Family photos fit into feng shui

Hands-on time: 2 to 3 hours
Total time: add 20 minutes for drying time
Skill: Moderate
Cost estimate: Under $30

Materials & tools

• 2 mounted artist canvases (16 x 90 centimetres and 30 x 90 centimetres)
• Acrylic paints in choice of colours (I used a combination of moss, dark green and brown)
• Lint-free cloth, slightly damp, blotter paper
• Textured wallpaper (or remnant pieces)
• Scissors, X-acto knife
• Ruler and pencil
• Newspapers
• 3M Super 77 spray adhesive
• Staple gun and staples (optional)
• Sheet of foamcore paperboard
• Five family photographs (11 x 11 centimetres) printed on print canvas sheets by Fredrix, (formulated for computer printouts) or use quality photo paper, or original photographs in desired size
• Four 3-centimetre-long screws or nails, screwdriver or a power screwdriver or hammer
• Five Velcro squares with adhesive backing

In the feng shui tradition, honouring the family is a source of good fortune and wisdom. Spring is the perfect time to honour your loved ones by renewing your favourite family pictures. Honouring your family the feng shui way means placing family images in the health and family sector of your house. Locating this sector of your house can be done using a bugua. The bagua - an octagonal map showing directions, elements and colours representing the journey of life - locates the family sector in the middle left of the east part of your home. This sector is traditionally decorated with wood elements like wicker and paper. The prominent colour is green and the principal shapes are rectangles and squares. In this project, you can combine all these elements to create a refreshing display of treasured photographs.

Spring is also the time when we tidy up. Rather than throwing out bits of unused wallpaper, you can utilize them to enhance your favourite family photos.

To start, put blobs of acrylic paint colour onto the blotter paper. Place the slightly damp cloth on the blobs of paint. Take the damp cloth and lightly apply the paint onto your widest canvas in a circular motion, creating a mix of colour. Blend the colours with the cloth to make a camouflage effect. Let the canvas dry. Varnish it if you wish.

Lay newspapers on a work table in a well-ventilated area. Cut out a piece of wallpaper (21 x 95 centimetres) to cover the smaller canvas. Spray adhesive onto the back of the wallpaper. Quickly centre it over the front of the smaller canvas. Smooth and pat it into place with your hands. Turn the canvas over. With an X-acto knife, cut a V-notch into the corners of the wallpaper. This will allow it to fold nicely around the back of the canvas. Spray adhesive along the sides and back of the canvas wood frame. Starting with the top and bottom, pat the wallpaper into place over the wood frame. Do the same with the sides, folding the V-notched corners into place. Using a staple gun, place a few staples around the wooden border, to secure the wallpaper further (optional).

Measure the top and bottom of each canvas, finding the centre point on each. Place a pencil line at the centre top and bottom of the canvases. Centre the wallpapered canvas on top of the painted one. Turn them over, align the pencil lines and attach the canvases through the wooden frames with two 3-centimetre screws or nails at the top and at the bottom.

Preparing the photos. You can either use original photographs of any size you wish or print five scanned or digital photos of your family onto canvas sheets or quality photo paper. These should measure 11 x 11 centimetres each. Use a ruler and an X-acto knife to cut out five foamcore squares (11 x 11 centimetres). Affix the pictures to the foamcore squares using adhesive spray.

To attach the mounted photographs onto the smaller canvas, mark a place for each one. Peel the backing off one side of a Velcro square and press the Velcro onto the centre back of a picture. Peel off the second backing of the Velcro and secure the picture to the canvas. Repeat this step until all the photographs are mounted in place. Using Velcro allows you to put up new pictures without damaging the canvas. All that is left to do is to find the perfect place to hang up your family canvas art.

Variations

• Create a canvas picture gallery using different sizes of canvas and picture shapes. Smaller canvases with individual pictures can be used for a family montage on a bare wall.
• You can also place the wallpaper over the larger canvas, and paint the smaller one. For a contemporary look, paint stripes on the canvas using painter's tape. For a country look, paint a tree as your background and make a family tree.