DIY: Nursery Artwork - Part 2

In an earlier post, I chatted about artwork that I made to hang above the dresser/changing table in the new nursery. You can read more about that here. In addition to these frames, I also needed some artwork above the crib. I had been doing some reading on nursery safety, and one thing that stood out to me was to avoid hanging any art above the crib that could hurt your baby should it fall off the wall. This means that any framed pieces, especially ones with glass inserts would be a big no-no above a crib. Most people opt for wall decals or a mural so you can still have a beautiful piece of art on the wall, but that there would be zero chance of injury should it fall off. 

I decided to go with unframed canvas artwork. And to save costs, I opted to paint these myself. So, I headed down to Michael's and picked out 2 canvases of identical size that would fill the space above the crib nicely. I scored these 2 canvases at 50% off, so it only cost me $25 for the two of them. I also picked out a few tubes of acrylic craft paint that would coordinate with the room.

And then the canvases sat there. Blank and white. Taunting me. I had no clue what to paint. And I am the furthest thing from being an artist, so it was even harder to come up with a plan that I could actually paint, and that would look good when I was done with it.

I decided to paint the canvas with an abstract scheme. I painted the base colour the same colour we used on the dresser (you'll see more of that in an upcoming post), and starting to swipe white, green, and yellow accent paint horizontally across the canvas. I did the same thing to both canvases.

Once I was done, I stood back and looked at my accomplishment. And I hated them. They were just too abstract for a nursery. There was nothing fun and child-like about them. (I'll spare you any pictures of these canvases - trust me, you'd thank me).

So, I decided to repaint them. But, I needed some inspiration - I was back to having no idea what to paint. Until one day, I was sitting at the top of my stairs with my dog, and I looked into our living room below, and noticed the pattern on the cushions on the couch. Lightbulb! (Sometimes inspiration finds us when and where we least expect it). 

Back to my canvases: I repainted the base colour (I used the same paint from the dresser makeover), and this time I used 3 accent colours - orange, yellow, and white. Paint in hand, I used 3 same-size wine corks to get the look that I was after.

What do you think? Like I said before, I'm definitely no artist, so these pieces could have come out cleaner, but they work in the space. And they were super cheap - so if I need to repaint them down the line (or replace them), it won't be a huge loss.

And the best part? They coordinate perfectly with the room!

Stay tuned for more upcoming posts about the nursery (not to mention the final reveal). I'll be sharing the dresser makeover and the lighting next week.