It’s Tuesday the 10th, which means it’s time for this season’s unofficial Pinterest Challenge (not sponsored by Pinterest or anyone else). Katie dreamed this up to get us to stop pinning and start doing, and I happily joined in. Cue the choir of glue-gun-wielding angels!
I decided to try painting again just for fun. Aside from a painting I did a while back, I haven’t done much more than walls, accessories, and furniture in the last decade. Will these Pinterest Challenge paintings land me an art opening? Not likely. But they were a blast to make, I found spots for them all over the house, and they genuinely make me smile. The best part was spending a couple of evenings using Christmas art supplies that John gave me and that had sat untouched in my closet for months. Painting felt like a perfect, low-pressure creative escape, and I hope I keep going.
Following the rules, I took inspiration from several projects I linked in last Tuesday’s post and gave each my own spin. Here’s a recap of the pieces that inspired me:
- Fabric by John Robshaw — its geometric doodles reminded me of patterns my dad used to draw.
- Clara’s fearless painting — I’ve always loved her loose, confident style.
- A DIY cork-stamp project I found on Pinterest — she even used a toothpaste lid in her tutorial.
- Kristen at KFD Designs — she graciously allowed me to pin her work and I used it as a muse.
- A DIY art piece that originally came from a previous Pinterest Challenge — I loved that our challenge inspired someone else, who in turn inspired me.
- An easy watercolor card project — the bright, imperfect strokes and happy colors were irresistible.
I also draw inspiration from artists like Michelle Armas and tutorials about abstract art that encouraged me to just jump in. But enough talk — here’s the painting play-by-play.
My first painting night began after Clara went to bed. I pulled out a small Reeves acrylic set and inexpensive canvases I’d picked up with a holiday gift card.
About twenty minutes later I had this:
I thought carefully about the color palette — I love red and coral paired with green, yellow, and blue — but didn’t overthink application. Mostly I dabbed paint in spots, switched colors, and repeated. Sometimes I dragged the brush to blend; other times I stuck with distinct dabs. I loved how this piece turned out and immediately wished it were ten times larger, but starting small felt less intimidating. I can always have it enlarged later or frame it big with a thick mat.
The next painting didn’t resonate as strongly — maybe that was beginner’s luck with the first — but it still had a charm of its own. It taught me to take my time with color choices rather than rush to fill the canvas. Painting is more of a marathon than a sprint.
At only 4 x 6 inches, it’s a tiny, sweet commitment.
I moved on to a chunkier 5 x 5 canvas and went looser and more spontaneous with my brushwork.
This one is all dab-dab-dab. It felt a little water-lily–inspired to me — in a good way — with coral streaks and bright turquoise pops that made me happy. Again, color selection proved to be everything.
After everything dried, I looked for places to display the paintings. The hallway frame wall is a favorite spot for rotating art, so two thin canvas-wrapped boards went right into existing frames, replacing an IKEA print and a postcard. You can see them in the top left corner.
I still like the first one best — pure beginner’s luck. I removed the glass from one frame because the canvas was too thick, but the other one fit behind the glass just fine.
The 5 x 5 canvas found a place on the other gallery wall (top right).
Would you like turquoise smears with that?
Next I laid out two larger canvas boards (8 x 11, just $2 each) and photographed the stages they went through. They started out painfully ugly — as so many paintings do — but I build and build until I get somewhere different. At one point I wondered if I should have stopped, but the process taught me something important.
Layering and adding white brought them forward. I loved the little bright red heart that peeked through the white on one canvas — a happy surprise.
I learned to recognize when to stop. I kept noodling and pushed them a bit past where I preferred, so next time I’ll pause and evaluate mid-process to see if further changes are improvements or just changes for the sake of changing.
In person they have a neon greeny-yellow pop that feels modern and cheerful. And the beauty of cheap canvas boards is that you can always paint over them. No commitment, which is freeing.
To finish them off, John and I built two chunky wood frames from scrap — simple DIY frames that didn’t require a Kreg Jig or major tools. I originally planned to hang the framed pieces in the office, but they worked best in the kitchen instead. We used 3M picture-hanging strips so there are no holes to patch, and the one above the stove is protected by a $3 sheet of acrylic from Lowe’s so it’s easy to wipe clean if it gets splattered.
It’s funny how items I tried over the stove before didn’t work, yet this homemade painting and frame fit perfectly. Maybe it was meant to be — at least until I get the itch to paint over it again.
Here’s the budget breakdown:
- $11 — five canvases and a paintbrush (local art shop)
- $16 — 24-pack Reeves acrylic paints
- $0 — two homemade frames built from scrap
- $0 — two existing frames reused for the smaller canvases
- $3 — acrylic sheet from Lowe’s to protect the stove painting
- Total: $30 for five painted canvases (four framed) — averaging about $6 per piece.
If you count the supplies as a holiday gift (they were bought with a Christmas gift card months ago), I technically didn’t spend new money on this challenge — just used what we had plus a few inexpensive extras. I’ll take that budget-friendly win.
Check in with Katie, Kate, and Michelle to see the amazing projects they created too — they’ll be sharing theirs today as well. And if you joined the Pinterest Challenge, I’d love to see what you made. Link your project or post so we can all enjoy the results.
