Crafting Blog: 1 “Sea glass Turtle Canvas”

craft·ing

The activity or hobby of making decorative articles by hand.

“Crafting has emerged as a fashionable form of self-expression” ~ Google Dictionary~

Crafting is something I just started doing more recently in my life. I have always been a ‘scrapbooker’ or archiver of photos but crafting for me really didn’t start until I moved to Florida.  I guess the Florida life has inspired me to be more creative! One of my goals as a blogger is to share some of my crafting experiences, good and bad, easy and hard, fun and tedious. I am an avid Pinterest user, so some of my craft projects are inspired by things I see on Pinterest. Other projects are inspired by things I see in real life. Sometimes I just get inspired by all the supplies I have in my craft room, lol.   I hope that you will enjoy following my blog.  Please share with me if you try out any of the crafts I present to you on my blog.

The project I am going to share today is one that went “viral” so to speak on Pinterest. My original photo pin of my project has over 51,000 re-pins!  I have also come across my original photo of this project on many other people’s pins (not re-pins of my original post) and have even seen it included in blogs about various crafts.  I am all about sharing so it really doesn’t bother me that people loved my project so much that they downloaded my photo and shared the pin on their own boards.  It’s really okay.  I love to see people crafting and creating and if I can be a part in inspiring that, it’s all good!

Okay, so now to the point of this blog post. THE PROJECT: Sea Turtle Canvas

This is so simple, yet so beautiful!  It makes a wonderful bathroom decoration or gift!

Supplies Needed:

Canvas of any size (I used 8 x 8 square canvases)

Paint for background (I used a very light beige acrylic paint to look like sand)

Sand (craft sand from Michaels or Hobby Lobby is fine or you could use real beach sand)

Mod Podge (matte or glossy)

Paint brush for paint

Paint brush or foam brush for Mod Podge

Shell for Turtle’s body (I purchased mine from a local shell shop)

Sea Glass for legs and head of Turtle

Clear sealant spray (optional)

Glitter (optional)

Glue (I recommend E6000)

Sawtooth hanger (optional)

Directions:

~I am not going to get too detailed with directions because I believe when one is crafting, their personal artistic style should be incorporated, so ~let go and go with the flow~

1. Paint your canvas the background color of your choice. Any acrylic paint will work. You do not need to spend a lot of money on this. I suggest painting at least 2 coats of paint, letting your first coat dry before applying the second. Also, you might want to paint the sides a different color to make the centerpiece pop! For example, you could paint the front of the canvas a sandy color then paint the sides blue (such as the color of the ocean).
2. After your paint is fully dry, you will need to have your sand ready for sprinkling, possibly in a cup or a shaker like the ones glitter come in. You will use your foam brush and coat your canvas with Mod Podge wherever you want sand.  As soon as you finish coating, start sprinkling your sand on, before the Mod Podge dries.  If you didn’t get enough sand coverage, don’t worry, let that dry and then you can put on a second layer of sand.
3. When your sand is fully dry, you might want to coat your canvas with clear spray (this is optional, not necessary).
4. Now for your cute turtle … I wanted my turtle to be a little shiny, so I sprayed the shell with some clear spray and quickly sprinkled glitter on it. Then let it dry.
5. Next, you will need to pick out pieces of sea glass you like for the head and legs. Lay out the placement of your turtle onto your canvas, then one piece at a time, glue down with E6000 or other craft glue.
6. That’s it! Let it dry completely, about 24 hours, before hanging! (note: I used a sawtooth hanger on the backside to hang my turtles)

 

There are so many possibilities that could stem from this project idea!  Get creative!  You could use shells, pebbles, and sea glass to make a crab, a jellyfish, a fish, and so much more! This project inspired me to try other ideas … which I will share with you another day.  Keep on crafting and thanks for visiting my blog!

*Here is a link to my turtle on Pinterest, if you’d like to share your completed turtles with me on Pinterest, https://www.pinterest.com/pin/229683649724784659/