Our Temporary Home: Part 2- 3 DIY Canvas Ideas

It's time for Part 2 of the Our Temporary Home series! This week, I'll be showing you three DIY canvases that I have made for our master bedroom/bathroom-- and hopefully inspiring you to try something similar!

Supplies:

Canvas in whatever size works for you

2 cans of spray paint (one for the lettering color, one for the top color) in your chosen color story

Scrapbooking letters

Step 1: Spray the entire canvas (including the sides) with your base color. This will be the color of your letters, and works best when this color is lighter than your top color. Allow to dry completely (preferably overnight). This project is best accomplished over a weekend.

Step 2: Choose your message. Cut out the scrapbook letters you will need and arrange them on the canvas without taking the backing off until you are happy with the composition. This helps avoid running out of space or the composition looking weird.

Step 3: Affix the letters. Spray the entire canvas again with your top color, making sure you can no longer see the base color in any spots. Allow to dry completely. 

Step 4: Carefully peel off the letters, and voila!

I made these when my husband and I were dating, before we moved in together, as a Valentine's gift. The one on the left is the one I made for him, using the color story from his living room (blue and brown). The one on the right is the one I made for my bedroom, and as you can see, the colors I chose for it (olive and grey, based on my comforter set at the time) were a little too similar and the lettering isn't as clear because of this. The lyrics I chose have special meaning to my husband and I, though, so even though they no longer match our room colors, I still keep them up for sentimental reasons.

The wall hanging on the left is the first piece of art I ever purchased, and I used it as inspiration for the color story of the master bathroom-- black and white with pops of blue. I wanted something with a more graphic feel, in black and white only, to also hang in there. After seeing this tutorial on A Beautiful Mess, I decided to try and incorporate the same idea but in canvas form. 

Supplies: 

Canvas in whatever size works for you

Wide paint brush

Acrylic paint in whatever color you want the wording to be

Step 1: Choose your message. On a piece of paper, play around with the composition until you are happy with it. I knew I didn't want each line to look exactly the same, with all the I love you's aligned, so it took me a few tries to figure out how many letters across and how many lines down I wanted it to be so that it was more off-center.

Step 2: Using a pencil, lightly pencil in your lettering directly onto the canvas where you want to paint it.

Step 3: Paint over the penciling. You may have to go over each letter a few times to make the letters thick and solid. Allow to dry completely. This DIY can be accomplished in one afternoon/evening.

I made this one because I love abstract art, and I wanted another wall hanging for our master bedroom. After searching Etsy and not being able to find anything that fit the color story of our bedroom (at least not in my price range), I once again resorted to DIY. 

Supplies:

Canvas in whatever size works for you

Paintbrushes of varying sizes

Acrylic paints in whatever colors you need for your color story (I used green, red, and yellow, and mixed varying degrees of white with each to make different shades, then added some graphic touches with the black from the last DIY)

There really aren't any instructions for this one, all I did was mix my colors until I was happy with them, then painted vertical lines with them. I used different shades and different brush sizes to add variety, then added a few graphic elements with the black where it felt a little empty. There are no wrong answers with this one! I think that's why this one is my favorite. This one can also be accomplished in one afternoon or evening (preferably while blaring music that makes you feel creative). 

The best  thing about all three of these is that I was able to create artwork for our space, at a price point that I could swallow, and that are customized to the color stories in those spaces and therefore will always have a place on our walls, no matter what house we're living in!

What do you think? Will you be giving any of these a try this weekend? 

(Oh, and PS, I'm also guest posting for Bri over at Work Clothes, I Suppose, if you want to see an outfit from me today too!)

You can read Part 1 of this series here.