DIY Canvas Art

I've seen this one circling Pinterest for awhile, but never really found one with super clear instructions. Most of the pins are just pictures of the finished product. And I know, it's really not that difficult and probably summed up in a simple phrase: Put painter's tape on a canvas and paint over it. (The "peel the tape off after it's dry and you have awesome original wall art" part is implied). But I figured I'd write my own blog, give my two cents, add all the little tips that none of these sites seem to have. So after my adventures with paint and stickers, I thought I'd give this one a try. Sara was looking for a fun and easy project for her youth group to do while on a retreat, and so we decided to test it out. I think they turned out well!

Supplies:

~canvas

~paint

~paintbrushes

~masking/painter's tape

~newspaper (if you want to cover the table)

Step 1: Paint the canvas. 

Pretty basic. Apparently neither one of us likes red paint, haha.

Step 1.5: Wait for the paint to dry.

This was Sara's least favorite part. 

But seriously. Pretty important if you want your design to turn out

the way you want it. Otherwise, the tape peels up the paint.

Step 2: Place masking or painter's tape on the canvas.

You can use it to make letters, lines, squares, shapes, just about anything. The tape is the part that you won't be painting over, so anything underneath it will show through in the final product.

Step 3: Paint black over the whole canvas.

Paint carefully. Make sure the tape is firmly pressed down. Try not to let the edges get peeled back while you're painting. Take your time, or the paint might seep under the edge of the tape, which makes more blurry lines. Using spray-paint would probably solve that problem. I haven't tried it yet because I haven't taken the time to go out and buy black spray paint. 

Step 3.5: Wait for the paint to dry. Again.

Sara's other least favorite part.

Step 4: Remove the tape from the canvas.

Peel carefully! It's really important (again) to make sure that the paint has dried completely before you start to peel up the tape, or the paint will get smear-y and might peel up with the tape. But hey, the results are pretty great:

And really, that's all there is to it! Sara is a self-proclaimed non-crafty person, and she had a great time. I believe her words were "Super cool and super easy!" It's really a basic project that anyone can do, even kids. Mom could put the tape down on a canvas and let the kids finger-paint over it, and it would have the same result. 

Have at it, friends! Let the original-art-making commence!