DIY Canvas Quote Wall Art

I am love, love, loving the way these DIY Canvas Quote Wall Art pieces turned out!

These canvas wall art pieces have been on my to-do list for a few months now, mostly because I couldn’t decide on a plan of action to tackle them. But then Michaels’s had a huge sale and a was able to snag two large canvases for 70%.

No time like the present, right?

And, as it turned out, I was way overthinking how to execute this project.

The timing for Michael’s sale must have been kismet because I happened to remember a conversation I had with my sister (another DIY enthusiast) months ago while I was browsing their sales page. A few quick Google searches later and I found an inexpensive art projector available at several craft stores.

Full disclosure- the projector I used is pretty much meant for child’s use. It’s very small and lightweight, and the opening for the projector to view the transfer image is only about 4 inches across. However, for about $20, I’ll take it.

Inspiration

Since Scott and I have been moving around so much the last few years, we haven’t really done much in the way of decorating the houses we’ve lived in. Which means those houses felt more like glorified hotel rooms than homes.

Even though we’re still renting for another year before we buy our next home, I decided I couldn’t stand living in another sterile, temporary, boring, undecorated house. Now that we’ve moved back home, I want it to actually feel like home.

Which means I’ve got about 2,317 ideas and projects planned. (Yes, Scott is absolutely thrilled about this…if by thrilled you mean turning a blind to my growing pile of craft supplies).

The double canvases painted with quotes (like these beauties from Hobby Lobby) have been really popular on home décor social media accounts for a while now.

While I loved the ones I’ve seen online and in stores, I wanted something a little more personal.

And, of course, creating a custom art piece was a great opportunity to tackle another DIY project.

For this project, I decided to draw a little inspiration from mine and Scott’s first dance song, “Hey Pretty Girl” by Kip Moore. This song has honestly been “our song” since very early on in our relationship. So, it’s pretty fitting to use those lyrics for an art piece that hangs over our bed.

Check out the materials I used and steps I followed below:

Materials

• Canvas– I used two (2) 12-inch by 36-inch canvases purchased from Michael’s to create the look I wanted
• Paint– I used black chalk paint, easily found at any craft supply store
• Spray Varnish– the one I picked up at my local Hobby Lobby is from Krylon
• Art Projector– This model is small and inexpensive, but there are fancier versions too.
• Printed image- I created my custom text in Illustrator and resized it to fit my projector. This can, of course, also be done in Microsoft Word.
• Pencil
• Small Paint Brush

Method

Step 1

Obviously, the first thing I needed for this project was a printed image to trace. I typed up the lines I wanted to use in my Illustrator software, mirrored the image, and printed. With the art projector I used, a printed image measuring no more than 4 inches by 4 inches works best.

Step 2

I set up my supplies in our bedroom since there are trees that block most light during the day and it’s pretty dim. I propped the first canvas against the wall and set up the art projector with my mirror image text. I’ll be honest, it did take a little time to adjust the projector and my image to make sure it was correctly reflected onto the canvas.

Step 3

Grab a pencil and start tracing! I tried a few angles for tracing and found that it was easiest to trace onto the canvas from above instead of straight-on. Also, learn from my mistakes: have a really good eraser on hand. I made a mistake tracing one of my letters and just used a basic pencil eraser to correct it…which was a bad idea. Thankfully, it was a small spot. Because if you look closely, there’s definitely a black smudge on my finished canvas.

Step 4

Once I finished tracing my text onto the canvases, I used my black chalk paint and a very small tipped paintbrush, I went over the letters and filled them in. (Oil-based paint pens also work well).

Step 5

After the letters were painted on to my satisfaction, I left the canvases to dry for a few hours. Once dry, I sprayed them with my Conservation Spray. This step keeps the paint from fading (especially if it’s going to hang in a spot that catches light from a window) or wearing off.

Step 6

Since we are renting, and most landlords frown on nail holes, I used Command Picture Hanging Strips to mount them onto the wall above our bed. (I also used a tape measure and level to make sure they were hung evenly…but I didn’t do it very well. One of the perks of using Command Strips…you can take them down and adjust.)

And, that’s all folks!

Seriously, this project turned out to be amazingly easy. Start to finish, I spent about four hours on this project…and that includes dry time. I do, eventually plan to create some simple frames for these canvases. But, because I’ll want to hang them with something sturdier than Command Strips at that point, frames will have to wait.

And, thanks to buying my canvases on sale, I spent less than $40. Since more than half of that was spent on my handy little projector (that I’m already planning to use on other projects), I’d say it worked out really well.

Update: If you’ve got a Cricut or similar cutting machine available, you could also use it to cut a stencil for this project. To see how I made a sign stencil, check out this post on making an inexpensive front porch sign.

Planning to make your own DIY Canvas Wall Art? Tell me about it in the comments…or better yet, share your finished product!