Farmer John is a farmer at heart and home, but his day job is a 9-5. He had meetings in Germany for a week. The stars aligned and the kids & I were able to go with him. We book ended Germany with short stays in Italy and France.

EUROPEAN INSPIRED ART

Before we left I wanted the kids to learn a little about Europe. I had them create a piece of art based on each of the three countries we would be visiting.

Italy: Venetian canal craft from Crayola
Germany: German Cuckoo Clock from Cassie Stephens. I love her art ideas.
France: Rose windows in medieval cathedrals from Ms. Novak’s Organized Chaos

Since we would be visiting art museums, I also asked the kids to recreate a masterpiece.

FLYING TO EUROPE

First up on our vacation agenda: Obligatory pic with the infamous PDX carpet.

I’m pretty sure this carpet is one of the most photographed airport carpets in the world. When the original carpet was being replaced people went crazy over it and started taking pics with it. The carpet even has an instagram account.

We flew Delta. I have no complaints. I had my own monitor to see the map of where we were in our flight and to watch the movies I wanted to watch. The kids had their own screens and each watched the shows they wanted. Awesome! Once we were out of the US I got complimentary Jack with my coke. Yep, not going to complain.

We flew from Portland to Amsterdam. Then switched planes in Amsterdam for our flight to Venice.

Flying over the Alps was a pinch me moment. They were breathtaking.

Our first peek at Venice. My thoughts of the city from this view: not too impressed. Apparently Venice is a city best viewed up close.

VENICE, ITALY

I can’t say enough about how much I loved Venice. I adored the Old World charm.

You can’t stroll through Venice without noticing beautiful masks. I even spotted a chicken one.

TRAIN TO GERMANY

We traveled by way of the Deutsche Bahn trains. We boarded the train in Venice at the Santa Lucia station. We traveled to Verona, over the Brenner pass, to Munich, and finally on to Nuremberg. It was a long ride, but a lovely way to see the beauty of Europe.

When we were traveling in and out of Germany, kids under the age of 15 rode free on the Deutsche Bahn trains. This was a great way to save money on vacation.

NUREMBERG, GERMANY

We stayed in Nuremberg for a week. John spent most of his time working, while the kids and I explored. We primarily toured Nuremberg, but ventured one day to Munich.

PARIS, FRANCE

We took the train from Germany to Paris. We had only one half day + one full day in Paris, which is not nearly enough time. But, we did make the most of our time and saw some amazing pieces of history.

The details on many of the buildings and monuments absolutely amaze me.

DRINKING IN EUROPE

We had virtually no trouble traveling through Europe, even without speaking Italian, German, or French. It helped that we do speak English, as do many Europeans. Also, I did have a little cheat sheet of common words for each language. We got through transportation, accommodations, shopping, even ordering food, with very few issues. Our one snafu the entire trip was water to drink at restaurants. We drink a lot of water. We are accustomed to tap water being available most everywhere. This was the one cultural difference that through me for a loop. Water was often brought in liter bottles, with a hefty charge. Also, carbonated water is their norm. So, if we forgot to ask for it without bubbles we were thoroughly bummed. None of us cared for the sparkling stuff. I didn’t mind paying for the water, but I thought the cost was too high. I remember one place where I let the kids order soda and I got wine because those drinks were cheaper than the water.

It is obvious I take drinking water for granted.

FLYING HOME

From Paris, we flew to Amsterdam.

On our way out of Amsterdam I noticed a group of windmills in the ocean. I’m not sure how they are used, but they intrigued me.

The Rockies may not be the Alps, but Canada has a beautiful mountain range, too.

Our kids earned their wings as we were getting pretty close to Portland.

WE MADE IT HOME

I bought masks in Venice for the kids to paint once we got home.

Farm Kid2 made John & I a thank you card for the trip.

This was a fantastic trip full of so many great memories. I am incredibly thankful for the experience.

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I love to travel, whether it’s road trippin’ the US or traveling abroad. For years I’ve been wanting a way to commemorate our travels in one place. This Wanderlust Map is what I came up with.

THE BOARD

I bought a board at Home Depot and painted it a variety of colors. The paint effect is random with a slight textured appearance. I was going for an overall tan color with highlights of other colors. A basic blue background, representing the oceans, would have been nice too.

