pre-arranged my flowers.  I laid out where I wanted them to be and how I wanted them.  Then I hot glued them all down.

 



Step 9 - I then made a long loop with the ribbon for hanging.  I stapled that ribbon to the back of the canvas as well.  I also made a bow as I thought it just looked finished with the pretty bow. 

 

Here are my directions on how to make a bow...

 

http://dragonfliesandthistles.blogspot.com/2013/11/how-to-make-bow.html

 

 

That is it!  I really love it.

 

 

If you have any questions on how to make this, just drop me a line!  I'd be glad to walk you through it and answer any questions you may have. 

I really like this idea with the canvas.  You could frame a smaller picture and hang it the same way.  The ideas could be endless. 

 

 

This will be my only post this week.  I am taking a little vacation and going to see Monument Valley AZ - a place I've been wanting to see since we moved west 20 years ago!  I can't wait.  I hope everyone has a safe and happy week.  I'll be back next week and sharing pictures from my trip. 

Stay safe!

Victoria

You can always e-mail me here - dragonfliesandthistles@gmail.com

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