This post is sponsored by My Wonderful Walls. All opinions are entirely my own.
Recently, Ash and I have been getting a toddler room ready for our sweet little son, which means new furniture, new color schemes, and of course, new wall decorations. His nursery decorations were random things that I put together before he was born. So it was time to decorate with something he really enjoys. With all of the adorable (and expensive!) artwork out there for kids’ rooms, I decided to venture out and make my own.
My goal was to create something special to hang on his walls that he would treasure – and that I wouldn’t grow tired of later. So, with just a few key materials, I was able to create these adorable DIY canvas wraps. They are so simple to make! .
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We love My Wonderful Walls products so much that we also have a 15% off coupon code for everyone. Just visit My Wonderful Walls and use JUNE15 at checkout (expiration June 30, 2017).
If you are the lucky winner of the giveaway, you can use the coupon code too. They have some awesome stickers, decals, and stencils 🙂
How to Make DIY Wall Art for Kids Rooms
I had this vision to create something with little effort that would also save others time and money on room decorations.
This vision included using gallery wraps or wrapped canvases. I wanted to avoid the hassle of frames – it’s a lot of work to pick out frames, mats, and work out sizing. As an added bonus, wrapped canvases are super easy to find at craft stores, usually are on sale, and definitely save money- as frames and mats are much more expensive. Plus, I was happy to avoid having a bunch of glass frames hanging in my son’s room.
Next, I searched high and low looking for wall stickers or wall decals that I liked. Yet, rather than stick these directly to the walls to create a mural-like piece, my thinking was that I could easily stick these wall decals to the canvases. It would certainly make for a really simple but elegant project.
The problem? A lot of wall decals for kids look really cartoony. I wanted to find something that looked more authentic and artistic.
Then, I stumbled across My Wonderful Walls and LOVED the vehicle stickers they had. Their vehicle stickers have so many colors and details – they look almost textured. I fell in love with this rusty truck (pictured below). Isn’t it adorable?!
Also, their wall stickers were a really nice size and would definitely fill 9×12 and 8×10 canvases.
Materials for DIY Wall Art
- Canvas Wraps – easily found at craft stores
- Acrylic Paint – found at craft stores
- Painter’s tape – only if painting stripes or chevron designs
- Washi tape, if desired
- Alphabet stickers, if desired – easy to find at craft stores
- Vehicle Wall Stickers – from My Wonderful Walls (15% off using JUNE15 – exp. June 30, 2017)
Budget-Friendly Tip – When buying the canvases, paint, and other materials from the craft stores, check for sales and coupons before going. A lot of times the craft stores run 40%-60% off canvases. You could also use a coupon and buy a pack in bulk. Some craft stores even have surveys you can fill out that gives you a discount off of your next purchase.
In order to get the sizes right on the canvases, I waited to purchase the canvases until I received the stickers. Then, I took the vehicle decals to the craft store with me, so that I would get the canvas sizes right. The wall decals came in one long roll, so it was easy to bring to the store with me.
Because the vehicle stickers from My Wonderful Walls were a really nice size (and this was their mini kit), most of the canvases I bought were 9×12, 8×10, and a few 8x8s.
I also picked up a few little 4×6 canvases for the road signs. With all of the stickers and canvases, I definitely had enough to decorate a large room.
Making the Wall Decorations
After I had my materials together, I first cut out each wall sticker and placed it on the canvas that it would go on. I also arranged groups of canvases together to visualize how they would look on the wall.
Painting the Canvases
Time to paint! You could do this in a few different ways – you could just paint a solid background or you could create a design with painters tape – like stripes or chevron. You could even do polka dots, if you have adhesive circles! It’s up to you how creative you’d like to be.
I decided to opt for mostly solid backgrounds with a few striped canvases too. The solid background was easy to do. It took me two coats of acrylic paint. Be sure to paint the sides too – to give it the gallery wrap look.
Making the Perfect Stripes
Painting the stripes was a little more difficult, but I eventually got a perfect technique down. I would highly recommend using painter’s tape and nothing else, as you will get the strongest stick.