WANDERLUST TEXT

I used a Martha Stewart stencil set for the text. It worked out perfectly that no letters were used more than once. So I taped the stencils together and dabbed paint over the entire text. Then waited for the paint to dry and went over the letters again. This worked very well. However, I don’t love the R and the U letters that came with the stencil set. I wish I would have used an upside down n as the u, then use the n again, blocking off the section that wouldn’t work, as an r. Oh well.

THE MAP

I found a cork world map at Michaels and loved it.

I mixed purple, pthalo blue and black paint to create a dark navy color and painted the cork.

When the paint dried, I assembled the map onto the board. The map has adhesive on the back, but I found not all of it stuck well to my board. So, I used gorilla glue to help it stay attached.

ADDING PHOTOS

The photos are 3″ x 3″ with a skinny white border.

One tack is placed at the vacation location & one tack is on the vacation photo. They are connected with twine.

I wasn’t sure how crazy I wanted the final product to look, so I didn’t add every single place we’ve been. But, eventually I will add more photos.

FINISHED PIECE

I love it – especially because it highlights various points throughout our relationship. Hawaii, where he first kissed me. Our honeymoon in Mexico. Tropical destinations as scuba divers. Road trip as a family of 4. Then again as a family of 5. Etc, etc. etc.

How do you commemorate your travels?

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NOTRE DAME

I love Notre Dame. It is breathtaking inside and out.

In 2002, Farmer John & I quickly admired the main level. It was amazing and when we brought the kids to Paris in 2015 it was a place I definitely wanted them to see. Plus, let’s be honest, I wanted to see it again.

This time we climbed the stairs to the top of the towers. We arrived early, but there was still a long wait. It was worth the wait.

I enjoyed the entire experience – the enormous Emmanuel bell, the view, even the narrow spiral staircases. My favorite thing, though, was getting to see the chimera up close.

GARGOYLE VS. CHIMERA

Only recently did I learn the difference between a gargoyle and a chimera. The first 30 years of my life I used the word gargoyle to describe both. Very naive, I know.

GARGOYLE
Gargoyles are functional. They were built on the end of gutters to prevent rain water from dripping on the walls and eventually ruining the building.

CHIMERA
Chimera are decoration. Weird, yet awesome, decoration. These ones on Notre Dame have a great view of the city.

The building of Notre Dame occurred and changed over hundreds of years. The chimera were added during the 1800’s.

The guy in the upper right is Stryga, probably the most famous chimera.

CUTTING 3 WOOD SQUARES

I bought a long pine board that was 5.5″ high at Home Depot.

I wanted the wood to be square, so using a table saw Farmer John cut the board to 5.5″ wide. Then, he cut two more squares.

BACKGROUND COLOR

I used a simple gray color to paint the 3 wooden squares.

Then, I used a piece of sand paper to both smooth the surface and roughen the edges.

ROUGH IT UP

As I’ve mentioned a number of times, I rarely paint just one color. These squares were no different.

After the main background paint dried, I used a variety of gray paints to add a bit of interest to the wood. Instead of a brush, I used a natural sponge to lightly apply the color.

After that layer of paint dried, I sanded the edges to give them a rough look.

ADDING THE PHOTO’S

The original photos are in color. Using Photoshop, I changed them to black and white.

I cropped and printed the photos to a 5″x 7″ size. Then I trimmed the photo to 5″ x 5″.

Using mod podge, I glued a 5′ x 5″ photo to each square.

3 SQUARES IN A ROW

I chose to make three squares and place them in a row. It would also be a fun project to have 4 squares, but place them 2 x 2.

Anyone else think the chimera are as fascinating as I do?

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Years and years ago, before we had kids, the hubby and I spent one day & one night in Paris. We climbed the stairs of the Eiffel Tower and were rewarded with a great view of the city. The photos I came home with were lovely, but lacking one key feature of Paris since we were standing on it. So this last time we visited, in 2015, I was determined to get photos of the amazing city with the Eiffel Tower in the shot. We ended up making it to two famous landmarks with great views, the Arc de Triomphe & the towers at Notre Dame.

SUPPLIES

• 2 – 16″ x 20″ canvas
• 1 – 16″ x 20″ photo
• 1 – 12″ x 18″ photo
• Dark gray acrylic paint & paintbrush
• Mod podge
• Bling on a roll
• Hot glue

PAINTING THE CANVAS

Using dark gray acrylic paint I painted the sides, as well as the edges of the main part of the canvas . I was being frugal and didn’t see any reason to paint the section of canvas that wouldn’t be seen.

