Our Family Rules Tutorial

My family rules. It's a fact.

My family also has rules. It's another fact.

Years ago, I saw a family rules canvas on The Pleated Poppy. As soon as I saw it, I knew I would make my own. It's only taken me two years, but I finally got mine done.

This month, I participated in a challenge for ScribbleShop.com. The idea was that I'd get a box of craft supplies, and I'd have to come up with a craft using all of the items inside.

Family Rules Poster Materials

• One very large canvas (I used 24x36.)
• Acrylic paint
• Paint brushes
• Scrapbook paper or cardstock
• Colored pencils
• Rub-ons
• Craft sticks
• Stencil
• A stamp pad
• Mod Podge - Not in the picture because one of my crazy children ran off with it, and I had to buy more.
• Glitter dots
• Glass marble accents
• Raffia

Making A Family Rules Poster

1. The first step is to paint your large canvas. (I swear I took pictures of the painting, but apparently, I did not. Use your imagination.) I painted the whole thing including the edges. It took three coats to get nice, bold, even color.

2. Choose scrapbook papers to make up the design and decide in what order you'll lay them out on your poster.

3. Decide on your family rules. I typed mine out in pretty fonts, and I tried to print them on my fancy scrapbook paper.

It didn't go well.

Partly because glittery scrapbook paper doesn't hold printer ink and partly because telling my printer to print on 6" x 12" pieces of paper went badly, I had to scrap the printed out rules plan.

4. Because I was going to have to write or draw the rules on the papers, I decided to cut the strips of paper next. I had 19 rules and 36 inches of poster, so I made each strip 1.25" tall. I cut the strips from patterned cardstock and put a small piece of tape on the back to hold them together end to end.

5. I have virtually no drawing or writing talent, but I was able to look at the computer screen and approximate the shapes and sizes of the letters by hand, with a Sharpie marker.

6. Next, I decorated the rules. I used the colored pencils and the stencil on some.

I used the ink pad to add a border to some.

I applied a rub-on to one of them. This was my first ever rub-on experience, but it wasn't hard. I put a piece of clear tape on each end of the rub-on to hold it in place then used a craft stick to rub the words onto the paper. When the words became cloudy, they were adhered to the paper (see the U below?).

7. The next step was the most nerve-wracking. Lay out the papers in the order you want them to go.

At this point, take off the tape on the back of the papers. You'll see why that's important shortly.

8. Working in small sections, apply a very thin layer of Mod Podge to the canvas and glue the papers down. Carefully smooth each one out to remove any bubbles or puckering that may develop.

Let the whole thing dry completely.

9. Coat the papers with another layer of Mod Podge, to seal them.

Like before, keep the Mod Podge thin. If you leave big streaks of Mod Podge, they will turn clear but remain big streaks of Mod Podge when they're dry.

Let it dry completely again.

10. Coat the whole thing with Mod Podge one more time for good measure. Be careful about those streaks. I wiped the ones below off.

Remember how I told you to take the tape off of the back of the papers? I left the tape on, and most of my papers puckered in the center. See?

It's driving me crazy but there's nothing I can do about it.

11. The last step is to add embellishments on top of the Mod Podge. I added glittered dots in the o's in good, green glass accents (some on top of gold foil from the Ferraro Roche candy that Scribble Shop sent me) in between do your best and have fun, and raffia around Pray every day.

12. Hang up your poster!

Our Family Rules

• Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.
• Use nice words - ignore naughty ones
• Apologize sincerely & forgive freely
• Respect each other - take responsibility
• Clean up after yourself - take care of your things
• Share everything - give to others first
• Save a present for tomorrow (This was Grace's addition. See more of her rules in tomorrow's post.)
• Obey your parents
• Find the good & be thankful
• Think - be a good listener
• Never never never never give up - do your best - have fun
• Always tell the truth
• Make healthy choices
• Share your joy & encourage each other
• Be kind and listen well
• Keep your promises
• Say "I love you" - give hugs & kisses daily
• Pray every day

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What would you have made with these materials?

This post is sponsored by ScribbleShop.com.