Mini Canvas Painting

One of my all-time tips' for selecting presents for anyone would definitely be a DIY present, handmade with love and care. Some might take an infinite amount of time to complete, like scrapbooks, but I've got a couple of craft ideas that are perfect for those who don't have a lot of time on their hands.

First craft project up on this blog would be a Mini Canvas Painting!

Basically I've had this mini painting canvas stand left lying around in my craft bag for YEARS. I bought it because it was cute, but never used it at all. So since Christmas was around the corner a few weeks ago, I decided to finally make use of it and get rid of it once and for all!

Things you would need:

1 mini painting canvas stand

4 1.5" x 1.5" empty canvas

Acrylic paint

Paint brushes

Craft glue

Pencil (optional)

Both the canvas and stand were purchased from Art Friend. The glue I used is actually more for jewelry and beading, with a super fine tip for precision, but I like the strong adhesiveness of it, so I used it for this purpose. Otherwise, craft glues like PVA would work fine :)

Step 1: Make a light sketch on the canvas before actual painting

Unless the painting is to be abstract and freestyle, I would say sketching definitely helps in the painting process later on. 

And yes, from the sketches you can roughly tell that I've taken much inspiration from the Hong Kong cartoon character, McDull. 

Step 2: Paint!

I realised, while sketching, that the pencil marks kept smudging the white canvas and might still be visible after painting. So to rectify the problem, I painted a layer of white over the entire sketch to fade the pencil marks before the actual painting. I would say it helped because I could barely see the pencil sketches and knew it wouldn't show in the final product. Having said that, you would probably need to know 90% of your painting to paint without the sketch as your guideline.

If you're not confident enough, then perhaps instead of painting the first layer of white over the sketch, paint as per normal. Let it dry for 30 minutes, or until dry, and at the end, use a fine tip permanent marker to outline your painting to conceal the pencil marks.

What I did here was both, actually. I used a fine tip Sharpie pen to outline the painting and add in details like the facial features of the pigs. It was either the Sharpie pen or using a super fine tip paint brush, and since I didn't have the latter, I opted for the easier way out. It's more precise as well, because you get a firm grip and control over a pen rather than a paint brush, which I was totally not confident about anyway.

Step 3: Glue the pieces together

I guess this really is a no-brainer. Just bear in mind not to apply too much glue on each side, lest the excess leaks out when two pieces of the canvas join together and it becomes a sticky mess.

The glue I used here is G-S Hypo Cement, which I purchased from a jewelry and bead shop along Arab Street.

Step 4: Let it dry overnight and VIOLÀ! 

You've got yourself a mini canvas painting!

This took me about 1 to 1 1/2 hours to do (minus the drying of the glue), because the canvases are pretty small and the drying time for the paint was quite short.

It would make a pretty piece to place at a bedside table, bookcase or something. What's not to love about this affordable, customizable DIY present?

I hope this was a good start to kickoff my craft projects on this blog :)

Have a happy first Monday of the year! xx