Wonderful Canvas Quotes

When Garret and I first moved into our apartment (our first apartment together, and both our first time moving out from home) it was barren. Scary barren. Being an apartment we aren't able to paint the walls so the only solution would be to use some awesome decor. Now, Garret and I are both in our early 20's and work retail, and like most of America we are on a not so fun budget. Buying decor can result in totals upwards of 100, 200 or 500 dollars - depending on your taste. Luckily, I am always bored and looking for new things to do to keep busy, and what is better than creating my own canvas quotes? Spoiler alert, I am about to sappy. Garret and I have this thing where we say "I love you," "I love you more," and "I love you most." Being the nostalgic sap I am, I thought "I love you most" would go great on a canvas. So here is my tutorial for a wonderful canvas quote!

What you'll need:

Canvas (any size - I used 18 in x 24 in)

3 craft paints 

1 top paint (preferably something neutral)

Sticker letters

Paint brushes

For the canvas I used Artist's Loft Back Stapled Canvas that was $14.99; for the sticker letters I used Mambisticks Black Alphabet & Numbers Uppercase that were $7.99.

For my 3 craft paints I used craft smart brand, colors Coral Reef, Robins Egg Blue, and Pink, each were only $0.69; for the top coat I used Devine Color brand Lightening paint, the 8 oz. was $4.99. Keep in mind that this paint, and these letters, can be used again (well the letters left after this project). 

First cover the canvas in the 3 paint colors. I did multiple layers of each color to ensure they all showed through the letters. I didn't paint all the way to the edges because I like how it looked almost like the words were fading out.

Wait for the paint to dry to the touch, when you put the letters on you don't want them to stick to peel the paint off later. Now, the important part, pick what you want to your canvas art to say. After this one I made another canvas with the quote from E. E. Cummings, "Lovers alone wear sunlight," and I used tones of yellow and orange instead of the pink and blue. Decide where you want your font centered, I did mine to the right, but you could do it any way you want! 

So, silly me, I forgot to take a picture of the next step! Your're going to cover the canvas with your top paint. I blotted mine, and used a sponge brush to spread it around. This created a translucent effect so behind the top coat you can still see tones of the colors. I let the paint dry for about 30 minutes to an hour then started the peeling process. If you wait until the paint is completely dry you risk peeling more paint off than intended and that could ruin the effect of the art. You will get a little paint on your hands, but it won't be too bad. To avoid leaving big ol' thumb prints on my canvas I used my nail to nick up a corner of each letter then proceeded to pull the whole letter away. 

This is my end result...