the gallery wall make over

my gallery wall (compliments of jamie over at kreyv) was the catalyst that sparked the living room make over (still in progress, more posts to come). i did this before i started the blog, so there is no post to refer back to. basically, i had some frames, one big canvas, two small canvases, a name plaque, and an inkling of an idea. jamie designed the wall, gave me instructions, and even hung it up for me. this is the result:


cool, huh? she has several posts on gallery walls if you want to find one for yourself and make it happen.

like i said, this started me thinking that perhaps it was time (after almost 4 years of living here) to decorate my living room. well, to make a long story short, i have to paint my walls. and the color i'm painting them no longer matches the canvases in my gallery wall. bummer.

so i needed a new idea. i've been seeing a lot of really pretty wall art lately that uses fabric. check these out:


so i could really just use the current canvases and cover them in fabric, right? really, how hard could that be? i have a nail gun, so really...not hard!

i hit the store and found some fantastic possibilities. seriously, i think i could become addicted to fabric...and not have any clue what to do with it. i went for texture in the two smaller canvases and a big bold print for the large canvas. for the small canvases, i was able to find a couple i liked in the remnant pile for a dollar each (score!). the bigger one wasn't on sale, but i only needed about a quarter yard, so it was still pretty cheap to get.

i do recommend, should you be doing this at home, lining the canvas if there is a pattern or dark color on it. even though my fabric was thick, the dark brown lines still showed somewhat. so i lined with a layer of white that i already had. then i simply started wrapping it all around the canvas frame.

i don't remember where i learned this (possibly from Trading Spaces during my college days), but you start with the corners.


then the middle of each side.


then where ever is left to tighten. make sure to fold the corners neatly because they will show when hung.


voila! first one done!


it took all of ten minutes. i finished the other two and put them back in the gallery for a nice photo finish:

easiest project ever. i definitely recommend this for all skill levels.

*note: the remnant i bought for one of the canvases was actually to narrow too fit the canvas, so i simply cut off a piece from the length (of which there was plenty) and sewed it together. if you do this, make sure to iron the seam so it will lay flat.