The Home That Made Me

DIY shabby chic driftwood heart canvas




I am lucky enough to live 5 minutes away from some of the most beautiful beaches in the UK – the sunny town of Bournemouth on the South Coast of England. After seeing something similar to this canvas in a local gallery for a ridiculous price, I decided to utilise a bit of our lovely beach to make my own for a fraction (as in like 1/25th!!) of the price.







Yes that is Mungo in the pram ha! He got tired…chubby pug


The items you’ll need are –

  • A box canvas – size depending on your space and style going for. I chose a huge 100x100cm from Hobbycraft to make a real statement. See http://www.hobbycraft.co.uk/hobbycraft-100-cm-x-100-cm-box-canvas/561255-1000
  • A set of battery powered fairy lights – approx 50 lights, again depending on size and effect going for . See http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Warm-White-Twinkling-Lamp-Fairy-String-Lights-13ft-4M-40-LED-Battery-Operated/261774764869?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140122125356%26meid%3Df7a866ca9e1b4d7dbe140ed0e19dbe0d%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D231483222399&rt=nc
  • Paint – colour of your choice, I used Annie Sloan Old White but it can be any paint you have lying around or a colour to match your room.
  • A paintbrush – for obvious reasons…
  • Driftwood – here’s the fun part, a beach trip! I picked up 2 huge bags worth and then used the bits that most fitted the shape of the heart and looked best. 
  • A glue gun – how cute is this pink mini one available from Hobbycraft? http://www.hobbycraft.co.uk/pink-hot-melt-mini-glue-gun/598098-1000 also available in blue
  • A sharp knife – to start off the holes for the fairy lights
  • A cross head screwdriver – to push through the initial knife hole to make bigger

Time taken –
Approx 30 minutes (not including drying time)

Cost –
£20

Instructions –

1. So firstly you need to paint your canvas including the sides using a paint colour of your choice. I stuck with Annie Sloan Old White as a lot of my furniture is painted in this colour and it’s a bit warmer than normal white paint, also chalk paint gives a lovely finish & requires less coats (I’m lazy!). This would look lovely in any colour to match your decor.


    2. Once dry, you can then use your glue gun to stick the driftwood on, bit by bit. I laid the canvas next to my set out heart and carefully moved it over keeping the shape so not to muddle the bits up.


    3. Once you’ve got your driftwood heart (or hearts in my case) in place, you need to make small pencil marks where you want your lights depending on how many bulbs you have and the size, making sure you space them as best you can. When your happy with these start punching the holes through for your fairy lights. I found the best way to get through the thick canvas was to push a very sharp knife through to start a hole, then using a crosshead screwdriver to push through to make the hole bigger ready for the light. 



    4. Push your fairy light bulbs through from the back then place the battery pack to one side of the frame which will be easiest accessible for you to turn on/off. You could always use a tiny bit of Velcro to attach it underneath or on top (depending on visibility) but I found pulling he canvas forward to flip the switch was fine and meant the pack was hidden.







    Et voila – a beautiful shabby chic wall art for next to nothing 🙂 

    Why not try other shapes? Stars, beach huts etc.

    Love, Charlotte x

    4 Comments

    3. Charlotte Valentine
      August 14, 2015 / 7:35 pm

      It's amazing what you can do with nature 🙂 x