DIY METALLIC CANVAS ART

So yesterday I decided to update a canvas that I had painted a long time ago but never really finished. It looked quite sad and just sat in the corner of our bedroom collecting dust.

To give it some new life, I started by painting on some white stripes over it and then applied painter's tape in the design I wanted....

took it outside and gave it a few light coats of metallic spray paint...

and was left with this after I pulled the tape off.

Now it's happily hanging in our bedroom above the headboard we made last year. :)

DIY PAINT CHIP + GLITTER CANVAS ART

Happy Monday, dear friends! :) Don't you feel like this past week just flew by?? After our trip to the northeast, we came back home to a million different things that needed to be done. Surprisingly I managed to get some time in for a few DIYs. ;)

Some of you might remember this DIY Paint Chip Art from Honey We're Home that I posted about in March. I have been collecting paint chips since then in hopes of creating something similar. Then a few weeks ago I found this fine tip glue pen at Joann's and could not even explain my excitement! What... I can't be the only one who gets giddy about stationary right?? :D

I decided to have some fun with it and came up with my own paint chip creation. With the help of some gold glitter, I created this little canvas art for E's room.

What do you think of the mint and tangerine combination? I pretty much adore it! :) Here's the simple how-to if you'd like to make one yourself:

Materials: paint chips, thin canvas board, "circle" hole punch, glue pen, glitter, 3D glue dots, pencil and ruler



Directions: Draw a faint pencil line to mark where the glitter will be. Apply the glue and sprinkle glitter over it. Next punch out some circles from the paint chips and stick them onto the canvas using 3D glue dots.



I added this little "love you" on top because we tell E this every night before bed and he always repeats it back to us. There's really nothing sweeter to our ears. :)

Quick and easy... my favorite kind of DIY. :)

Hope you all are having a great start to your week! 

FRIDAY TREATS

Another week has flown by! TGIF :D Here are a few of my favorite finds this week.

Love this DIY Paint Chip Art that Megan @ Honey We're Home created! Already have my collection of paint chips ready to go...

My mouth cannot stop watering at this lovely sight. CURED MEAT. Enough said. Oh Joy, I wish I go come with you on all your food excursions!

I seriously want to "copy and paste" this cozy family room into our home.  Love the turquoise and coral combination!

Check out this great IKEA hack from Modern Nest.  Great idea to combine two LACK side tables  to look like West Elm's parson cube side table. How cute would it be in a high gloss white?!

Definitely need to remember to do this when E gets older. :)  The wonders of masking tape!

By the way, here's a sneak peek of what I've been working on this week... Can't wait to show you the mini-updates to our family room!

Have a lovely weekend!

WALL ART IDEAS

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Before I start talking about wall art, I would like to take a moment and thank each and every one of you who have ever visited, commented, and followed/subscribed to my blog.  When I first started blogging in January, it was mainly to get some "grown-up me" time during E's afternoon naps.  I never imagined that three months later, my posts would be viewed by so many thousands of you or that I'd be making so many friends in blog land! You all are awesome! Your kind comments and emails have been such an encouragement. :D Thank you so so much from the bottom of my heart!

Now onto some ideas for wall art... :)

Filling up a large wall space can often be a daunting and expensive task. That is why I love gallery walls! Not only are they visually interesting, they work well in almost any space and with any decorating style. Also the variety of objects that can be used are unlimited! 

Next to our dining room, we have a little niche in the wall that I have seen most people fill with large vases or metal art. Instead I made a small gallery wall with these IKEA Ram wooden frames that come in a 3-pack for $1.99.

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I spray-painted them dark brown and filled the frames with catalog pictures that we brought back from our Yellowstone trip. Instead of buying the expensive prints, I cut out the sample photos and framed those instead.  

*Below is also a poster that I found at the Dollar Tree and had adhered to a large canvas.  

 

In our hallway, I used an assortment of frames (that I had spray-painted white) and made another gallery wall by framing postcards, scraps of fabric, scenic pictures that I took, the front of our wedding invitation, and bible quotes. I also hung this mirrored frame from IKEA that I had painted a soothing green.  

Calendar pictures are also great for framing and displaying as wall art. Here's an example of how we used them in our guest bedroom.

Are any of you thinking to create a gallery wall too? :) Here's an idea sheet from Ann Beck Photography to help you with the placement and spacing.

By the way, Michaela @ Michaela Noelle Designs is hosting a She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not Link Up next Wednesday! Hope you all can join in!

Until next time,

DIY CHERRY BLOSSOM CANVASES

Even though it's only been two years, the wall above the couches in our family room has already undergone a few changes.  Like our formal dining room wall, it's a rather large space and I had been trying to find a budget friendly way to fill it. Random pieces of art just didn't feel right and didn't have much meaning, so I decided to create my own canvases.  With two blank canvases, some acrylic paint, and painters tape, my first attempt looked like this:

They didn't quite come out like I wanted to, but they hung on that wall for a few months.  Then one night as I was browsing online, I found this:

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I really liked the idea and decided to make the pair myself. Here's how mine turned out:

(A few months later, I found an Ethan Allen ottoman on Craigslist for $25 and reupholstered it myself with a fabric that would compliment the canvases.)

