My bathroom makeover is moving right along. This weekend, I got some shelves made and installed over the toilet (which I’ll share with you later), and I got some artwork done for my one blank wall. I wanted something simple, and something that incorporated all of the colors in the bathroom (including the stained wood), so I recycled the big white chunky frames from this project, and created this flower vine artwork with dimensional flowers made with drywall mud.
I didn’t take any step-by-step pictures, because it’s really pretty straightforward. I started by cutting two pieces of plywood, and then staining them for the “canvas”. Then I drew a vine onto the plywood with pencil, and went over it with white paint using a craft brush. Then I added a few leaves to the vine.
To make the flowers, I mixed a little bit of paint with pre-mixed drywall mud, just enough to make it workable. (The pre-mixed stuff is a little on the dry side.) Then I scooped up some of the drywall mud with my brush, put it on the plywood, and then used my brush to swirl it around.
Then I dipped my brush into the paint (either the teal or the yellow), and swirled the paint into the drywall mud. Then I repeated that with white paint. Just dip and swirl. I didn’t swirl too much because I didn’t want the colors to mix too much.
I think this artwork attempt goes in my “it’ll do” category. I love the flowers, but I’m not too thrilled with my vine. The only craft brush I could find was too big for vine-making, so it ended up being too thick for my taste, instead of thin and wispy like I envisioned it.
And then after I saw this artwork on Pinterest last night, I wished I could start over again and do something more like that, with lots and lots of flowers to bring more color to this wall. But it was too late. Perhaps if I come in under my 20-day goal on my bathroom makeover, I’ll give it another try. But if not, this will do. 🙂
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
I hope you’ll join me on my DIY and decorating journey! If you want to follow my projects and progress, you can subscribe below and have each new post delivered to your email inbox. That way you’ll never miss a thing!
34 Comments
Jennifer Loy
March 4, 2013 at 10:50 amI like yours better..just my opinion..I love all you do and share..I’m learning not to by afraid to try anything..thank you for that, I needed the push..lol
Sheri
March 5, 2013 at 2:19 amSame here…about everything!
Natalie @ A Turtle's Life for Me
March 4, 2013 at 11:33 amLove it! I think the vine looks great, especially against the dark stain.
Jean
March 4, 2013 at 11:36 amI absolutely love those little flowers and the technique! I would never have thought to do that.
Tammy Killough
March 4, 2013 at 12:10 pmOh NO….yours is WAY cuter! I love it! ~Tammy
Kim L.
March 4, 2013 at 12:38 pmYour flower vine artwork is divine! Such a clever idea to use drywall mud as paint. I would have never thought of that. Thanks for sharing!
Kelly PalmerKelly Palmer
March 4, 2013 at 2:57 pmI like yours so much better and especially so after seeing the price of the other one! As usual you did a beautiful job 🙂
Amie M.
March 8, 2013 at 1:00 pmIt is important to remember that there is a person and a story behind Pinterest posts even if they just seem like imperonal pictures floating around the web.
Kelly PalmerKelly Palmer
March 4, 2013 at 2:58 pmP.S. Is that a bit of shower curtain that I see in the picture? Can’t wait to see it!!
Kristi Linauer
March 4, 2013 at 3:03 pmHaha! I actually meant to mention that. Unfortunately, it’s just the shower curtain liner. The shower curtain is still on the “to do” list.
Sophia "Sophie" Stone
March 4, 2013 at 2:16 pmI love the 3D look that the dry wall mud gave to your flowers. It definitely added that unique touch.
P.S. I love the contrast of the dark stained wood panel background and the white frame!
JP
March 4, 2013 at 5:37 pmYours is way better than the pinterest one. WAY better. Love it.
Lori
March 4, 2013 at 6:07 pmOh my goodness!! How stinking cute are those!! Love it!!
Andrea
March 4, 2013 at 8:34 pmI like the Pinterest sample you posted- but I think I like yours better. 🙂 Very inspiring. :)Thanks so much for sharing. 🙂
Peggy
March 4, 2013 at 8:44 pmI love your artwork. I like the one on Etsy, too, but you want yours to be unique, not like the one on Etsy. Looks great! You are probably your own worst critic. Can’t wait to see your shelves and see what you decided to do for a shower curtain. You go, Girl!
Sue
March 4, 2013 at 10:11 pmI like it! Looks fresh and the colors are perfect to bring everything together. Well done.
Mrs Mike
March 4, 2013 at 10:21 pmI am always so inspired by your projects!! Absolutely love this 🙂
Carolyn
March 4, 2013 at 10:39 pmHey Kristi, that is truely customized and lovely. It reminds me that I once saw an idea that used tinted drywall mud with a stencil.
Sue
March 5, 2013 at 12:30 amBoth are cute but yours is better in my opinion.
Amy
March 5, 2013 at 5:33 amYours is much better than the other. They look like circles, yours look like flowers
Marie W
March 5, 2013 at 8:27 amI agree…. I like yours better too! =)
Kathleen
March 5, 2013 at 9:46 amI agree, I love yours better too. Sounds like you could make a bundle by selling these.
Angela Herrington
March 5, 2013 at 9:31 amI love this and can’t wait to see what you decide to do for the curtain!
Mary
March 5, 2013 at 11:00 amgenius !!
Tina
March 5, 2013 at 11:29 amLove it! Leave it just the way it is 🙂
Little Bit
March 5, 2013 at 7:32 pmI agree with Jennifer… I like yours better. The other one is totally contemporary, but yours is contemporary with a nod to traditional. They look really good. Little Bit
Debbie from NC
March 6, 2013 at 8:54 amLove your idea, looks great and OMG you have done such a great job in the bathroom..Love checking every day to see what you have done…
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March 7, 2013 at 11:40 am[…] This past Sunday, I was working on my artwork for my bathroom… […]
Amie M.
March 7, 2013 at 11:09 pmHi Kristi, thanks so much for posting a link to my artwork! I am so flattered that you like it(although it seems like your blog readers appreciate yours quite a bit more and aren’t afraid to say it)! Your textured paintings are lovely and your blog is terrific too. I love to paint, but I’m not very ambitious with interior decorating (I wish I was). Your blog is truly inspirational! Enjoy your week.
Kimberly
March 8, 2013 at 4:18 amI LOVE your artwork! I love the vine, it’s so whimsical and flow-y (is that a word?) and I adore the dimensional flowers. The Etsy painting is sweet, too, but I really really like yours with the vine, and how the paintings together form a diptyche. I also saw your shelf project, and must say I am duly impressed with what you have done with this bathroom, the transformation is nothing short of amazing! Maybe you can do a small painting like the Etsy one to place on your top shelf?
Cindy
March 12, 2013 at 10:12 pmI had wanted to do this around my ceiling fan (like a faux medallion). Seemed a little scary to me, but you made it look easy!
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March 16, 2013 at 9:23 am[…] And then on the other side of the bathroom is the vine and flower artwork that I made using drywall mud. […]
Andreas
March 21, 2013 at 2:11 pmIt doesn’t always require a very large budget to put something really creative on the wall. If you have the ability to get creative you can find yourself with a nice conversation piece. You just have to put your thinking cap on.
Linda
April 3, 2014 at 7:27 amI too, like yours much better than the other one. It caught my eye right away. It’s simple and sweet and gives your eye room to rest within the picture. I like the vine. The whole thing strikes me as light, refreshing and a bit whimsical.