Super Easy Art to Show You Care

Making Art for Dad!

Show Dad your smiling face (or that of your kiddos) for an easy peasy Father’s Day gift that he’ll keep for years to come.

I came across this photo of me and my little girls (when they were still little,) and I just had to find a way to save this special memento from the past as a Father’s Day gift for my husband.

The piece took very little time and whenever I can use a hammer I know I can relieve a little stress at the same time. (This is why we moms are SO good at multitasking—it’s good for us!)

I had just brought home one of Vintaj’s new brass blanks and knew that it would make the best substrate for this little “giftie.” And now that I’ve become a letter punch addict, if I’m working with metal, I have to find a way to use my punches. My Adirondack® Inks came in handy for an easy altering of the brass blank surface. The addition of a fancy and yet semi-masculine fleur-de-lis was the finishing touch.

This project was so easy that my non-artist hubby could make one for me for my birthday.  Oh darlin’…

And, remember, if you try this project, we’d love to see your version. Stop by the clothpaperscissors.com community and share your work. Remember to write “Father’s Day gift” in the tag section!

 

Try it yourself with the following pictorial:

1. Gathering a few tools makes this project quick work. You need a nail, hammer, and block of wood to start.		2. Use the nail and hammer to make 2 holes in the top of a 4” x 5” brass blank (I’m using one from Vintaj.)
3.  Note the 2 evenly spaced holes, and the table protected by the block of wood.		4. I want to protect my photo with a small piece of acrylic. (Glass would have worked too.) I used a craft knife to cut the top of my egg carton box!
5. Lay your photo where you’d like it to reside and mark 2 holes along the top and 2 along the bottom of the photo (about 1/4” from each side.) Use the hammer and nail to punch smaller holes at these marks.		6. Using the handy dandy pencil, mark a line along the bottom to help you line up the letter punches. You’ll be glad you did!
7. Letter punches work best on a really hard surface, I have a steel block.		8. Worried about running off the end of the blank? Start at the outside and work in towards the middle.
9. Vintaj’s brass blanks come with an awesome patina but I wanted to mess it up a bit so I used sandpaper to touch up the surface. (Notice the center hole? I made it to hang a vintage brooch at the end.)		10. Time for color! I love using Adirondack Inks for working with metal. This set I used is Farmer’s Market.
11. Drip, drip, dribble, drip—slowly but surely I built up the color.		12. Just for fun I like to spritz it with a little blending solution.
		14. Continue adding color and then attach the photo with a bit of colored craft wire (twist the ends in the back.) 15. Add more wire to make the bank a wall hanging.
13. Gee, I like what this little pouncing brush does for the color.		16. Embellish as desired and try to resist giving it to dad before Father’s Day!

   

Here’s to a fast-approaching Father’s Day weekend and all the artistic preparation leading up to it!

Cheers,