Spectacular Wall Art You Won't Want to Give Away!

10 Materials
$5
1 Hour
Easy
We all need a little sparkle in our lives! This SUPER EASY DIY will have you feeling like a real artist as well as give you the perfect excuse to raid your craft box!
The Perfect Hand Crafted Holiday Gift!
You Will Need:
This is the first in a series of lovely holiday gift DIYs. They are all so simple, yet spectacular - you will be amazed! To begin I gathered all my supplies. Most things I had on hand - but if not you can get everything I used on Amazon or at your local craft store.
You can see here where I started. The wooden canvases were very inexpensive, but you could use old pictures you already have but no longer love - simply paint over the original with white paint.
First I cut my balsa wood sticks to size. I wanted them to fit nicely around my frame. This is strictly optional - I just felt I wanted a nice surround to my finished picture.
Next I took some white acrylic paint and gave my canvas, (it was wood but you could use canvas too) a quick coat.
I used acrylic craft paint, but you could use any water based paint you have to hand.
Next I took some Artists Modeling Paste - don't worry if you dont have any, you can use joint compound or any paint texturiser. You could even just use really thick paint!
I mixed my paste with a little paint, but this isnt really necessary!
Using a pallete knife I spread a thick layer of the paste over my wooden canvas. It is a bit like frosting a cake!
I then took a large paint stick - you could use a ruler or cardboard or anything long enough to reach across your canvas. I wanted a 'stripey' type texture that was not too perfect!
I dragged and pressed, dragged and pressed the paint stick to create this texture. You could use a cup to create circles or cardboard to create swirls. It is really up to you. Then you need to be patient. You must leave your textured picture to dry overnight!
Once dry you get to have some fun! I raided my 9 year olds 'slime' making stash and grabbed her clear elmers glue. Any clear drying glue would work. I then painted the glue all over the texture - being careful to get it into the crevices. Once it was covered I reached for my glitter!
I chose white glitter, a pewter and a black contrasting colour. You could go with any colour you like, but I really wanted to get the ombre showing up against my white walls!
Sprinkle the glitter onto the wet glue. Start with your lightest colour and gradually introduce the contrasting shades working to the darkest shade at the top (or bottom) of your picture.
TIP: Work over a tray and gather up any loose glitter in a baggie for later use!
See how I gradually changed the colour?
The Sparkle is incredible!
Whilst the glue was drying on the glitter I painted my balsa wood frame. I attached it to the outside of my painting using No More Nails - though you could use actual nails!
I am in love. So simple and I think I could create several at a time. They would look spectacular grouped together! I will be sure to update the picture as soon as I do that!


Let me know if you make one!
Resources for this project:
See all materials
Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
Hometalk may collect a small share of sales from the links on this page.More info
Fiona Debell
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Go
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
3 of 7 questions
  • Montana Marie Montana Marie on Nov 27, 2017

    I LOVE this too! Has anyone tried it with anything other than glitter? Trying to brainstorm on other tiny 'things' to sprinkle through.. I wonder if my kiddos old crayons could be grated up and stick well.. any other ideas? Also.. does regular ol' wall paint work on canvas? What paint did you use on the frame? I love the rustic elegance!

  • Janice Janice on Dec 11, 2018

    what could you spray over glitter so it does not fall off onto floor?

  • Leonie Leonie on Nov 17, 2019

    love this idea... Thanks for the inspiration. Might grab an old picture I don't love anymore. Thinking about giving the glitter a final spray with clear 'paint'or even hairspray to keep it from falling... Your thoughts?

    thanks, Leonie

Comments
Join the conversation
2 of 62 comments
Next