DIY Vintage Canvas Tutorial

This DIY Vintage Canvas Tutorial was made using Sharpie oil based paint markers...making the multi-colored design a breeze. I've got the complete tutorial, including the aging process, below.

I've been needing something for the wall above the piano. I knew I wanted to have a hymn of some kind on display, but wasn't sure how to go about it. Then I stumbled onto a great canvas at the thrift store and this piece started to come together. 

I just love this hymn...

Come thou fount of every blessing

Tune my heart to sing thy grace

Streams of mercy never ceasing

Call for songs of loudest praise

Teach me some melodious sonnet

Sung by flaming tongues above

I'll praise the mount I'm fixed upon it

Mount of thy redeeming love...

I'm guessing it's obvious which line is my favorite.

I just think it's the perfect line for above a piano.

("Here I raise my Ebenezer" would have seemed a bit out of place...heh, heh).

I talk about this a lot on this blog...but I'm very cheap when it comes to art. So much so that I buy canvases (canvii?) at the thrift store and paint over them. I felt like I hit the lottery with this one...it had a custom frame, y'all! This would have cost me over $200 to create and have custom framed if I hadn't scored it at a thrift store. The first place I head in my Goodwill is back to the art section (really it's just a large bin). Most of it is stuff I wouldn't consider, but thick canvases go straight into my buggy to make art out of. And since this house is a bit bigger than our last...we have some wall space to fill up!

Since I weather and vintage-ize most of my pieces I create, using old artwork isn't a big issue. I just paint over them with chalk paint for a new-to-me blank canvas. 

These Sharpie Oil-based Paint Markers are my new craft obsession. They make creating canvases like this a breeze (so much easier than a bottle of paint and brushes!). I've always wanted to create a multi-colored word canvas, but it proved to be a bit much with the traditional medium. The ease of these markers made this project really do-able and quite simple, really. I grabbed my Sharpie Paint Markers at Michaels. Be sure to check your local newspaper and online for Michaels coupons while supplies last. Because...who doesn't love a good Michaels coupon?

Oh, and SCORE! All Sharpie Paint Markers are BOGO 50% off at Michaels Stores June 5th through 11th and again June 19th through 25th while supplies last.

I used my vinyl machine to create my words. I actually weeded the vinyl in reverse of what I normally do...to create a stencil. If you don't have a vinyl machine, you could use actual stencils and lay out your words.

I painted back over the vinyl to seal it before using my markers. I mainly did this because this particular canvas was super textured.

These paint markers take me back to my junior high cheerleading days...we would use the old school paint markers to create signs. These new Sharpie Paint Markers have taken the paint marker to an entirely new level of awesomeness. They're oil-based, so the paint looks like actual paint...not marker. It goes on a lot thicker and smoother than the old kind I remember from 25 years ago. 

The markers come with a white tip that you'll just press down to get the paint flowing.

                                                                                                                       

I love these Sharpie Paint Markers because they can be used on just about any surface: metal, pottery, wood, rubber, glass, plastic, stone, and more (like canvas!). They're resistant to water, fading, and abrasion and they dry super fast. These are so awesome for my kind of canvas art. It was really simple to switch back and forth with all the colors I used on this one...I truly would have never done this type of piece without these!

After I let it dry (didn't take long!), I roughed up the entire piece with a medium-grit sanding block to make it look old.

I also did two layers of chalk paint on the frame of the piece...first black and then white. I used the edge of a candlestick in between the coats to prevent the paint from sticking too much. Before it was completely dry, I took my same sanding sponge (because it was pretty much done for) and wiped the edges to remove the paint on the frame. This gave the frame an equally rough look that the canvas was about to have as well. 

Kind of funny...I truly couldn't ever un-attach the frame all the way around without pulling the canvas off the frame. Sometimes I pulled it up to work, but other times I left it. I literally just popped the whole thing with a rubber mallet on one side to make sure the piece was secure.

I aged the piece a bit further with a dark finishing wax (available in most hardware stores). It's a two step process and you'll need to work very quickly. 

Working in small sections (about 6" sections work best for me), brush on the wax and then immediately wipe it off with a soft cloth (I used my kids' old undershirts). The dark wax really deepens the colors...you can really tell where I sanded once it's applied. If you happen to get the piece too dark, you can go back with a natural wax and remove the dark wax using another soft cloth.

I'm super happy with how it came out. This can be seen through one of our front windows, too...which makes me really happy when I walk or drive by our house.

This room is really starting to come together. When we hosted a big family gathering over Memorial Day weekend, we had kids playing on the piano, a well-skilled musician strumming (and tuning...score!) the guitar, a record player spinning in another corner and just loads of beautiful music with voices and laughter everywhere all through the house. I'm so grateful we purchased this home...it's a dream come true, y'all. Popcorn ceilings, avocado tiles, and all.  

I know the vintage office lamp isn't everyone's cup of tea...but I love that thing. We found it in an antique store owned by the nicest British man on Hildebrand in San Antonio. It may or may not have been the only vintage office lamp we bought that day. It actually works great for my kids when they practice piano. (Although it has a circular tube-shaped bulb...not a clue how we'll replace that when it finally goes out!)

To be completely honest, he does not usually play from the old church hymnal (how quaint and precious would that be, y'all?). I stashed the commercial-looking piano lesson books for the photo shoot. ;)

Have you tried the new Sharpie oil based paint markers, yet?

Get over to Michaels and get you some!

This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Sharpie Paint Marker, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #SharpiePaintCreate http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV

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