DECOUPAGE

I applied mod podge to the back of the photo and centered it on the canvas. Then, as a layer of protection, I brushed mod podge over the top of the photo and canvas.

ADDING BLING

Have you seen this? Bling on a roll! Brilliant.

This particular roll had 4 rows of bling connected. Four rows was too thick for my design so I cut the bling to 2 rows.

After the mod podge dried, I used a glue gun to attach the bling to the canvas.

AND, REPEAT

I repeated the entire process for the other photo and canvas.

FINISHED PIECES

I love how the pieces are matchy-matchy… but not perfectly matchy-matchy.

I would love to see how you display your vacation photos.

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There was a blank space on our Travel Gallery Wall that fit a 20″ x 16″ canvas perfectly. Since Germany was only represented once on the wall, I was hoping the canvas could be German themed. I absolutely loved this view of the river when we were in Nuremberg, so it seemed an easy choice.

SUPPLIES

• 20″ x 16″ canvas
• 18″ x 12″  photo (I had this one printed at Costco)
• Acrylic paint
• Wood letters and wood shape
• Distress ink
• Mod podge
• Craft glue

PAINTING THE CANVAS

I rarely paint a canvas color straight outta the bottle. I prefer the not-so-perfect look of color blending. However, one color would work just fine.

The main background color is a mix of 7 different paints (left photo). I was going for a barn reddish gray.

After the background color dried, I went over the top of it dry brush style. I chose an orange color to bring out the roof on the building and a light yellow green to highlight the tree.

WOOD LETTERS

I picked these wood letters up at a craft store and love them. They were priced reasonably and I’ve used them for many projects already.

They are easy to paint. This time, though, I wanted the wood to show through to match the wood bird I was planning to add. So, instead, I rubbed the edges with a brown distress ink.

GLUING ON THE PHOTO

Sometimes when I glue a photo onto canvas I do it decoupage style – putting mod podge on the back of the photo to act as glue and also putting mod podge on the front to protect the photo.

For this project I opted not to put mod podge on the front of the photo. I did use it as glue, though, to adhere the photo to the canvas. I used a foam brush to spread glue on the back of the photo and also spread a little on the canvas itself.

I eye-balled where I wanted the photo and carefully set the photo in place. Then I gave the photo a little push rubbing it onto the canvas. There wasn’t anything supporting the canvas, making it a tad irritating to rub on the photo. So I flipped the canvas over and rubbed the photo on that way. It’s much nicer to press against a hard surface.

GLUING ON WOOD DECORATIONS

I used craft glue to attach the wood pieces to the canvas.

Again, I just eye-balled where I wanted to place the wood pieces. But, I did line up the top edge of the photo with a red line on a ruler to make sure the letters were parallel with the photo.

FINISHED CANVAS

Another home decor item of a memorable family vacation complete. Woop, woop! A feeling of accomplishment for the day.

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It’s no secret that I love Disney. Over the years I have acquired a few fun items. I never had a good place to display them. But we are now done home schooling, and that opened up a wall that was once covered in learning material. The wall was a blank canvas that I chose to decorate in all things Disney.

A Look at all the Gallery Pieces

1: Run Disney Race Canvas

The Run Disney races I’ve completed have definitely been my favorite races as a newbie runner. I wanted to do something special with the race bibs and medals, so I came up with these race canvas’s. Click here to find out how I made them.

2: Laughter Wood Sign

The final piece I added to the gallery wall was this handmade laughter sign. Click here to find out how I created it.

3: Vintage Mickey Poster

I found this image at the Costco Photo Center. I simply had it printed just as I would any other photo at Costco, then mounted it on a canvas panel.

4: Family Castle & Character Photo

I put this collage together after our 2009 trip to Disneyland. I printed it as an 8″x10″, then trimmed it a bit and mounted it on a painted canvas.

5: Mary Poppins Silhouette

I found this Mary Poppins silhouette doing a google search. I printed the image, then traced it on to 1/4″ plywood. Using a scroll saw I cut the image, then painted it black.

6: Dream Signage

Years ago I found this dream wood cut out at a craft store. I painted it glittery lime green with the intention of displaying it in one of our flowerbeds. The sign never made it outside. Instead, it sat in a closet… until now. I combined magenta acrylic paint with glitter and pearl mixing medium then painted over the lime green. After the magenta paint dried I used sand paper to roughen up the edges.