On my first attempt, I used painter’s tape and then painted the blue stripes – and I got a very imperfect line. After a bunch of experimenting (even tried gesso – which made no impact), this is how I got perfect stripes.
- Place your painter’s tape on the canvas.
- Next, use white acyrlic paint to seal the edges of the painters tape to the canvas. You are essentially creating a seal, so the intended color (blue in my case) doesn’t leak under the tape.
- Wait a minute or two – but don’t let the white dry completely, and paint the stripe your intended color. Do a even stroke, going only one direction, so that your intended color doesn’t get underneath the tape.
- Peel the tape off right away (after you are done with the top and bottom line). Once acrylic paint dries, it’s very plastery, so you want to remove the tape before the paint dries.
In the below picture, you can see the first stripe painted, with a perfectly straight line. Above that, you can see the white sealed edges along the green painter’s tape.
Now, some of my blue stripes were streaked with white from the seal I painted, but I much preferred going over the stripe again rather than having a jagged edge.
I also recommend having a practice canvas and painting short stripes, before attempting a good canvas. Once I had the routine down, each of my canvases came out perfect.
Decorating the Canvases
Now for the fun part! It was time to stick the vehicle wall decals to the canvases. The wall stickers were such great quality and so easy to work with. The stick was perfect – and they were easy to move when I changed my mind on placement.
Adding a Few Extras
One of the things I definitely wanted on the canvases was the name of the vehicle. My son is very visual and has taught himself lower case letters just from observation, so I figured if I passively have the names of the vehicles on the canvases, he will learn to spell.
So, I labeled as many vehicles as I could with the alphabet stickers I had. (This involved getting a little creative and “making” some letters).
Last, I felt that some of the canvases needed a little extra touch. I saw some cool washi tape at the craft store and added it to the canvases.
I’ve never used washi tape before, but I’ve seen so many cute creations with it that I thought I could use the washi tape to give the look of roads, construction signs, and railroads. It was the perfect touch!
Time & Cost
After collecting the materials, the DIY wall canvases took about one to two days to make, including dry time for the coats of paint. It was a super quick project.
The cost really depends on how many of the materials you need to purchase. If you have paint and alphabet stickers, then you’ll just need the canvases and stickers.
And, if you are interested in FREE wall decals, enter our giveaway – and you’ll be well on your way to making these adorable room decorations. Free wall decals plus the coupon code (JUNE15) will definitely save you money on the project 🙂
If you are looking for a simple tutorial to make DIY wall art for kids rooms, definitely consider this one. The materials were easy, the canvases were simple to put together, and they turned out great. You’ll definitely save money while creating something your children will adore.
Here are some fun facts about Tammy:
The following projects are simple DIYs and will undoubtedly increase your home’s curb appeal.
For only a weekend of work, we sure reaped the benefits of that project.
It was an easy project – lots of digging and carrying stones. Yet, in just two weekends, we had a fabulous stone walkway. The hardest part of the project wasn’t the labor involved in making the path but carrying all those stones.
If your home is missing a direct path to your front door, or if you are looking for a pathway that’s simple to maintain, check out our 
In fixing ours, we realized just how straightforward it was – and what a huge impact it had on our curb appeal. A little fresh paint and a brand new post made our beautiful orange tulips finally feel at home. A mailbox makeover is a simple project that you can do in a weekend, and it will definitely impress the neighborhood.
Check out our four favorites – a photobook of commonly-used sayings, quotations from various countries of travel, a Seinfeld-themed book, and special occasion photobooks. Then, see how you can easily make a DIY photo book for the ones you love.
The sayings were so funny to hear. I mean Ash talking in a Jamaican accent alone was cracking me up.
Here are a few from Jamaica – Ash loves the picture on the right of the photo book. He’s climbing a fallen tree after a huge hurricane hit.
The DIY photo book went all the way to present day in New York. I just adore the wedding picture of my sister-in-law and father-in-law with the phrase, “Anything can happen in a New York minute.” So beautiful and true 🙂
We included photos with all the grandchildren and phrases like “hold your horses” and “pretty darn quick” that are unique to the United States.
