Fall is just around the corner. The thrill of cooler temperatures and beautiful foliage abounds. Bring the beauty of the foliage to your home by inexpensively crafting a colorful fall collage hanging for your wall or, as an alternative to a wreath, your front door.
Start by determining the fall theme you'd like to display, as well as the size of the hanging. These may include pumpkins, turkeys, acorns, deer, leaves, pilgrims and / or Indians and cornucopias, just to name a few.
Based on the desired overall size of the hanging, purchase an appropriately-sized piece of canvas and wooden dowel from a hobby or craft store.
Determine if you want the hanging to extend vertically or horizontally. If so desired, use a lightly-warmed iron to remove any wrinkles, then turn the canvas over, apply no-sew glue to each edge and fold neatly over to make crisp, straight seams on all sides.
Collect pictures from recycled magazines, newspapers or other media that contain sections of basic fall colors. Keep a keen eye out for orange, red, yellow, gold, brown and even deep, rich hues of purple. You may need to search for other sources if typical media are scarce or if you desire a noticeable, eye-catching mixture of textures. Other possible sources of color and texture include tissue paper, wallpaper, scrap material or party napkins.
Cut abstract shapes from these sources containing the colors you'd like displayed on the hanging.
To fashion the collage, many of the items you need may already be on hand. For instance, a pie plate may be used to fashion a pumpkin. Print off traceable fall leaves or other patterns and trace to cardboard, poster board or another sturdy surface to guide you in shaping the collage. For the more artistically inclined, this may be entirely accomplished free-handedly.
Once you have enough colorful clippings for the project you have in mind, fashion the collage. Use hot glue to intertwine the colorful scraps of paper or material into an overall image. Once completed, allow time for the glue to dry.
When the glue has dried, apply a light coat of varnish to make the craft durable, especially if it will hang from a door and be exposed to the elements. Allow the varnish time to dry as well.
The varnish is Once dry the , use a wood Dowel for hanging the project.
If the project is meant to hang vertically, wrap the top part of the canvas around a dowel that is slightly longer than the crosswise top of the canvas and secure with hot glue. Tie a fair amount of twine to either end for hanging. For vertical hangings, you may choose to apply dowel to the crosswise bottom section or not. It's merely a matter of preference.
If the project is meant to hang horizontally, then at least two pieces of dowel are required. Encircle evenly cut pieces of hardwood dowel on either end of the hanging, and hot glue securely. Depending on the width of the horizontal hanging, you might consider using a third dowel with a smaller circumference that extends across the back of the hanging. This provides support by keeping the horizontal hanging straight and preventing billowing. Incrementally hot gluing it in spots should suffice for keeping it in place.
If you desire to use the twine to provide a rustic, woodsy fall element to the hanging, use a lengthy piece so that the twine is exposed upon hanging. If you'd rather the twine not be exposed, however, hot glue a shorter, more taut piece to the dowel on the back of the hanging.