{DIY} Burlap sacks into art

While browsing an indoor flea market a few weeks ago, we found these two large old coffee sacks (originating from Colombia) for $7 each. Since we have lots of empty walls and a small budget for house projects, we decided to build wood frames and transform these coffee sacks into art. If you already own the tools, this is an inexpensive way to use a lot of space on a wall.

Supplies needed: old burlap sacks (check a local flea market or eBay), 2 pieces of neutral/thin fabric the same size as the burlap sacks, wood (depends on the size of your burlap sacks; we used two 2x2x8 pieces), ataple gun and (LOTS of) staples, screws, scissors or pocket knife, jigsaw, drill

Before building the frame, measure the burlap sacks. For example, if your burlap sacks are 26" tall, your frame will need to be 20" tall to allow space (3" top & bottom) to wrap the fabric around the wood.

1. Use a jigsaw to cut the wood to the appropriate measurements. You'll need 5 pieces per frame (see photo on the right). For a frame that's 20x30" (like ours), you'll need two 30" pieces (for the height) and three 17" pieces (for the width). Note: the three 17" pieces are shorter than 20" to account for the thickness of the wood. 2. Use the drill to connect all of the pieces together, like in the photo on the right. Start by making the square first, then add in the middle piece last. 3. This is what you should end up with - wooden support frames.

Cut the feed sack in half. 1. Trim the rough edges with either a pocket knife (what we used) or scissors. 2. Next, layer from bottom to top: burlap sack face down, thin fabric (the purpose of this is to help with tightening and to give it a more finished look if the burlap sack has holes in it), wood frame. 3. Fold both layers of fabric over the wood frame tightly and begin stapling. It works best to staple a few in the top middle of the wood, then a few more in the bottom middle, and then the side middles - and then fill in around the rest of the frame. 4. If the burlap texture is really coarse (like ours), it helps to staple in various directions (a few horizontal, a few vertical). Continue stapling until all of the edges lay flat against the back of the wood frame and are all secure.

This is what the finished coffee sacks look like once stapled to their new wooden frames. Now you're ready to place the art in its new home! You can hang them (just attach a sawtooth picture hanger on the back) or rest them against the wall on a table. Wouldn't these be fun in the kitchen by the coffee maker?

We hung our art in the living room, where we've been inspired by travel and such. These two pieces fit right in.