Do-Over-able Do-it-yourself paintings!!

Remember when we were little and we said "No Do-Overs." It was like federal law. "No Touchbacks." and it was set in stone (for the day). Boy, am I glad those rules don't apply now. I'm truly grateful for do-overs (as an adult I really have no opinion about touchbacks...I'm not even sure what those are...but I'm pretty sure it does actually deal with touching).

I feel like everyday I'm getting the chance to do-over. I yell at my kids...i get a do-over. I snap at my husband...i get a do-over. I don't clean my house...well, then I just get a "do."

However, my perfectionist side sometimes gets the best of me.  For example, if you saw my house, I actually have pretty blank walls and undecorated shelves because I'm afraid of messing up and I don't want to do-over. I sometimes give up on a project when I soon realize I can't do it perfect. Or I don't start something unless I know it will be amazing. That's why this next project was a real big step for me.

I attempted a painting for my office. My office is a horrible pale blue color (i didn't choose it) and I need something bright for the walls, so I decided to do a "drag paint" painting for my wall. I had no idea how it would turn out.

Okay. You'll need:

a canvas (2 pack is $7.99 at Michael's and this week there was a 50% off coupon)

acrylic paints

a squeegee or something that can drag the paint (a stiff piece of cardstock works, too)

a sponge brush

a paper plate for the paint

optional - a chopstick to make details

I first painted a thin coat of paint on the canvas (so it wouldn't be so stark on the white) then I squeezed a generous amount of paint at the top of the canvas. (I dripped paint, too...but that's okay)

Then I took the squeegee (or the cardstock) and I dragged the paint down the canvas.

So, here's the do-over part.  From this you can see that my painting looked like a colorful highway. So, I waited for it to dry and I did the same thing with the paint going horizontal.  I did this a few times. I even got the idea to cut out a bird and paint the silhouette.  And of course, no bird is without flowers, so i took the end of a chopstick and I dipped it in paint and I created little flowers.

 Now, I'm not convinced that I love these paintings, but I had fun.  I'm sure my kids would have had fun, too...had I let them play. Although, while I was doing this my 3 year old kept giving me her commentary about the colors I should use.  It was a nice introduction to impressionistic art, because she was telling me that the orange stripe made her happy with the blue.

And the best part about this? If they don't look good on the wall...i can "DO-OVER!" or just tell everyone that my kids painted them for me...shhhh, don't blow my cover.