7: Mickey Ears

Each of the kids has a pair of Mickey Ears. They are simply displayed on a shelf.

8: Ornament

During the Tinker Bell Half Marathon weekend in 2015 I bought this ornament. It’s flat, so it hangs perfectly on the wall.

9: Seven Dwarf Cross Stitch

I don’t know exactly when I made this cross stitch. I would guess I was somewhere around 12 years old. I loved it then and had it hanging in my bedroom. But, once I moved out on my own I never really had a good spot for it… until now. I’m so excited that it has a new place to be on display!

10: Donald Duck Poster Trio

I downloaded these Donald printables from Disney Movie Rewards. I painted 11″x14″ canvas’s red, then mod podged the prints to them.

11: Birthday & Mickey Ear Canvas Panels

We have been to Disneyland 3 times with the kids. Each time I have taken their photo with Mickey ears on in front of the fountain near the entrance at California Adventure. So, using canvas panels, I created a hanging display of one photo each year.

I bought a wooden star shape at a craft store and painted it gold. Next, I cut out a shape of Mickey ears and used it as a stencil. I put glitter glue in the stencil then sprinkled black glitter on the glue. While the glue was drying on the star, I painted 3 5″x7″ canvas panels blue. After the blue dried I used painters tape to mark off the edges to provide a dual framed appearance. Inside the tape I painted gold. I also painted numbers representing the years. I used hot glue and ribbon to attach the 3 panels and the star. The final steps were mod podging on the photos and using craft glue to add the numbers.

Two out of the three times we’ve been to Disneyland with the kids were over birthdays. So, I created a similar display for the birthday photos. Both times we celebrated at New Orleans Cafe. It’s low key, but still a special treat. I like it because you can go whenever it fits your schedule for that day. You let the waiter know you’re celebrating a birthday and would like a cake. The cake is big enough for everyone to get a taste and comes in a cute take home box.

12: G

Our last name begins with G, so I created this Goofy inspired sign using a scroll saw and paint.

13: Pin & Photo Canvas Display

To commemorate a few of our favorite rides I put together these canvas displays. To read more about how to make them click here.

14: Bulletin Board of Pins & Photos

I went with friends to Disneyland during the Tinker Bell half marathon weekend. Those friends were a bad influence. They wanted to see what the pin collecting craze was about. I didn’t really care to much about it, but decided I’d give it a whirl anyway. It was so much fun! I didn’t have kids with me, so no added stress. Just a fun time at Disney. And, the scavenger hunt of finding pin traders and the perfect pins was on. I came back totally addicted. It is good, clean fun. However, a bit on the spendy side. I didn’t want my kazillion dollars worth of pins to be thrown in a drawer, so I turned our old home schooling bulletin board into a pin collection board. I take the backs off the pins and the pins stick and stay right in the bulletin board.

Of course, I also added photo’s. Right now I have pics up of my adult trip to Disneyland and our latest trip with the kids. I recently joined the Disney Movie Club and sometimes the movie comes with a lithograph. I added a couple of those, too. I have a variety of lithographs and Disney printables, so I change them out occasionally.

15: Imagination Cut-out

I created an image spelling the word imagination, printed it to size, then traced it onto 1/4″ plywood. Using a scroll saw I cut out the letters. Our scroll saw isn’t very big, so the image was too long. I ended up cutting the image into 3 sections, which worked perfectly fine. I also cut a border out of plywood. I painted the word imagination lime green, then used glitter glue to adhere lime green glitter over the entire thing. The background border piece is simply painted black. Using gorilla glue, I glued the green glittered piece to the black piece.

Click the image below to download a larger file of the word imagination.

16: Main Street USA Silhouette’s

I remember getting a silhouette done when I was a kid on Main Street, USA. So, the first time we took the kids to Disneyland my must do souvenir was getting their silhouette’s cut. I got the frames at a craft store not long after we returned from our trip.

There it is, our Disney inspired wall. There are many pieces and it’s a little crazy, but I adore it anyway. The problem will arise when I do another Run Disney event. Where will those canvas’s go?

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Last May I went to Disneyland to run the Tinker Bell Half Marathon. I went with a couple girlfriends and no children. Such a weird, yet wonderful, experience.

My one friend wanted to try pin collecting, so we all jumped on that band wagon. I blame this new obsession on her.

