DIY: Family Tree Canvas

Another DIY? Of course! I've never been one of those people to look at something and think, "Hey, I could make that!" but lately I've been tapping into my creative side and I'm loving it! There is something very satisfying about creating a piece of art for your home and loving the way it turns out. It's been a long time since I felt proud of myself for accomplishing something, and it feels nice:)

A week or two ago, I was browsing through family tree items on Etsy (have you ever checked out Etsy.com? The world is so full of creative, inspiring people!) and saw a family tree quilt that someone had made that I LOVED. Now, being that I don't quilt and can't even sew, I changed the idea a bit and decided to do a similar project, but use mod podge to decoupage scrapbook paper onto a canvas. I'm pleased with how it turned out, even though it's not perfect. It's imperfectly perfect, just like my own little family:)

Materials needed: misc. scrapbook paper, mod podge, blank canvas (I used 11 x 14), foam brushes, printed pictures of you and your children (on regular printer paper, not photo paper)
> I got my canvas for 40% off at Michael's, so it only cost $3.20. I used 4 different sheets of scrapbook paper which cost $1.80 total. So aside from the cost of a new jar of mod podge (eek, that stuff is pricey! $7 for a pretty small jar!), this is a very frugal art project!

For an added "cute" touch, I wrote my and Chuck's initials on the trunk of the tree and our wedding date underneath it. After I finished the project I thought it would have been cute to "carve" the kids initials and birthdays into their limbs of the tree, but it was too late to add them :( Oh well.

Have fun making yours and show me how it turns out! I used green scrapbook paper because my house is very neutral and virtually any color would look fine, but I love the idea of doing a red/yellow autumn tree also.

PS--you can't see it in the picture, but using mod podge on canvas makes the whole thing look like an oil painting. It is very cool!