The photo below is one of my favorites. We were at a family get together and someone took this candid shot of us. I mean, look at each of those faces! After all these years, we finally found the perfect Seinfeld quote to go with it.
And, of course, we had to include “close-talker” in the DIY photo book.
We tried to limit the quotes and photos in the picture book to 30 in honor of 30 years. Yet, with all of the funny Seinfeld quotes and pictures we had collected, 30 was a drop in the bucket. The Seinfeld DIY photo book ended up being much longer (and hilarious).
To keep everything organized in the DIY photo books, as far as quotes and pictures, we used Google docs. You can easily share this with others. So, we made a simple spreadsheet of quotes and then wrote a description of picture we planned to use. This kept everything organized and sequenced properly.
I love having my son make things for others. Even more, I love having him create something with a specific person in mind – say Nana – he’ll pick out all of the colors Nana likes, the stickers she likes, and create something special with her in mind. I think it teaches such an important lesson.
How to Make Tissue Paper Suncatchers
Materials for Tissue Paper Suncatchers
I usually keep a stack of small dollar store bins or buckets in my office/craft room. I use these to organize our kids crafts as they are happening. For example, I’ll have scissors/pens in one bin, tissue paper in another bin, etc.
Preparation
Next, you will need two pieces of contact paper of roughly the same size for each suncatcher. You can prepare these ahead of time or cut as you go.
You can turn this into a fun sorting activity – and have your child sort the colors into piles.
Oddly enough, my son’s favorite colors are brown and black. Every time he goes to make a card for someone, he colors in brown or black marker. His Easter cards featured a cute pastel bunny with black and brown scribbles across it. 😉
After we covered enough of the surface of the contact paper with tissue, it was time to put the second sheet of contact paper down.
I used a regular pen and drew lightly, in case any lines were still there after I cut.
As an alternative to this, you can draw your shape or picture right onto the contact paper. I freehanded a train for his train-loving Pop.
Once we were finished drawing the shape, I cut it out. While I cut, my son picked the next cookie cutter shape. Then, we taped each one to the window.
Depending upon how old your children are, they might be able to do most of this themselves, and you can just supervise. My son is still little, but I very much made him a part of every step.
We are giving them to family members to go with the thank you notes for my son’s Easter goodies; yet, the tissue paper suncatchers would also serve as a perfect mother’s day gift for mom or grandma or a father’s day gift, too.
1. Choose 3-5 DIY party ideas and that’s it.
For my friend’s son’s 
Definitely browse Pinterest or Google images to see what’s been done before. This will help you to brainstorm or even emulate ideas.
Also, prioritize your list, so that if you don’t get to everything, you aren’t disappointed.
For kids’ DIY parties, think easy. Kids love coloring or craft stations, playing with trucks in the sand, or having an egg race.
I had all of the decorations and games finished early, so the week of the party, I could focus on cooking and cleaning.
Speaking of the Dollar Tree, it wouldn’t be a section on shopping smart without mentioning that this chain has the best selection of all the dollar stores. Dollar Tree has all kinds of books and games. Their party section doesn’t disappoint: table cloths, paper products in various colors, pom-poms, and all kinds of other party goodies.
Bunny Bag Materials:
Burlap Banner Materials:
You could also use the popsicle stick markers to create little signs for the hunt – such as follow the path to the backyard signs or “Bunny Crossing” signs. They are another easy Easter craft that you could do with your kids.
5. Popsicle Stick Bunny Easter Crafts
6. Card Stock Banner
Card Stock Banner Materials:
1. Raised Planter Box with a Rain Barrel
With the gardening tools, outdoor toys and furniture, and riding mower moved to the shed, our garage is much more organized.
In our second home, we had no direct path from our patio into the yard. It was more like a downhill, rocky nature walk.
Both backyard projects took a weekend or less and definitely had impacting results.
If you are looking to make your life a little easier throughout the warmer months, think about undertaking one of these DIY backyard projects.