I love everything about it… well, except the price tag. Those pins are not cheap. However, they are fabulous. I love searching the racks for a favorite ride or character. Even more, I love searching for cast members who may have just the pin I didn’t know I needed. Trading is fun.

I came home from that trip needing a way to display my new pins. I’ll be damned if I was going to spend all that money then throw those metal treasures in a drawer to be forgotten.

So, what I came up with was a canvas displaying my favorite ride. The canvas holds pins, as well as photos, from those rides at Disneyland and Disney World. I chose 4 rides and put together 4 canvases.

Materials

• 12″ x 12″ Canvas
• Acrylic Paint & Paint Brush
• Mod Podge
• Disney Pins & Photos
• Scissors or Paper Trimmer

Canvas Background

Because I knew there would be a lot going on with the photos and pins, I chose to keep the background super simple. It is painted in one color. However, I created 4 canvases and each canvas is a different color.

Layout

Personal Ride Photos

Trim photos to 2.75″ x 2.75″square. Or, for a horizontal photo: 5.5″ x 2.75″. Vertical photos are 2.75″ x 5.5″

Arrange photos in a rectangle along the left or right side of the canvas.

I used Mod Podge to adhere the photos to the canvas, but only gluing the under side of the photo. I chose not to Mod Podge over the top of the photos because I want to have the option of changing the photos after another trip to Disney. If you have a permanent design you could mod podge over the entire canvas to protect it.

Ride Image

On the opposite side of the photos I glued on a 4.5″ x 6.5″ ride image.

For the Splash Mountain canvas I used an image from the front of a folder when we purchased a photo at Disney World. The others are images I found online. You could also use a photo you took yourself while at the park.

Pins

Beneath the ride image is a blank space for pins.

The pins easily poke through the canvas. The pin back is shallower than the wood frame, so it doesn’t affect hanging the canvas.

Splash Mountain

I mean, who doesn’t love Splash Mountain? Of course, this was one canvas I had to make. Also, I was able to include a photo of the time we went to Disney World with Farmer John’s mom and brother.

Pirates of the Caribbean

Pirates of the Caribbean is one of my all time favorite rides. Yo ho ho! It is tricky getting photos inside the ride since it’s so dark. My favorite photo is outside the ride, though. When I ran the Tinker Bell Half Captain Jack Sparrow was waving and encouraging us in his drunken accent at the entrance.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is another one of my fav’s. I had a hard time finding Big Thunder Mountain pins, though.

Mad Tea Party

The Tea Cup ride is not my favorite, but it is my mom’s. So, this was the 4th ride I chose to display. Plus, I had a photo from my 1987 trip to Disneyland that I wanted to add.

On Display

My four canvases are grouped together on a wall dedicated to Disney.

This past January I went back to Disneyland to run the Star Wars Half Marathon. While there I collected a few more pins to add to these canvases. I also turned my kids into pin traders. Although, I high jacked their pins to add to my Disney wall.

The post Disney Pin and Photo Display appeared first on .

I needed one last item to add to a wall dedicated to all things Disney. This hand painted laughter sign fit perfectly.

The word was inspired by this quote:

“Laughter is timeless. Imagination has no age. And dreams are forever.”

I’m not actually sure Walt Disney said this quote, however the internet thinks he did. Either way, I enjoy the phrase.

Materials

• Wood Board – mine is 5.5″ x 22″
• Sandpaper
• Acrylic Paint – I used cerulean blue, pthalo blue, cadmium yellow, deep magenta, crimson, & white
• Paint Brushes, Sponge, & Spouncer
• Exacto Knife and Cutting Mat
• Laughter Stencil, preferably printed on card stock
• String and Hot Glue

Step 1: Paint Background

I began by cutting a 6′ board to approximately 22″ long.

Next I sanded the board just a bit.

Using a 1″ brush I painted the board in cerulean blue.

After the blue paint dried, I sanded the board again.

Anybody who follows me regularly knows I rarely paint a background one color and leave it. I prefer mixing in a little coordinating or completely opposite color. This time I went with a darker blue, yellow, magenta and crimson.

Also, as I tend to do when using a small amount of paint, I used a pringles can lid as a paint palette.

As opposed to a brush, I used a sponge to lightly apply color to the board.

When the paint dried, the board was sanded once again.

Step 2: Add Text

Using a font I liked (Harman simple, btw) I typed out the word laughter, sized and printed it. You can click the image or here to get a copy of the text, then enlarge it to the size that works for your project.

