DIY Wall Art

in Design and Decorating, House

Success!

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After trying my hand at DIY wall art for the bathroom (and failing), you think I’d be scared to try again… but I found this post on New Domestic that described a super easy way to make modern art.  I figured I would give it another shot.

 

If you can put painter’s tape on a canvas, you can make this art! 

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I had been looking for art to go over the couch for a while, but it was difficult to find something that worked because of 1) the color scheme in the room and 2) the desired proportions of the painting – long and thin.  TWSS.

 

I’ve got a lot of textures and patterns going on in the living room!  It’s a bit crazy but works in real life.

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I wanted a painting that was tan (to pick up the couch and colors in the chair), silver (to pick up the lamp), and purple (to pick up the rug).  That’s a hard color combo to find.  So DIY art it was!

 

To make the art, you simply block off section of the canvas with thin painter’s tape (I used 1/2 inch; wish I could’ve found 1/4 inch) and paint them in with acrylic paint.  When it dries, you peel off the tape and – TADA! – instant art. 

 

I didn’t go at it blindly, though.  I used the paint program on my computer to create a draft of what I wanted done, and then I emailed the picture to my iPhone and used it as a guide to tape off the canvas.  Oh, technology.

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A line or two got eliminated when I actually put the tape on the canvas because I wasn’t too exact, but it was very helpful to have a guide. 

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Some parts of the paint bled through, but I corrected it with white paint.  You can hardly tell when looking at it from the chairs or the couch. 

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Final thoughts:  does it look like a professional painting?  Well… probably not.  One friend walked in and immediately said, “Oh, did you paint that?  How cool.”  But when I told DadHTP that I painted it, he seemed moderately surprised and impressed.  And it only cost about $40 in total.  (If you’ve got a Michael’s near you, download their app – they always have great coupons like 40% off anything in the store.)

 

Regardless of whether it looks pro, it does perfectly match the room and brings some color to the space.  Oh, and the lamp?  I don’t mind that it’s a little bit in the way of the painting because – odds are – it’s going to be out of the room in just a few months.  It’s about the most un-child friendly thing we could’ve bought (there’s a weight that hangs from the end of it to counterbalance the lampshade, thus making it look like a really cool toy).  Good thing we have an attic space to store it in for, oh, the next five years?

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Got any DIY projects planned for this weekend?

{ 33 comments }

 

  • Claire @ Live and Love to Eat September 21, 2012, 12:34 pm

    I love the idea! It’s a great way to tie in different colors in the room. Pinterest gives me just a tiny little desire to be more artsy.

  • Kristen L September 21, 2012, 12:40 pm

    I think your art looks super awesome! Sometimes it is just so much better knowing you made it. My college roommate and I made this huge multi-canvas art that I still have up in my living room because I love it so much.

  • Kristen September 21, 2012, 1:12 pm

    Hey….. I was the one that gave you that idea with my kids art!
    Yours turned out great – nice job : )

  • Laura September 21, 2012, 1:12 pm

    I was going to post on here that you should try the painters tape canvas thing and boom, you just did it! haha

  • Natalie @ Free Range Human September 21, 2012, 1:15 pm

    That’s a great job! I think we are finally going to put up closet doors. We took down the old ones to replace when we first moved into our house. That was three years ago……

  • mari September 21, 2012, 1:33 pm

    cool project, looks really good! (I would lower it just a little bit though, the top of the painting should hit right above the bottom of the lamp, ref: first image)

  • Kristy @ Kristy's Health Revolution September 21, 2012, 1:52 pm

    I think it looks great, and the fact that there are little imperfections makes it better. Then people know you didn’t buy it pre-made, which makes it more special. I’m ALL about DIY! When you get rid of that lamp because Henry is mobile, you could put two safer lamps on either side of the couch and it would balance perfectly.

  • Kerry September 21, 2012, 1:53 pm

    Nice job! It looks really professional, well done!

  • Jennifer V. September 21, 2012, 2:24 pm

    What a great idea! I love it!!!!

  • Amanda @ life in bloom September 21, 2012, 2:47 pm

    Awesome! I totally would have been scared off from the first try! Even though $40 isn’t a lot compared to what you would spend on a professional piece, it seems like a lot for me to gamble with. Way to go, you totally pulled it off!

