Finished Project: Cheap Wall Art

When we moved into our house nearly 4 years ago, we brought with us a fairly decent amount of furniture and decorative pieces from our old place. Some of the stuff in our house is going on 8 years old. Come to think of it, I can think of a few things that Joe or I brought into our relationship that we had long before we even met!

Needless to say, I'm bored of some of our house decor, especially the master bedroom. I've already transformed it from a style that never came to fruition to something a lot more put together and chic. It's mostly done but it still could use a couple more finishing touches. Good thing I'm cheap and crafty. I also like the idea of having wall art or knick knacks that not every one has.

A couple months ago I found 4 blank canvases at the thrift store. The 4 of them cost me a total of $0.40. I had every intention of painting them in some beautiful way or allowing Quinn to paint them in some abstract way. Until Joe came back from the grocery store with a newspaper that I hated to throw in the recycling bin. Could I turn this "trash" into something I'd like to hang on my wall?

This is what I started with:

I wish I'd had a bigger canvas but cheapskates can't be choosers!

I don't know why I didn't take a picture of it, but I spray painted the canvas with the black spray paint and let it dry all afternoon. Then I cut out shapes from some of the more colorful sections of the newspaper.

I ended up with mostly take out menus and car ads.

I let Quinn put the diamond-like shapes on the canvas to see if she could come up with a decent design. I actually liked it!

The only problem is that some of the paper was hanging off the edge.

Maybe I'd just let her put glue on the pieces and I would stick them down on the canvas. She was happy enough getting to play with the glue that she didn't even whine about the demotion.

I pushed all the loose pieces off the canvas and started anew.

Well, here goes nothing!

This project took less than 30 minutes (minus the waiting for the spray paint to dry!). I love when I can finish a project so soon after starting. I also love when I can include the kids a little bit. This would be a great project for a kid Quinn's age and older. She's 4 and 1/2, by the way

All done! It won't end up on the mantle but it was a good enough place to photograph it for you.

This would also be a great holiday project if you used wrapping paper instead of newspaper. It would be a great way to commemorate your kids first christmas, or birthday, or even your baby shower! Now I wish I'd thought of this sooner!

I really love how this turned out. Would it be too weird to do this will my other 3 canvases?!

Another great idea would be to use a frame instead of the canvas. That would save on having to worry about painting it. Plus a frame might be a little more decorative. Also you could have the pattern make up your kids initials or something! I'm practically crying at my missed opportunity! Lol. Someone I know better do this so I can get really depressed! And when you do, make sure I know about it so I can live vicariously through you!