Pottery Barn Glitter Santa Canvas

A few years back, Pottery Barn had this beautiful canvas in their holiday catalog, listed for over $150. I know this because my friend Jen coveted it, but didn't want to pay that price for one.

So Jen, being an art teacher at a local high school, took the catalog to work and used her overhead projector to transpose the image onto a blank canvas, and painted her own.

Here is her result...

This photo does not do it justice, believe me.

So, what do friends do?  Copy and lift ideas from one another, no?  I jumped at the chance to spend an evening with her this weekend to dive into the exact same project.  Here it is, step by step.

 Here is my 20" x 30" canvas, with pencil lines drawn from the overhead projector.  It really doesn't look like much of anything, huh?

She instructed me to paint the canvas in specific spots, and I did so with the Martha Stewart silver metallic paint.  (I have to say--neither one of us are big fans of the paint.  To get total coverage, it requires several layers of paint.  I didn't have the time or the patience for that.  Luckily, it doesn't have to be a solid or heavy coat.)  I made several minor mistakes, but was instructed to keep moving on, and to not get hung up on little details.

After the painting was completely dry, she handed me a bottle of Elmer's glue and a big bottle of glitter.  She told me to paint over the metallic spots with glue, then glitter those spots.

I'm not sure if you can tell from this photo or from others, but a 20x30 canvas isn't little.  Trying to keep the glitter from going all over the place was nearly impossible.  This is why I fully encourage you to do this over your friend's house, not your own.  :)  Thanks, Jen.

She's one smart cookie.  She also advised me to transport it home in a big garbage bag, so it didn't get all over my van.  Thanks again, Jen.

Once I got it home, I took the liberty to take it outside and give it a good few taps on the back, to knock off as much residual glitter as possible.

I just love how it turned out.  It just shimmers in the sunlight.  And at night, the reflection of the tree lights makes it glisten, too.

I can't wait to make at least 120 more of them!!

Thanks for the inspiration, Jen.  I love you, girl!

Enjoy your day!