Large and Cheap!

I have been wanting a large piece of art for above our fire place.  There are two grates on the wall above the mantel and no matter how I decorate, it still looks busy to me and kind of ugly.  I have found pieces I like,  BUT they are expensive.  I have a big problem with investing in things to fit a space that is temporary.  What if I can not find the perfect space to fit my new nice art when we eventually move?  So, of course, I did a little pinterest searching.  I found a few ideas I liked from three different bloggers, and sort of meshed them all together.

First...Home Depot scrap pile! I bought four pine scraps for $2.00.  Then I picked out a gray color for and little sample paint pod.
When I got home, I put my boards together with some screws from our "tool junk" and wood glue.  This is one of the ideas I got from another blogger. This is my canvas.

I then put a coat of white spray paint on the front and sides for a sort of primer coat. Scrap boards are marked green sometimes and I wanted to make sure that did not bleed through. Plus, I had not decided if I was going to distress this.  Yes, I spray painted with a little snow on the ground.

I covered it with my gray sample paint.

Once, that dried, I taped off some trees.  This is the second idea, I borrowed from another blogger...the style of the trees.  I liked the idea of the mix of modern, sharp trees on the rustic canvas.

I then painted with some acrylic craft paint I have.  Here is the third borrowed idea.  Different shades of the art for some depth and texture.  Now the original idea involved different shades of the same color and multiple applications over TIME.  I do not have that kind of patience.  For me, that means multiple nap and after bed times.  I, instead, did two-three coats of paint on the trees and chose one tree to only have one coat.

 Once that was dry (10 min), I lightly sanded the trees horizontally to give the trees more texture and a bark like effect.  I loved how the pine grain came through a little as well.

Final result:

 I really LOVE it. Ugly, unused grates covered.  Cool art displayed.  And I spent just over $5! (I had most of the supplies already.)