Over this past year, I’ve become fixated with wall art. I’ve been admiring the “gallery wall” for quite a long time now and have been in the process of collecting novel vintage-inspired frames and a variety of prints that I find inspiring over the past year.

I haven’t decided how I’ll be arranging the frames let alone which wall I want to put the gallery on (I’m just not there yet), but I figured it’s better to collect everything I would want to display first.

As of lately, “You Make Your Own Luck” has been a bit of a personal motto as a way to keep myself in check and finish out 2014 strong. I’ve been doing a lot of deep-thinking we are 2/3 of the way through 2014 already. There isn’t much time to complete any outstanding goals that I set out for myself at the beginning of the year.

For now, I’ve got this sign up in my workspace as a reminder and to serve as inspiration. It’s surprisingly easy to make, and I’m not exaggerating. You can easily make this in an evening while watching Netflix. And they are pretty addicting to make! You might just find your inner artist and bust out a whole collection!

“You Make Your Own Lucky” Embroidered Quote Canvas Sign

Supplies:

• 5″x7″ Canvas
• Acrylic paint in the colors of your choice
• Paintbrush
• Embroidery floss
• Needle for hand-sewing
• A quote, saying, or phrase of your choice, paper, and tape

Directions:

1. Paint your 5″x7″ canvas however you like. I chose to do vertical brush strokes in coordinating colors to create an abstract design. You could also do shapes like a series of triangles, hexagons, and circles. Or, perhaps a paint splatter. There are so many options!

I love the way the carnation pink and salmon shades contrast against the black. Let it dry between colors and strokes. Depending on the intricacy of your design, this may take a little or a long time. Mine took about 30 minutes to actually do, and then I let the canvas dry for 30 more minutes just to be safe.

2. Next, print out a quote or pull out a quote from a magazine that you would like to use. I formatted a quote on word processing software (on a 3.5″x5″ size) and printed it out. I then centered the quote and taped it to the front of the canvas. You will need to base the size of the quote on how much space you have inside the wooden frames of the canvas. If you go beyond the frame, you will not be able to push the needle through the canvas.

3. Using the needle, poke holes along the letters of the canvas. Try to make the dots equidistant so that the stitches will look as even as possible. This will guide you through the embroidery process and make the process so much easier! Take my advice! This will make it look so much neater and cut your craft time in half.

4. Do a back-stitch through the holes of the letters. When you’re done, make sure the embroidery threads are securely knotted. You can even tape the back to make sure the threads are secure and don’t get caught on anything, or cover up with a strip of fabric to make it look neat and clean.

But that’s it! The project really doesn’t take long to do, and as long as you follow the advice given you will have an awesome time making your own embroidered quote canvas sign!