  • Katie @ Peace Love & Oats September 21, 2012, 3:00 pm

    Very cool! Haha ANYONE can do that, I remember doing that same technique in art class when I was much younger! And my DIY project for this weekend is to simply CLEAN my apartment! Haha it’s become a mess since I was staying at my brother’s for a week taking care of his puppy.

  • Ellen @ Wannabe Health Nut September 21, 2012, 3:04 pm

    Wow, I’m impressed! I’m HORRIBLE at crafts and DIY stuff so I will most likely not be doing anything related. However, I am a fan of DIY when it comes to food and cooking at home. 🙂

  • Carrie @ Fitness and Frozen Grapes September 21, 2012, 3:18 pm

    Very cool, Caitlin–it looks great! I’m horrible when it comes to drawing, sketching, and painting (anything artistic, really!), so even a relatively easy DIY project like yours intimidates me. DIY cooking and triathlon wetsuit repairing I can handle, though. 😉

  • Life's a Bowl September 21, 2012, 3:34 pm

    Fun day 🙂 I love DIY projects, especially when using easy-to-find products!

    I’ve got a list of projects that I’d like to do since we got married earlier this month… Two biggies include making a collage of all the cards we received and constructing some sort of initial of our last name “S” using all of the corks from the bottles of wine that were consumed 😛

  • Annette@FitnessPerks September 21, 2012, 3:49 pm

    Oooh that is such a cool idea! I totally love it.

  • Erin September 21, 2012, 3:51 pm

    i think you did a great job! i think it’d look a bit better if hung lower (maybe 6 inches or so).. just my $0.02 🙂

  • Shana September 21, 2012, 3:56 pm

    Pretty, but needs to be hung lower… maybe 6 inches?!?

  • Susan September 21, 2012, 4:20 pm

    I love it!!!
    Where did you get the canvas and paint from?

    • Caitlin September 21, 2012, 7:12 pm

      Michaels!

  • Katie @ Talk Less, Say More September 21, 2012, 5:23 pm

    What a great DIY! The only DIY I have planned for this weekend is making some lattes….for other people…at work. 😉

  • Mckenna September 21, 2012, 5:47 pm

    That looks great – I have done the exact same thing but instead of using canvas I used a long door/closet mirror that I found at the thrift store. It was awesome, looked sort of ‘broken’ – it turned out lovely.

    • Mihaila September 21, 2012, 5:49 pm

      YES!!! I have done the same thing before but purchased a long mirror from Walmart – a cheap one, probably about 5 dollars. Covered it different ways with tape and painted over it – then removed the tape and it looks awesome. It’s hung horizontally above our tv.

  • Karen @ Runner Girl Eats September 21, 2012, 6:38 pm

    I love DIY stuff. I actually just made a fall wreath for my front door this morning. It’s so much fun to personalize something for your own space. I might try this canvas project for our living room, we’ve been (unsuccessfully) looking for something for the wall for a while.

  • Aja September 21, 2012, 6:58 pm

    That looks really awesome! It matches your room perfectly. I think that’s more special than going out and buying a painting. You can proudly say that you made that and Henry can brag about his awesome DIY mom when he’s big enough to talk.

  • Kirsten @ Confessions of a Jogaholic September 21, 2012, 7:25 pm

    LOVE this, Caitlin! You’ve done well! 🙂

  • emily September 21, 2012, 8:16 pm

    Pinning! I really am, but also, say that in the voice of Charlie Sheen’s “winning!”

  • Marilyn @ Lipgloss and Spandex September 21, 2012, 11:09 pm

    Nice job! Yours turned out really well. 🙂

  • Liz September 21, 2012, 11:50 pm

    Great job! Just FYI, you should pull the tape off as soon as you’re done painting. Otherwise the paint can chip when it’s dry.

  • Alex @ Raw Recovery September 22, 2012, 1:52 am

    That looks great, Caitlin! I love it and I have some spare canvases so I might just have to try that!

  • j3nn September 22, 2012, 3:36 am

    That looks really good!! Job well-done. 🙂

  • Sara @my less serious life September 22, 2012, 8:16 am

    where is that couch from? i’m looking for one just like this!

    • Caitlin September 22, 2012, 10:37 am

      west elm! it’s also a futon!

  • Coco September 22, 2012, 9:37 am

    I dig it! It looks great.. and I’m like you guys… I have a bunch of mismatched items in my house that just happen to work (at least in my eyes!)

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