DIY Nautical Octopus Art

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I have a lot of decorating posts to catch up on, but for now, I wanted to share a quick and easy DIY you can follow to create a visually interesting and unique piece of artwork. 

In our guest bedroom, I had been visualizing a somewhat nautical/preppy theme, combining white, navy blue, and gold with natural wood tones. I decided not to go with a headboard in this room, so I knew that I wanted something visually interesting and unique to hang above the bed.

Then, I came across this picture on Pinterest (follow me here!) and immediately knew I needed an octopus. But, with light walls, I was not sure a white background with a navy blue octopus would work.

After all, it needed to be a standout.

Here's what I ended up with:

 

DIY Nautical Octopus Art

What You Need:

• a canvas or any solid surface (I used the back of a pre-cut sheet of beadboard that was left over from our bathroom remodel)
• pencil for drawing
• hot glue gun (and hot glue)
• spraypaint in color of your choice for background
• acrylic/latex/any kind of thick, oil based paint in your color of choice for your octopus (or animal of choice)
• paint brush

Directions:

1. Start by drawing your shape on your blank canvas. I eyeballed an octopus and purposely tried to make it somewhat asymmetrical so that it had more of a natural feel.

2. Use a hot glue gun to fill in your shape. I started by outlining and then used a squiggly design to fill it in. Then, let the hot glue dry.

3. Use spraypaint to spray the entire canvas, including your hot glue work, to the color you wish your background to be. I was planning to do navy blue and white, so I painted it navy blue. 

After one coat

After three coats

4. Once the spraypaint has dried COMPLETELY (<--this is very important, or else your colors may bleed. I waited a few days), paint your feature item. I used a paint brush and the leftover "satin snow" paint from our bathroom. If you brush over it lightly and don't fill in the lower parts of your hot glue work, you will end up with a textured look that will blow people's minds and have them inquiring about your creative process!

That's it! 4 steps to your very own textured artwork!


WHAT ABOUT YOU?

• What shape would you create?
• What colors would you use?
• Have you created any of your own art for your home?

DIY Decor | "On Air" Box Pt 2

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Remember the story about the old school recording studio? The studio. The lounge. The velvety voice inside the studio. The visitors waiting to see that she's "On Air" and ready to sing them into oblivion.

To get that vibe, we couldn't order an On Air box online (like this one). It just wouldn't be right. We needed it to feel authentic and have meaning. We needed it to not look like it was mass-produced in a factory and shipped off to Target or Urban Outfitters. We needed to make it ourselves!

And with a trip to Home Depot, we were supplied and ready to rumble!

Just for good measure, before we begin, please keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times. Kinda like our buddy Claude:

 

Step 1: Cutting (Check out Part 1 for the tutorial)

Step 2: Staining (Check out Part 1 for the tutorial)

Step 3: Painting

After staining the wood, we painted the back of the Acrylic Sheet with a thin red layer, applied with a cloth (why cloth? forgot to get a brush, so we improvised, and it worked!).

DIY Decor | Spice World

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While thrifting a few weeks ago, we stumbled upon this fairly boring yet also quite functional spice rack. After recently having to throw away a few spices (apparently plastic spice bottles sitting on an oven causes melting. Whaaat?  Go figure), this was actually a thrilling find. Other than the boring-ness.

And yet, I have to say, we had caught what I’m calling Red Fever. It is contagious and it is powerful and it may cause you to buy red things, paint things red, and daydream about red spraypaint. 

So here we are. With a can of Rustoleum in Sunset Red from Ace (love those guys at Ace, can I have around of applause for those fine gents?!), we have added yet another bright red fixture to the world. What can I say? You caught us red handed.

A word to the wise: TWO COATS! (Okay, that was two words)

Don't freak out if you can't get every nook, cranny, and scratch covered on your first coat. Tw is fine. Three works too.