If you are a home decor lover like me, you know that buying “all the things” for your home can get a little pricey. And, if you aren’t careful, you can end up wasting lots of money on pieces that you don’t even really love.
One of the best ways I’ve have found to save money on home decor is to take the DIY approach. Instead of just buying every little thing that I love in the stores, I take a step back and ask myself one thing. “Can I make that?”
Sometimes the answer is a definite “No!” But, other times the answer is “Yea! I think I could make something like that.”
This happened to me recently when I was trying to decorate our media center for fall. As I was putting out my decorations, I realized I was missing one thing – background art. You see, my display already had a few eye-catching features. But, it needed one more piece to anchor the whole thing.
In my mind, I was picturing the perfect abstract canvas art. Something colorful, but not too crazy. I was just about to go out to the store to try and find this “perfect abstract canvas art” when I stopped myself.
I knew that if I went out to buy a piece of art, it was going to cost me at least $15 (if I was lucky). And, it’s not like this art was going to hanging in our house forever. I just wanted something colorful and pretty for my seasonal display.
So, I decided this was one of those “I could make that” moments. I raided my craft supply stash and I actually had everything I needed to create a simple, abstract canvas art.
After about 10 minutes, I had this beautiful art that was perfect for my fall display.
Let me show you how I made it.
DIY Abstract Canvas Art
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This really is one of the easiest DIY projects that you can make. The best part about it is there’s no “right” way to do it. It’s all about creating a unique piece of art for your home. And, because it’s supposed to be abstract, you can’t really mess it up.
Materials:
- Canvas 16” x 20”
- Foam Brushes
- FolkArt Paint in three colors (I used white, light blue, and navy blue)
- Paper plates for holding paint (optional)
- Kraft paper as a backdrop for painting (optional)
I started by laying out my canvas on some kraft paper. I knew that I was going to be using this abstract art in a fall display for my home and had a pretty good idea of exactly how I wanted to place it. So, I decided to position my canvas in in the portrait direction.
For this abstract canvas art, I decided to use three paint colors. I love navy blue for fall, so I decided to use that as my dominant color. As an accent, I choose a muted lighter blue. Finally, I picked white to use as a layering paint.
First, I create a paint palette using a paper plate. Honestly, I use paper plates for almost every craft project I do. They are so easy for clean up!
Then, I just started painting. I took one of my foam brushes and dipped it into the navy paint. Then, I made one light stroke from left to right across my canvas.
I repeated this to create three more strokes across the canvas of the navy paint.
Next, I took another foam brush and dipped it into the light blue paint. I made several light brushstrokes across the canvas again, staying close to the navy paint. In some cases, I even let the two colors blend a little.
Then, I decided to mix together some of the navy and light blue paint to create a medium blue shade. I layered this new paint over the others using single, light brushstrokes across the canvas.
Next, I started adding in the white paint. I really love how the white added some depth and layers to my canvas. I used the white to blend some of the paint colors together. The entire time I was painting, I made sure to always paint from the left to the right in the same direction across my canvas. This gave the art a distinct pattern and direction.
Before I finished, I made sure to paint the edges of the canvas too. This gave it a more finished look.
Once I was happy with how my abstract canvas art looked, it was time to decorate!
I created this art to fit behind the other canvas art that I had for my fall display. I wanted it to compliment the other pieces, but not compete with the other art.
I think that the abstract canvas art is the perfect background art. It adds just the right amount of color and interest to the display.
The best part is, this art cost me $0 to make because I already had all the supplies! Decorating WIN!
Next time you need a decoration for your home, make sure to stop and ask yourself “Can I make that?” Sometimes, the answer is actually “Yes” and you’ll be saving yourself lots of money!
I hope you have a great week!
PS: See my full Fall Home Tour for 2017 here — featuring this fall decor display
