Doilie M Wall Hanging

A couple months back I scored a great deal at a garage sale - a paper grocery sack over half full with doilies of different sizes for only $5.  A lot of them were really small and I had a vision in of putting them on canvas in the shape of an M for Baby Whimsy's room.  Then about a month ago, I found a framed piece of canvas artwork that was the perfect size to re-purpose for my needs (don't worry, I googled the art before painted over it to make sure it was not a masterpiece.  It wasn't - in fact it was just printed on the canvas, not even really painted.). Even better, it cost the whopping total of $1.

My goal was to have the background to be pink but not to look perfectly painted.  I wanted different shades of pink and white to kind of streak through the piece (if that makes any sense).  I am not an artist and I do not paint so this was a foreign venture for me but I went into it with the mindset that there was not a right or wrong way to create art (plus it cost only $1 and I knew if I messed up I could have my sweet sister paint something for me).  

Supplies needed: 

old canvas

white craft paint

pink craft paint (different shades)

paint brush

The first step in the project was the paint over the existing art.  I first did a plain white coat because the piece was originally pretty dark and I did not want the dark colors to show through in the end.  

Once that dried I literally just randomly squirted out paint in shades of pink and white along the canvas.  I wanted the end product to be less bright pink and more baby pink so I adjusted my colors accordingly.  Then I just used a foam brush and painted in the same direction from top to bottom, until the piece was covered in paint.  At the top (my starting point), there were a few areas that were lacking paint so I went back and re-coated them.  I also added more white (and painted it in using the same direction)  where I thought it looked too pink and vice versa until I was satisfied.  It was really a super easy project and I am sure you guys did not need the above description on! 

(Side note, Mr. Whimsy was very impressed with the end result of just the painted canvas and has encouraged me to look for and buy (shocker) more framed canvases if I see them at garage sales to decorate other areas of the house on the cheap.  I love request to buy more when they come from the hubster!)

Then I just needed to add my doilies but again, I didn't so the project sat and waited another REALLY long time, until I made my nursery to do list.  For the doilie portion, I placed the doilies in a way I thought made the M look the prettiest, then starched them and glued them on the canvas.  The hardest part of the project was getting the M laid out so I was happy with it and the most time consuming was ironing the doilies.  

Overall I am really happy with the result, it was an easy breezy project (once I finally got started) and I think it will look nice in the nursery.