First of all, today is Jax’s birthday over at http://alyandash.com. Head on over and tell her Happy Birthday!
Here is what I gave Jax for her birthday….
It is an Engraved burlap wall hanging. Yep, I said engraved! Crazy right?
I was trying to think of a cute little gift I could make for Jax and suddenly I remembered a conversation we had like 6 weeks ago. She came over to my house and saw I had covered a board with burlap. (6 weeks later and it is still just a board covered in burlap!) She said, “that looks cool. I would put the Eiffel Tower on it.” Well Jax, I hope you meant that! 😉
I was going to try and freezer paper stencil the Eiffel Tower on. As I was preparing all of my stuff to cut the freezer paper on the laser engraver, I had a Eureka! moment. Wouldn’t it be cool if I could get the laser to engrave on the burlap? With some luck it will turn dark brown and look painted, or stamped.
Lots of fiddling around with the settings later, I got it to work. I was a little worried because burlap is very flammable and the laser has caused a fire or two in it’s time. Thankfully we were blaze free!! I am so excited with the way it turned out. I have lots of ideas rolling around for other things I could engrave on burlap.
Here is a close-up shot of the tower. It looks like the laser just sort of burned away some of the “fluff” in the fibers. When you compare engraved to not engraved, the weave looks much farther apart on the engraved.
I am going to skip a full tutorial but if you want to try freezer paper or stamping, here is generally what I did.
1. Spray paint a board or wood plaque. I used an ivory color, but white would have been just fine too!
2. Staple or hot glue the burlap onto the board. I used hot glue. Make sure you pull the burlap nice and tight so it isn’t “baggy” on the front.
3. Stamp or freezer stencil away.
**Tip- I would use acrylic paint as opposed to fabric paint. I would also use an almost dry brush. You want the paint on the burlap and not necessarily all over the board underneath. Jax used this “dry paint” technique on her Rock Star shirt, if you want some more details. For stamping, I would see what happens if you used regular stamp ink.
- I found the Eiffel Tower here:http://scale-files.blogspot.com/
- Great for anyone with Sure Cuts a Lot to cut out on their Cricut. I think almost any graphics program can open SVG files, so it might work even if you want to do it by hand.
- The font is called Porcelain and can be downloaded at dafont.com
4. Attach something to hang it up with. I ended up using a 3M command strip on the back. I wanted to use one of those sawtooth hangers, but the nails were too long for this thin wood plaque of wood.
Happy Birthday Jax! I hope you love your present.
Post Edit: I have been getting some questions about my laser. Here is a previous post that has some pictures and explains a little bit better! http://www.cuteasafox.com/?p=647
So how jealous are all of you that I got this amazing gift! Hee Hee Sorry I couldn’t help but rub it in a little! Thank you so much Ashley! I absolutely LOVE it!
So cute! I love it. We are soooo jealous. 🙂
Clueless Question: What kind of laser did you use?
Very adorable, I’m sure she loved it!
Tracey
Thanks for sharing, I will absolutely be sending my readers your way! LOVE IT!
Nice idea! Thanks for sharing.
I LOVE it! Tres chic!
This is so pretty! What an interesting technique you came up with!
It looks great, but I am not sure I understand what engraving means? Did you use your cricut to burn the image on your burlap?
That is fantastic! What a lucky birthday girl!
Thanks for linking up to the Mad Skills party!
Most excellent! I love the way that image turned out. Unfortunately I don’t have your equipment, but I DO have freezer paper, so all is well!
This is so cool!
That is very cute! Brave woman—lasering sounds really cool!
WOW! This turned out A-MA-zing! I can’t believe all of the ways we can use burlap!!
Love it! Sooo cute!
What a wonderful idea! Thanks for sharing!
That is sooo interesting! I LOVE it!
Thanks for sharing @ Anything Related No.11!
{Rebekah}
This is amazing. thanks for leting us in on it.
blessings
barbara jean
Oh came over from all thingz related.
Ok…I am totally going to have to find out what a laser engraver is because I think I want one now! ~Bridgette
This turned out terrific! Thanks for sharing it on Modern Craftswoman Monday! Rory
Would love it if you would join me for my 2nd linky party tonight!!
http://lifeinmypjs.blogspot.com/2010/06/pajama-party-2.html
~Ela
Really neat technique & digging the Eiffel Tower design! Thanks for linking to Craftastic Monday:)
You won the countdown blocks!!! I think I still have your address on my email, you lucky dog, you!!!
Come check it out @
The Sew*er, The Caker, The CopyCat Maker
http://sewcakemake.blogspot.com
That is VERY cool! Love the way it turned out!
What a great birthday gift! I love the idea! Thanks for linking up to Hoo’s got talent!
This is beautiful, I’m glad no fires were started. The Eiffel tower was a great choice. I’d love to see this linked to Fabric Fun Thursday!
great tutorial and beautiful gift! it’s interesting and a bit special ~ that’s what I see in it at least.
am inviting you to join
http://www.finecraftguild.com/diy-tutorial-linky-party/
for a link back to your site
That is such a lovely gift and an excellent idea too. I love it!
Best wishes,
Natasha.
That is really impressive. Sure beats hand stenciling! We looked at cool laser engravers at the “Maker Faire” last month and I couldn’t believe what they could do. Just read your post about the laser…might have to get one. Thankfully, my husband loves tools and gadgets, too. Love La Tour Eiffel….I just finished a burlap “Paris” Pillow. Might have to add some scrolls when I get that laser engraver?
http://lamaisonreid.blogspot.com/2010/06/making-burlap-paris-pillow.html
Just wanted to let you know that I featured you today on Favorite Things Friday!
Wow! I would love if you linked this to the French Obsession on July 1st! So pretty and cool!
Xo
Frenchy
Oh wow–fantastique!!! C’est magnifique!
You did an awesome job and it’s gorgeous!
HUGS,
Cindy
I’ve got a brand-new blog…I hope you’ll come visit!
Oh, I luv your blog! Just gotta try this! Have a wonderful day!
Leticia
This is so pretty!
You are so creative. Thank you for linking up! You rock!
XO
Frenchy
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Hello! I was wondering if you might be willing to share what settings you used on the laser to achieve this result! I have a laser engraver myself but am pretty new to this so the idea of figuring this out on my own is a bit scary. LOL It would be so greatly appreciated if you could share your tips. 🙂
Great post dear, thanks for sharing with all of us. I like this one. I also want to share a very great site with us which provide personalized, Monogrammed and engraved gifts.Engraved flasks, Jewelry, compact mirrors, money clips and more at very cost effective rates.
Really this is looking nice…