Using an exacto knife I cut out the letters. There’s no need to be exact when cutting out the letters. Close is good enough.

Using a spouncer, I dabbed white paint inside the stencil. After the paint dried, I dabbed on paint again. Then again, one more time.

I printed the text on regular copy paper, as opposed to card stock like I meant to do. So, paint blobbed under the stencil in a few places. Boo!

I remedied the error by painting cerulean blue over the unwanted white blobs.

When dry, the board received one last sanding.

Step 3: Add Hanger

For a hanger, I simple hot glued string to the back.

On Display

The laughter sign hangs on my Disney wall directly underneath my RunDisney canvases.

Ah, so nice to finish the last piece of this wall gallery.

The post DIY Hand Painted Laughter Wood Sign appeared first on .

It is not the fanciest painting you ever did see, but it’s festive, fun and fairly simple to create.

Have you seen those places where you get to drink wine with your girlfriends while creating a fabulous painting? I’ve always wanted to go. Unfortunately, I have not.

I have especially wanted to take my 10 year old son to such a place, minus the wine, of course. I don’t, however, want to spend $50+ for the 2 of us to create the same painting. So, I came up with a painting we can all do. It’s simple enough for the kids. It’s also fun enough to be part of a girls wine drinking paint party.

My goal was to create a painting that was cute and something I’d actually want to display in my home, as well as be cost effective. I also wanted it to be doable for all artist levels.

12 Days of December

December 7th: Easy Christmas Tree Canvas Painting Tutorial

Items You Will Need

• Canvas – I used 11″ x 14″ canvas panels. The canvas panels are slightly cheaper than the wood framed canvas. During a holiday sale, I was able to get a 3 pack at Joann’s for $4.80.
• Paint – I’ve used both tempera and acrylic paints for this project. Both work fine. I prefer acrylic, though. In the following instructional steps I list the colors I used for reference purposes only. Feel free to use whatever colors you have on hand. And, don’t be afraid to mix your own colors if you don’t have quite the variety you would like.
• Paintbrushes – As much as I like painting with the “nice” brushes, I paint a lot with the kids, so I most often use the cost effective 5 pack of Crayola paint brushes. They are usually priced around $5 and will often be on sale for less. That set of brushes works perfectly for this project. I did, however, use a wider brush for the background.
• Palette – You just need something to hold your paint. It can be an actual palette, cardboard, or a paper plate. My favorite is the cardboard from a frozen pizza. It’s silly, but I like it because of the round shape.
• Table Cover or Easel – If you have an easel, that’s fantastic. Use it. Around here, though, we don’t have enough easels for the number of painters. So, I put white butcher paper on our kitchen table and we paint away. Newspaper would work fine, too.

Step 1: Paint the Background

• For the kids I used tempera paints in black, purple, blue, and red. The adults used acrylic paint.
• I also mixed in glitter. This is not a necessary step. I just like glitter.
• The kids used a foam brush to paint the background. Adults used a 1″ paint brush. Again, either one works fine. Use whatever you have.
• The trick to this background is not mixing the colors before applying the paint to the canvas. I squeeze blobs of paint onto the palette. Then brush them onto the canvas, blending them here and there. But, allowing the individual color to show through as well.

Step 2: Outline the Tree

• Using a light green acrylic paint, I painted an outline of the tree. You could draw it in pencil first, if you would like. But, I didn’t.

Step 3: Fill in the Tree

• Using the same light green paint, fill in the entire tree area.
• I used mostly downward strokes, resembling tree branches. No moving my brush horizontally.

Step 4: Adding Snow to the Background

• I mixed together white acrylic paint and pearl it medium from Crayola for the snow. The mixing medium isn’t necessary. I just have it, so I used it.
• Painting circles is super simple. Flip your brush over. The end of your paintbrush is now the brush you are using. Dip the end in white paint and dab onto the canvas for snow. Using different brushes will give you a variety of circle sizes.

Step 5: Adding Detail to the Tree

• Using a variety of paints (Cadmium Red, Cadmium Yellow, Light Green, Deep Green, & Phthalo Blue) I created depth to the tree. I used mostly a dry brush technique, but also blended colors right on the canvas.
• Again, I used vertical or sweeping strokes. No horizontal painting.
• The deep green, phthalo blue, and cadmium red were used where I wanted shadows. The cadmium yellow was painted where I wanted a highlight.

