Decoupaged Fruit Art (Land of Nod Knock Off)

Good morning! Is the weather where you are as schizophrenic as it is here? Yesterday it was 55 degrees...today it's freezing cold and there's snow on the ground. I'm OK with winter for a bit longer--I haven't had my fill of fires, red wine, and soup on the stove--but I wish it would make up its mind.

Anyway, I made something over the weekend I've been thinking about for 3 years. Now that it's done and I've realized how easy it was, I'm not sure why I waited so long. Remember those adorable fruit canvases from Land of Nod?

Well, they actually don't sell them anymore, not that I would've bought one anyway. They were $119 each! But I liked the size of them, and had always envisioned a green pear in our oldest daughter's room. Then I saw this cover of Martha Stewart Living Magazine and decided I could make one of my own.

So here's what I did:

Decoupaged Fruit Art
Nap Rating = 1 nap (plus a few minutes stolen here and there for more coats of Mod Podge)

Tools & Materials

• One canvas in the size you want (I bought a 24" by 36" one 50% off at Jo-Ann's)
• 1/2 yard of fabric and a scrap of coordinating fabric for the stem
• paintbrush
• Mod Podge
• Scissors
• Fabric pencil or pen
• Printer
• Tape

Steps

1. Find an image of the fruit you want to use on the computer. Save it to your hard drive and insert it into a blank document using Microsoft Publisher.
2. Resize your document to the size of your canvas. Print out the image. It will come out in tiles.
3. Cut out the negative space on each tile, then piece them together like a puzzle.





4. Tape the tiles together. This doesn't have to be perfect...just so you get the basic shape.
5. After you piece and tape the whole thing together, turn it upside down and center it on the wrong side of your fabric. If you're using a striped or plaid pattern, just make sure your stripes are straight.



6. Trace the image onto your fabric. I used a pen because I don't have a fabric pencil, but if you do this, just make sure to cut slightly inside your trace mark.



7. If you're using a coordinating fabric for the stem, trace this portion, too.
8. Cut out the patterns.
9. Paint a generous amount of Mod Podge over the entire canvas--edge to edge. Then center your fabric cut-out on top, and paint Mod Podge over the whole thing again, paying special attention to the edges of your fabric.

10. Let the first coat dry, then repeat this process at least 2 more times so it looks nice and shiny.

And here's how it looks hanging over our daughter's bed. I love it, and I'm so glad I finally got around to making it! It only took me 3 years...