How to Make Children’s Wall Art with Spray Paint and a Canvas…

Making fun wall decor for a child’s room is one of my favorite things to do because it’s so easy and fun! Sometimes the simpliest thing used in a unique or “whimsical” way can make wonderful decor for a child’s wall or room.  If I had to start over and pick a new career, I’m pretty sure I would be designing children spaces because anything goes and there is no better place to spark a child’s creativity than the space that surrounds them everyday.

This project started out as a Valentine project that I wanted to do for my daughter.  Initially I just made one canvas and I loved how it turned out that I just went to town and made a whole collection for the perfect little spot in her room:

The first canvas that I made and my Valentine’s project this fun heart canvas.  I simply stuck sticky kid’s foam letters around a heart that I drew on the canvas and then I primed and spray painted over the letters:

This is how it looked before and after I spray painted it:

This is not the first time I have spray painted sticker letters on canvas and in fact, I shared a similar project last year here:

It’s such a quick and easy way to create word/quote art or a textural/dimensional fun piece. Let me show you the before and afters of each canvas in this fun collection and then I will give the instructions following the pictures:

This next piece was done with foam glitter heart stickers:

Next I did a heart necklace that I made out of beads and a heart sticker:

My little girl is learning how to play jacks and I thought I would glue the jacks and ball to the canvas and give it a try. I really loved how fun it turned out:

This next canvas I made was with a stack of round doily’s that I glued to the canvas:

Lastly, I really wanted to use this plastic cupcake that was sentimental to us as it has been served at almost every tea party when my girl was itty bitty {sigh}… We went ahead and used a sharp knife to cut the cupcake in half, glued it to the canvas and primed it with four coats of primer and then spray painted it:

Not only was this project super easy and inexpensive but we really had fun with coming up with the ideas {my girl was a big help} and spray painting! There are so many possibilities with this technique. Imagine doing a collection for a little boys room with little cars, train tracks and a little train. This project could be done with a larger canvas as well. We are thrilled with how the finished collection looked on her wall.

So let’s jump right into the instructions:

1) I started with (six) 8 x 8 canvases that I purchased at my craft store.

2) For the projects made with foam sticker letters, I strategically placed the sticky letter (adhesive side) to my canvas:

3) For the projects made with objects, I used a small amount of hot glue to glue objects to the canvas. You have to be careful to try and hide the glue under the object because any exposed area of hot glue will really show through the spray paint:

For the jacks, I just glued a very small amount to only the prongs of the jacks touching the canvas.

4) Next, I primed over my designs with a really good spray primer. This is the most important part. In order for this project to work, a really good spray primer must be used to thoroughly cover the objects and to help hold the objects. I only use Rustoleum Professional Spray Primer because one coat of this equals about three coats of the cheaper stuff:

It doesn’t matter if you get grey or white primer because you will be spray painting a color over the primer.

5) I like to spray at least 2 coats of primer over sticker letters and 3-4 coats over objects allowing at least 2-3 hours for the primer to dry in between layers. I put a fan on the wet canvas to help it dry faster. I like to really coat the canvas so it seals the edges around the objects and letters to help hold.

6) After the primer is dry, I spray a light even coat of spray paint and let it completely dry and then I spray one last coat. In this case I used a Valspar paint in a light pink and a hot pink (berry). I only wanted two colors for our collection. I’m not a huge fan of Valspar paint but it was all I could find in town for the right colors of pink. I prefer Rustoleum products by far. My soft pink was a matte finish and the berry was a gloss:

7) The spray paint takes longer to dry than the primer. I let the piece completely dry overnight and then I painted strategic areas ton the objects with an enamel paint and then I hung it on the wall.

Again, there are SO many possibilities with this technique and pretty much anything goes! If you can glue it to the canvas and have it stay, basically anything can be primed with this professional primer!

I just love the whole collection but I think my favorite is the heart with the letters and the jacks. Which one is your favorite?

Check back later on this week, I think it’s time again for us to have some chocolate! I have a recipe for some yummy rasberry brownie truffles that I will be posting hopefully on Friday! Just in time for the weekend!

Have a wonderful week friends!

Cheers!

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