NEVER Pay for Canvas Again!

I have quite the treat for you all today.  No, it is not a giveaway or some new craft that I think will change the world (although it is pretty cute if I do say so myself).  It is however, an idea that could save you money... and who doesn't like that?  My husband always calls me a frugal Hoosier (we're from Indiana and that name came from the t.v. show The Middle) because I will figure out a way to save money any way I can.  I don't really coupon but I re-use like it is going out of style!  Anyways, I was at work one day (I work at a fabric store) and as I was moving empty fabric bolts it hit me- use these instead of canvas boards!  They are light, sturdy and FREE!  Hear me out...

There are 2 kinds of boards that a bolt of fabric will come on.  One has flaps on each end that the fabric falls between, the other is a solid piece (as seen above) with closed ends.  Go to your local fabric store and ask for the latter kind.  This option is more sturdy and has the same type of dimension from the wall that a canvas would have.  I can't guarantee that they will have any (or that they will give them away) but I bet that they will.  When our customer's ask for some to hold their fabric on at home, we will fill their carts up for them!

Once you get home, decide if you want the end pieces to show.  Since it sticks up a little bit, I decided to remove the front part of it so that I had a smooth top.

Carefully pull the end piece off as far as you wish.  I kept it attached on the back and re-glued the "top" so that the end was finished.  So that the front piece didn't show, I simply cut off that strip before gluing the middle section back down (this will make more sense once you have it in front of you)

See how the end piece is 2 sided and not 3 sided anymore?  This makes for a nice finished end cap and still removes the unwanted bump on the front of your board.

{Want to see what I made with it?}
I couldn't leave this post with this great idea and no craft to go with it, could I?! Of course not! As I said last week, I LOVE Easter and am slowly getting the house ready for it. Here is my newest Easter addition:

I absolutely love this.  It turned out even better than I had imagined!

I covered the board with a pale yellow paint and then finished each end with some green paint.

The "Easter Greetings" is cut from vinyl on the Silhouette.  I then trimmed each section where the green & yellow paint meet with some twine (of course!)

For the design, I used the shape "bunny" by Lori Whitlock, which can be found in the Silhouette Store.  Instead of cutting out the tail with paper, I attached a fluffy cotton tail!

{Vintage floral print, 3-D fluffy cotton tail... just darling!}

Please excuse the terrible lighting and glare that all pictures seem to have in our house, but I also wanted to show you where we hung it up.  Right as you walk in the door into the kitchen, there is a small corner where we hang pictures.  I thought this would be the perfect "Welcome" for friends and family.

{Your Turn}

What do you think? Would you consider using these boards as a free substitute for canvas? I bet they can be shaped or cut down to any size you needed and they are so light that they can be hung anywhere! The only problem would be if you wanted that "waffled" canvas feel. Otherwise, this seems like a GREAT money saver to me. If you agree, what decorative ideas do you have for these boards? I would love to hear them!


Happy Crafting,
Kelsie Ann

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