crafternoon

What do you get when you combine an afternoon of crafting, food, and friendship?  Well, a CRAFTERNOON, of course!

And that’s exactly what happened at my home last Friday…I hosted my first ever CRAFTERNOON.

When the guests arrived, the table was already set for the “craft” part of the CRAFTERNOON.  We created red heart button canvases, so all the supplies were ready and waiting…12 x 12 canvases, paint brushes, black paint, painter’s tape, red buttons, tacky glue, rulers, heart patterns, and pencils.

And what’s crafting without some sweet inspiration…in the form of chocolate hearts!

We started the craft by placing strips of painter’s tape 1 1/2 inches apart on the canvas.  Then, black paint was used to create the stripes.  Two coats of paint should be enough so that it doesn’t look streaky.

Once the canvases were painted, we set them aside to dry.

While the paint dried, the guests enjoyed a light lunch of soup, salad, and muffins.

Some of the canvases were still a bit wet, so I had a simple “bonus” craft to do while the paint continued to dry.  It involved one of my favorite products…washi tape!  I’ll share more on that tomorrow.  Be sure to check my blog post tomorrow for my “washi wednesday” heart magnet idea…

Now back to the original craft…once the paint was dry, we pulled off the painter’s tape and admired the black and white striped canvas.

The next step was to trace the heart pattern on top of the stripes.  I placed my heart in the center of the canvas for the sample that I made, but you could really put it anywhere.  One of the guests placed hers in the lower right corner, which I really loved!  I think she was planning to add some wording at the top.  Can’t wait to see how it turned out…

After tracing the heart, the next step was to use the tacky glue and go over the pencil tracing.  This provides an outline for all those red buttons.  Then, we began placing the buttons on the glue.  Don’t worry if the buttons don’t cover all of the glue…it dries clear.

The final step of the craft is to glue red buttons on the canvas to fill in the heart outline.  As you have less and less space to fill in, you have to be strategic with how you place the various sized buttons in order to cover the canvas.

The CRAFTERNOON ended with a sweet treat for everyone…

I think I enjoyed the afternoon as much as the guests did, so much so that I’m planning another one for early spring.  I’ll share more details (date, cost, craft) soon…