Here's how you can make the canvases too! :)

Materials:  
2 -  20" x 20" blank canvas
ConTact paper (self-adhesive vinyl; cheapest found at Walmart with the shelf liners)
folk art acrylic paint in lemon custard
folk art acrylic paint in metallic rose
apple barrel acrylic paint in burnt umber
apple barrel acrylic paint in pewter grey 
americana acrylic paint in snow (titanium) white
small paint brush
sponge roller
exacto blade or craft knife

Directions:
Using the sponge roller, evenly apply 2-3 layers of the lemon custard on the canvases.

While the canvases dry, sketch a picture of the cherry blossoms on the back of the ConTact paper. Cut out the sketch with an exacto blade or craft knife. What is left of the ConTact paper (not the cut-out) will serve as your stencil.  

Next, peel off the backing of your stencil and carefully place the sticky side onto the dry canvas. Make sure you smooth out all the edges that will be met by paint before painting. This will help prevent paint seeping into unwanted areas and produce a clean finish. When you are ready, paint in all the empty areas with the desired colors. When you are done, carefully pull off the ConTact "stencil."

Wipe off any extra paint and reapply your stencil to the second canvas and repeat.  

*You can frame the canvas or paint in your own like I  *did by mixing the pewter grey with the snow (titanium) white for a metallic finish.  
  

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Also, yesterday DIYShowOff featured a makeover I did last week!  Click on the button below to take a peek.  Thanks so much for the feature, Roeshel!

DIY PAINT STICKS SIGN

So funny story, this project was not my original intention when I first started. I had initially gathered all my supplies to create this sunburst mirror that I had been eyeing for a while on Pinterest.  The huge wall in our formal dining room had been empty for more than a year and needed something to fill it.  This DIY seemed pretty cool and would be large enough to fill that space.

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Unfortunately, after many hours of painting and gluing the pieces together, when I finally completed it, I was not at all happy with the way it looked.  I felt like I was in an Aztec temple... o.O Perhaps it was the paint color or the type of sticks I had... Whatever it was, it just wasn't working for me.    

Sad that I had put so much time and effort into it, I decided to break the whole thing down and use the sticks to make something else. Here's what I ended up with:

For some reason, the green appears neon in the picture, but it really looks a lot better in person.  (I need to work on my photography skills o.O)  Right now, it is happily sitting on our mantle in our family room.  P.S. I love this song by Howard Higashi!

Here's how you can create this yourself:

Materials:  

valspar 12 oz. brown velvet satin premium spray paint

30 wooden paint stir sticks (you can get these for free if you ask around some paint stores)

4 craft mirrors

1 decocolor acrylic paint marker in light green

hot glue gun + sticks

newspapers

Directions:

First, lay two paint sticks side by side (forming a horizontal line).  Glue 21 sticks across the top (lying vertically) with the glue gun.  Trim off any excess wood with scissors.  Gently flip the whole thing over and glue two more sticks across the bottom over the 21 sticks.  For extra reinforcement, you may glue on additional sticks to the back. 

Next, glue on the craft mirrors at each corner.  Once the whole piece has dried, place it over some newspapers.  Spray paint the entire piece in brown velvet.  Let it dry for half an hour.  Lastly, pick the quote of your choice and write it on with the acrylic marker.  

DIY STENCILED CANVAS ART

Late last year, while I was doing some cleaning around the house, I came across this air freshener that was almost used up.  I was about to toss the whole thing, but then decided to keep the lid because it had a really unique pattern.  I had no idea what I was going to do with it but kept it just in case.  

Then a few months later, while I was trying to paint over two used canvases that I no longer liked, a great idea popped up in my mind!  For the longest time, our guest bathroom wall (above the toilet) was pretty bare.  I tried hanging a framed drawing that a friend had given to me, but the black and white colors didn't seem to complement the space very well.  I decided to make some canvas art to hopefully liven up that space.  I grabbed some acrylic paints and my air freshener lid and came up with this:

What do y'all think?? :) I personally loved it a lot better. (Sorry I don't have a before picture to show you!)  It's not perfectly painted and still had a few rough edges, but I was pretty satisfied with the way they came out.  

Thinking about trying this out for yourself? Here's what you'll need:

MATERIALS:

• blank canvas
• sponge roller
• paint brushes
• painter's tape
• apple barrel's acrylic paint in burnt umber
• folk art's acrylic paint in metallic inca gold
• folk art's acrylic paint in metallic ice blue
• folk art's acrylic paint in metallic peridot
• plastic lid of a renuzit's air freshener (the pattern will serve as your stencil)

DIRECTIONS:
Using a sponge roller, coat both canvases with burnt umber.  Repeat 2 to 3 layers depending on desired look.  Let the paint dry for 30 min.

Tape off the middle sections using painter's tape to achieve the ribbon look.  Paint in between the tape with metallic inca gold.  Let the paint dry for 10-15 min.

Place the flat side of the air freshener lid in the middle of the "ribbon."  Using a thin paint brush, fill in the empty spaces of your "stencil" with the remaining paints.  One will be in metallic peridot and the other will be in metallic ice blue.

Let the paint dry for another 10 min. before hanging the canvases up.

ATTN: All INSTAGRAM LOVERS

Check out this clever and super affordable wall art that Michelle @ Ten June created with using Instagram + Picnik (free online editing tool) + Ookimage (online print shop)! 

What an awesome way to display your travels, important life events, or simply a creative way to gift memories for a loved one! :)

{photo credit}