Commissioned canvas

Back when I was planning to decorate M's big girl room, I got some ideas for how to make a cheap version of the canvas painting that I really wanted. It was $30 in the store, but I created it for $2.50 and a few hours.  Then, I did another one, and then another one.  You can see the finished products here, here and here.

After a friend of mine found out that a friend of hers was expecting, she commissioned me to do another of the owl canvases.  I was excited but waited a while to start.  In the meantime, we discovered that her friend was having a boy (therefore, I couldn't use such the girly colors), AND that her nursery wasn't going to be owls (therefore, I couldn't use the same idea). So, I got to thinking, and we were sneaky, and got a peak at the nursery and bedding.  (I'll go ahead and apologize for the grainy quality of pics - although I love my iPhone and it's picture taking capabilities, it doesn't capture the full color of everything that I want you to see.) This is a picture of the focus of her nursery, the crib and decor...

Isn't this adorable?!  It's the Willow Organic bedding set with the deer and squirrels on it.  And she got the tree with flowers, birds, deer, etc off etsy.com I totally would do this for a boy nursery, no doubt!  And here is a little close up - I love the precious bambi like deer and the little orange birdies....

 So, I got to imagining what would look cute and how I could incorporate it all and bring it all together.  Oh yeah, my friend also wanted to use the monogram because of the sweet names picked out for this baby.  So I had a lot to get in on one 16x20 canvas and I spent more time trial and error in drawing out the unpainted canvas than I did actually painting it.  Since it's for a gift for someone else, and not for me, I was particularly picky about what it would end up looking like.  Once I got an approval of the drawing, I went to painting.  I only used 3 paint brushes, an egg carton, and the following colors to do this: red, yellow, white, buttermilk, brown, black, olive green and forest green.  Even M got a little excited when we talked about deer and birds one day. And I even used the letters as an "ABC" conversation :)  So, here's the final product that will be delivered at next week's shower. I hope my friend, and her expecting friend, are as excited and thrilled about it's outcome as I am!

I have another empty 16x20 canvas if anyone else has an idea for something they need painted. Apparently, this is a calming and relaxing outlet for me, and I'm learning how to be more and more creative - between paints and cupcakes, I might have myself a new profession!