….or naked tomorrow. As soon as I saw this wall decal in the clearance section at Target a few months ago, I knew I had to buy it. I think I paid $7.
Wall decals are quite popular, but I’ve never been a fan until recently. I’m not sure if I saw it on Pinterest, or if it was a random thought in my head, but I had the idea to put the decal on a canvas instead of the wall. Also, our walls are vey textured, and decals require some smoothness to adhere properly.
I had a few canvas’ in storage from my old apartment that I haven’t use in a few years. I never throw them away, I always keep them knowing they can easily be re-used and painted over. So I got an old canvas out of the closet and was planning on painting it white with some craft paint and a sponge brush. Then, I had the bright idea to just spray paint it white, with some paint I had in the garage. Much faster!
After it dried (about an hour), I brought the canvas back inside and started reading the instructions on how to apply the decal. I’d never done this before, and wanted to make sure I didn’t mess it up. The instructions were quite simple. First, using the card (or your own credit card or license) in the box, you rub the lettering while it is still in between the 2 sheets of a paper. Next, peel off the backing (it was a yellow paper) and place decal in desired area on canvas. Before doing this, I used my T-square from design school (something I thought I’d never use again) to make sure the lettering was straight.
Once the lettering is placed in the desired location, use the “credit card” again to smooth out any wrinkles and ensure that the decal sticks.
Next, use a damp cloth or sponge and go over the lettering to release the top piece of paper. Peel the paper back slowly and carefully and the decal will be left underneath. The instructions were a little more detailed and less confusing, but this isn’t a hard process at all.
I wanted to give the canvas a more aged and vintage look, so I used a sponge brush and applied some left over stain from another project. The canvas was not soaking up the stain at all, I believe because of the spray paint and glossy finish. I wiped most of the stain off with a paper towel, but left some where I thought it looked good.
Next, I took some wood that I bought at Lowes in the craft section and made a floating frame. I’d seen these frames on Pinterest and think they are an easy way to really make a canvas pop against a wall, especially when they are white like mine (still undecided about painting those bad boys).
The wood was less than a dollar a piece, and each piece is about 4′ long. To make the frame, I simply layed the pieces around the canvas and marked with a pencil where the cuts needed to be. I then gave them to Joe and he cut them for me with a handsaw. I’m still not comfortable with doing it myself, so he does all the cutting for all my projects. Love him!
I sanded down the rough edges from the cuts, and then layed the wood around the canvas again. Using a pencil I marked where the screws would go on each corner. I used a drill and 1/8″ drill bit and pre drilled the holes, first because I didnt want the wood to split, second because it’s just easier for me when it’s time to screw it all together. I’m notorious for stripping screws that won’t go in, and then brining them to Joe to fix. Haha.
Next, was staining. I used some left over stain from my dining room table project. This part was pretty quick and easy.
I let the pieces dry for about 4 hours and then brought them inside. I layed them around my canvas once more to make sure all the holes lined up correctly.
Then, using some left over screws from another project I screwed the frame together.
As you can tell from the picture this corner didn’t line up properly, oh well. It’s perfectly imperfect! It’s just a “floating frame” and not attached to the canvas at all. I then hung the canvas on the wall, and placed the frame directly over it. All done!
So just a recap, I had the canvas, white paint, stain, and screws already. The decal I got on sale for $7 and the wood was about $1 each. For
a total of $11 I think this DIY art is pretty dang cool!! A few more accessories and the laundry room might become the first completed room of the house! Yay!
Ps – If you’re curious, check out the reclaimed wood shelves post, here.
Absolutely loved this project!! It looks amazing!
Super cute!! Thank you so much for sharing!!! Going to tackle this soon!! Love, love, love your blog too!! New follower for sure!! 😉
This is a cute project, and a clever use of those wall decals! Love it! I'd love to see the entire room 🙂
Oh my word this is too cute ❤❤
Oh my word this is too cute ❤❤
Oh my word this is too cute ❤❤
Thanks! My name is Allison "Alli" Renee too!! Lol