Beachy Bedroom Canvases

I just got back from SNAP conference (best time EVER!) and there were so many amazing people and brands I got to meet. Don’t worry I am going to do a recap, it’s just taking me forever to write!! It felt like a family even before I got their because there were so many social media events and parties before hand. One of the fun things that I chose to participate in was the Snap Sister program. I was given another blogger and tasked with making three small gifts (one for each day we were there) for her. I got Aimee over at The Elephant of Surprise and knew immediately what I was going to make for the first two (a pair of lightweight wooden earrings and DIY folded cards), but I was stumped when it came to that third gift. The deeper I delved into her blog the more I fell in love with her light and airy style. She has two little boys and they both have very light and bright bedrooms with a little bit of a beachy spin to them. I decided that I would make her a trio of fun beachy canvases for her boys room!

source – The Elephant of Surprise

Supplies (may containe affiliate links):

• Canvases – mine are 6×6
• Paint – I used DecoArt’s White, Apple Barrel’s Lime Tree, DecoArt’s Blue Bahama and Delta’s Bright Yellow
• Foam Brushes
• Contact Paper
• Cutting machine or scissors/exacto knife – I used my Slice machine
• Mod Podge
• Safety Pin or something else to lift the contact paper at the end

I started off with three 6″x 6″ plain canvases. Then I searched through all the SLICE cartridges I own to find three fun beachy shapes to cut out. I went with an octopus, an anchor and a ships wheel. I cut each shape out of white contact paper and then stuck them in the middle of the blank canvas.

I painted over the contact paper with a coat of mod podge so that just in case there was any bleed with the paint, hopefully the mod podge would keep it from ruining the design. Once that was dry I painted each one a different color that I hoped would tie in with the color palette already in their rooms.

It took two coats of each color to get full coverage and they were absolutely beautiful! I carefully peeled the contact paper off using a safety pin point to hook a piece so that I wouldn’t smear any paint. There were definitely a few places that needed some touch up, but a little white paint and 5 minutes did the trick!

This was such an easy project and one that I hope her little boys love!  Have you ever made a gift for someone you don’t know?  What did you make?  Did they like it?