Step 6: Outline the Tree

• Using black acrylic paint, I outlined the tree.

Step 7: Painting the Star Glow

• I used lemon yellow acrylic paint and pearl it medium for the glow effect. White paint mixed with a dab of yellow would work as well.
• I used a dry brush technique. Each stroke began in the center and then pulled out.

Step 8: Adding Lights to the Tree

• Using the same technique as the snow, paint the lights using the end of the paintbrush.
• My paint colors were: Deep Magenta, Cadmium Yellow, Phthalo Blue, Cerulean Blue, and Cadmium Red

Step 9: Painting the Star

• Using Cadmium Yellow paint a star at the top of the tree.
• Allow the yellow paint to dry a smidge, then outline the star in black paint.

Step 10: Enjoy your Festive Painting

For a quickie version of the steps, print the jpg below.

Please enjoy this tutorial! However, do not sell or share the images as your own. Please link back to this original post.

All 12 Days of December:

December 1st: Hot Drinks Bar Party Kit • Printable
December 2nd: Warm Up Here Burlap & Canvas • DIY
December 3rd: Photo Booth Backdrop • DIY
December 4th: Snowman Photo Booth Props • Printable
December 5th: Let it Snow Gift Card Holders • Printable
December 6th: Christmas Gift Box • Printable
December 7th: Christmas Tree Canvas Painting • Tutorial {you’re already here}
December 8th: Hot Drink Pouch • Printable
December 9th: Build Your Own Snowman Gift Tags • Printable
December 10th: Let it Snow Gift Tags • Printable
December 11th: Christmas Word Search • Printable
December 12th: Let it Snow • Printable

I would love to see how you used these 12 Days projects. Please share your creation(s) with us here.

The post 12 Days: Christmas Tree Canvas Painting Tutorial appeared first on .

12 Days of December

December 2nd: Warm Up Here Burlap & Canvas Sign

Materials

16″ x 20″ Canvas
Burlap – at least 20″ x 24″
Red Acrylic Paint and Paint Spouncer
Exacto Knife and Cutting Mat
Scissors, Stapler, Paper, and Tape

Attaching Burlap to the Canvas

Top Left: Center canvas right side down on burlap
Top Right, and Middle Photos: Fold burlap over edge of canvas, pulling slightly so it has a snug fit. Staple in place.
Bottom Left: Trim burlap edges
Bottom Right: Flip over and enjoy how easy it was to add burlap to your canvas.

Creating and Painting the Stencil

I’ll admit this is a little tedious. Not difficult, just not all that fun.

Click here to download the 4 pages for the stencil.

Using an exacto knife and cutting mat, cut out the letters. This is a stencil, so the actual letter piece is not being used. Don’t forget to keep the insides of the A, R’s and P. Tape the stencil together, then tape the stencil to your burlap canvas.

Using red acrylic paint, dab the spouncer into the blank parts of the stencil, paying attention not to get paint under the stencil. You are dabbing, not brushing on the paint.

Carefully lift off the stencil and your cold weather sign is complete.

You will notice on this pdf printable little dots inside the letters. Those are in case you want to forgo the burlap and instead would like to add lights to your canvas. You will stencil the letters on in the same way as the burlap canvas instructions. Then, poke holes where indicated through the canvas. Attach small Christmas lights behind the canvas and push one light through each hole. I love this idea. However, I was going for a rustic look so I went with the burlap version.

Have fun with this Warm Up Here Printable! However, do not sell or share the file as your own. Also, do not post the pdf on your social media page, please link back to this original post.

All 12 Days of December:

December 1st: Hot Drinks Bar Party Kit • Printable
December 2nd: Warm Up Here Burlap & Canvas • DIY {you’re already here}
December 3rd: Photo Booth Backdrop • DIY
December 4th: Snowman Photo Booth Props • Printable
December 5th: Let it Snow Gift Card Holders • Printable
December 6th: Christmas Gift Box • Printable
December 7th: Christmas Tree Canvas Painting • Tutorial
December 8th: Hot Drink Pouch • Printable
December 9th: Build Your Own Snowman Gift Tags • Printable
December 10th: Let it Snow Gift Tags • Printable
December 11th: Christmas Word Search • Printable
December 12th: Let it Snow • Printable

I would love to see how you used these 12 Days projects. Please share your creation(s) with us here.

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