DIY Anchor Canvas Art | Spark Your Summer

Wow week five of Spark Your Summer is here, there have been so many great summer projects shared so far, and today’s guest does not fail!!  Kristen Duke is here with a DIY Anchor Canvas Art she made, reminiscent of a family vacation…….funny enough, we are traveling home from vacation today!  Since my oldest daughter is decorating her new home with a nautical theme in the family room, I think I will need to make one of these for her real soon!  Be sure to check out Kristen’s blog, she a photographer and lifestyle blogger with oodles of bright and creative ideas!!

Hi friends! I’m happy to be here at TidyMom today, Cheryl is a true inspiration, and I’m grateful to know her through our blogging adventures! Today I’m sharing how I made the main piece that is central to my Nautical Inspired Summer Mantel, this Anchor Canvas Art.

I have been enamored with everything ANCHOR since we took our first family cruise in January. I figure sailing, boating, and just spending time outdoors was a great inspiration for my summer mantel, so I went with the anchor theme.

Anchors signify strength, and there are so many inspirational quotes involving anchors, I had a difficult time selecting which one I wanted at the center of the room. I love inspiring quotes around my home, for my kids to see them often, and hopefully they sink deep into the depths of their memory banks. I ultimately chose this quote because I want my children to remember their own strength amidst life’s storms.We are constantly encouraging them to develop a deep foundation of faith, and anchors are synonymous with that foundation. This is a reminder to anchor yourself to something that will sustain you in the storms of life. 

This canvas is really quite simple to pull together, and can be adjusted to any color scheme. I chose gold and navy as my main mantel colors, so used just those two colors against the white canvas.

I love using my cutting machine to make vinyl shapes to use as stencils. I shared how I did that with glitter anchor shirts I made for our cruise, but you can also trace your shape onto vinyl and cut it out out as well. What I like about the vinyl is that it is like a giant sticker and adheres right onto any surface. But you can also use card stock and glue it on, but it will then just be pulled off later. I also made a vinyl stencil of the quote I used, and painted inside the letters.

This is a 16×20 canvas, and they are quite inexpensive at craft stores. Under $10, but often on sale, or you can use a coupon.

Here are the steps I followed at a glance:

1. Adhere anchor shape to canvas
2. paint around edges of anchor in a wispy fashion
3. allow paint to dry
4. remove vinyl anchor
5. admire the beauty therein
6. adhere quote vinyl stencil
7. paint second color
8. remove vinyl
9. admire the beauty even more

Here is a photo collage of my step by step (taken with my phone). You can use any color of vinyl, because you will throw it away in the end.

Once my design was all dry, I used some decorative rope to outline the edge of the canvas, and touched it up with a bit of the blue paint.

Come on over to my site today to see the entire Nautical Inspired Summer Mantel! I’ve also got a free printable design of this anchor art quote, in case anyone wants some EXTRA simple decor!

Also on my site, you can take a home tour, learn how to Say NO to Auto on your fancy camera, check out our theme parties, delicious recipes, or family travel adventures.

I’m all over social media, you can find me there, too (Facebook/Instagram)! My happiest place though, is being with my handy husband, and 4 fabulous kids, planning out our next adventure from our home in Austin, Texas.
  Click here to learn more about the Spark Your Summer series and how you can participate!

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