DIY: Chevron Canvas with Kate Spade Quote

Long time no see! It has been far too long since I have written my last blog and for that I apologize.  As some of you may know, I am studying Chemical Engineering at the University of Cincinnati.  It is a 5 year program due to the mandatory co-op program.  I am going into my 4th year...almost there!  Anyways, I was taking classes all summer (May-August) which I am using as my excuse for not posting any blogs.

Enough excuses...let's get started on what you're all really here for :)

Materials Needed:

- Three 14" x 20" Canvas: $9 (It comes in a 7-pack for $20)

-Thick, medium, thin paint brushes: $2

- Triangular Ruler (45/90): $8.41 

- A Pencil

- Painter's Tape: $5.87 

-Color palette: $0.80

-Americana White Wash Acrylic Paint: $0.83

-Americana Black Acrylic Paint: $0.83

-Americana Red Acrylic Paint: $0.83

-Americana Orange Acrylic Paint: $0.83

-Americana Yellow Acrylic Paint: $0.83

-Americana Citron Green Acrylic Paint: $0.83

-Americana Festive Green Acrylic Paint: $0.83

-Delta Creative Turquoise Acrylic Paint: $0.83

-Americana Lavender Acrylic Paint: $0.83 

How to make the Chevron Pattern:

First, you will only need two of the canvasses, the triangular ruler (45/90), and a pencil.  

You will simply use the 90 degree angle of the ruler to draw your chevron pattern.  I started by placing the peak of my ruler 3 cm from the left edge of the canvas as well as 3 cm from the top of the canvas (see step 1 in image below).  Then I slide my rule to the right and continuing this method until I reach the right side of the canvas.  I made my chevron stripes 3 centimeters wide.

It's important to try to keep your ruler straight and parallel to the edge of the canvas.  This method is much more difficult and less precise as using painter's tape, but I did not have painter's tape that was wide enough to create larger chevron stripes. 

 Once you have one line done, measure 4.5 centimeters down from the peak of the first triangle.  Mark a point. This point is approximately where the next peak should be placed directly below the peak you measured from (see step 2 below).  Repeat the same pattern you did to draw your first time and that's it.  It's a tedious process, but it is well worth it! 

Now, once you have your chevron pattern sketched,  it's time to paint! It may seem silly to some, but I started by painting every other stripe white.  Some may be wondering,
"Why are you painting a white canvas white?"  It's simple- so the texture of the canvas is even.  If I just painted the colors, you could tell the other portion was not painted.  This is just a personal opinion, if you don't want to paint the white stripes, you don't have to.  I painted over it quickly and didn't try too hard to make it perfect because the color coats of paint will easily cover up any "mistakes".  

Now for the somewhat more difficult part--painting the colors stripes.  Unlike the painter's tape method of making chevron strips, you cannot simple carelessly paint over the entire canvas.  The best way to paint these strips in order to stay within the lines is the outline the strip first. Then it will make it easier to fill in the rest.  I decided to paint the colors in the same order as a rainbow. I was always taught ROYGBV to remember the colors of the rainbow.  Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Violet.  My yellow was very transparent so I decided to add some white to make it more opaque to help cover the pencil lines.  The same with the lime green, except I added green to darken the shade slightly.

I think it's easiest to simultaneously do both canvasses at the same time instead of one at a time.  Then you can paint the stripes color by color as you go.

If you don't want to do a quote, you can stop there, but I decided it would look adorable to add a quote between the two canvasses.  I looked up ideas on pinterest and instragram and stumbled upon this Kate Spade quote: "Live COLOR fully" which I instantly fell in love with.

It helps me to sketch out what I'm going to paint before I jump into it.



I think pictures are a lot easier to follow in this case so here it is:










And that's all that's to it! It might take awhile if you're a perfectionist like me, but I think this is a great DIY for beginner painters (especially if you use the painter's tape method to do the chevron patter).  Please let me know if anything needs further clarification throughout this process. I thought a lot of this was pretty self explanatory, but it could also be because I'm familiar with the process.  Anyways, please let me know how I'm doing and constructional criticism is always appreciated :)

HAVE A GREAT DAY! 

Don't forget to follow me on Instragram: @KraftyKellzster