How adorable are these numbered bottles from the Letter Box Co? I am a big sucker for the number 2, but they can be customized with any number.  This could also be an easy DIY project or cute table numbers for a wedding!

For our bedroom, instead of three smaller canvases, we wanted one large one. Staring at a huge blank canvas can be super intimidating.

The key is to have a plan but to also be flexible, because you never know what you might end up with after experimenting with various techniques. I always like to play with mixtures of paint and water because it creates neat layering effects.

We used different shades of purple to create this painting that now hangs in our bedroom:

My favorite part is on the top right of the painting, how watered-down brush strokes stained the canvas to look like a city skyline. Definitely didn’t plan that!

Another project I did recently ended up hanging in our bathroom until it came crashing down…the glue I used to hold the canvases to the ribbon was not strong enough…any suggestions??

Anyway, the first thing I did was cover the three small canvases in wall spackle (the stuff you use to fill in small holes on your wall) to create some texture. Then when that was dry enough (about 12 hours) I sanded the surface so it wasn’t as rough.

Then I glopped some green, yellow and brown paint  on there and used a rubber leaf stamp. I really didn’t like the final outcome so I decided I would try to start over and rinse off all the paint in the sink . Once I did this, I actually really liked them! The paint stayed where I had used the stamp and in the grooves from the spackle, but was very muted in all of the other areas.

Creating your own art for your walls is both inexpensive and rewarding because you get to look at your own accomplishment everyday!

First Up – Before Pictures:

This is how the space looked when I moved in. It was nice, but definitely more of a boy’s room (and note how my bedside table used to be a TV dinner tray)

And here is how our bedroom looks now:

Of course Raleigh snuck into some of the pics:

Close up of the wall paper:

Potted orchids are from Home Goods:

Our bedside lamps are also from Home Goods:

We picked up this little candle holder in China Town in San Francisco:

I got this mirrored jewelry box at Target. This is where I store my engagement ring when I go to bed:

And there you have it! I cannot take full credit for any of it, it was 100% a team effort. We painted the walls (‘agreeable gray’ from Sherwin Williams) and wallpapered the wall behind the headboard as an accent. Neither of us had put up wallpaper before, but the process went pretty smoothly. I actually prefer wallpapering to paiting, but I’m sure it is more difficult to do a whole room vs. one wall.

All of the accesories came from Target, TJ Maxx or Home Goods. We also did some DIY artwork for the wall. Above the dresser are three framed black & white photos. One of a California beach, one of the St. Louis arch and finally a scene of New York City. I also did another painting for a wall across from the bed.  Stay tuned for pictures of the painting and more of the Raleigh photo-shoot!

Check out Katie Kirk on flickr. I love her illustration style. This one in particular seems so ‘me’. I love bunnies, 2 is my favorite number and I have a dresser just like this which I painted myself. Wha??

She also has an etsy shop with her husband where you can pick up some other cute prints.

Overall, I’m pretty happy with how they turned out, although looking at the photos now, the scale is probably a little too small for the room. I didn’t start out with any sort of plan, I just knew I wanted to do a continuous painting across three canvases and then spread them out on the wall.

We bought the canvas and acrylic paint from Hobby Lobby and I used sponge brushes, bristle brushes and a cup dipped in paint for the circles. At one point I thought I had ruined them, but if you just keep experimenting it will turn into something you like!

And some close-ups:

The color turned out too bright on the last one, it is more of a light greyish blue.

What are your thoughts?? I have since had some friends ask me to do paintings for them and it makes me super nervous. I don’ t see myself as any sort of artist, I think I viewed it more as a craft project that anyone could do. But I’m kind of excited to do more, it is a super fun process and really releases stress, its fun to just be in the moment and actually transfer thoughts from your mind into something visual.

August 2008 – Our one year anniversary trip

 

December 2008 – Visiting family in New York

July 2009 – A picnic at Forest Park

May 2009 – Grand Cayman for a wedding

(via Brunch at Saks flickr)

(via Brunch at Saks flickr)

(via Design Ties)