Textured Art (Shhh...it's a Cereal Box!)

Personalized and textured statement art for cheap (I made it for free!). Make it a chalkboard or more like canvas...the choice is yours. But, shhhh, it's a cereal box!! ;)

Step 1: Get Your Supplies Ready

What you'll need for your masterpiece:

*1 empty, large cereal box (however big you want your art to be). NOTE: you could also use multiples to make one large "multi-canvas" art where two, four, six, etc "canvases" make up a single picture).

*Tape (any clear kind will work, such as masking tape or packing tape)

*Hot glue gun with glue sticks

*Acrylic paint in your desired color(s)

*An inspirational picture (if you need one)...I was inspired by this shop on etsy.ca called DoodleBliss at https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/DoodleBliss

*OPTIONAL: Nail(s) or screw(s) to hang your art if you choose to and any kind of picture hanging gear (see step 5). I just have mine sitting on the top of my bookshelf as free-standing art, but both ways would be beautiful!

Step 2: Tape It Off...

For the seam you opened at the top, first close it up as you normally would to store your box of cereal after it's first use. Then tape off the top and bottom seams with your tape of choice to make a smooth edge for painting over.

If you're doing a more canvas-like texture, you could also tape the entire front of the box (and sides, if your art will extend over the edges like mine). I didn't do this, but you could maybe even criss-cross the tape, etc to achieve the desired results you're looking for. Experiment with it, and have fun!

Step 3: Hot Glue a Textured Art Design!

This is the fun part! First, draw out the lines that you want to be textured...basically any part of your design that you want to stand out. Then, hot glue directly over these lines, almost like piping out icing on a cookie, cupcake, or other delectable dessert (mmm....now I need to go bake! lol). Let this dry and you're ready to...

Step 4: PAINT!

FOR CHALKBOARD:

Spray paint your chalkboard paint over your entire design. Do a couple of coats for best usability. After this has dried to the touch, use your acrylic paints to paint over the textured design and/or anywhere you want to be colored against this stark-black backdrop. When all of it has dried for about 1 day, test your chalkboard areas (as directed on the spray can) and you're done!

FOR CANVAS:

Start with a background color and paint the whole thing this color. Let dry. Then paint your other colors wherever you want them to go. Add layers of paint to bring out a more canvas-painted-textured look. Be creative...this is your work of art! When you obtain the desired look, and all your paint has completely dried, you're done!

Step 5: Place Your Art :)

FREE-STANDING:

If you are going to use your art as a free-standing piece (like I did), then make sure the back is painted too (at least a solid color, as it will be showing at some point) and place your art wherever it suits you (on a bookshelf, on a coffee table, in your bathroom, in the kitchen, etc)! **NOTE: If you put it in the bathroom or kitchen and it's painted like canvas (this is not necessary for the chalkboard version), you must seal it to protect it from moisture. You can do this by either spraying it with a crystal-clear sealant spray safe for art, OR--the free way--with some basic hairspray! Yup, hairspray works wonders :)

HANGING WALL ART:

If you are going to hang your art, you can do one of four things:

1. Cut a little hole (big enough for a nail or screw head to go through) in the back center of your art and hang it this way on the wall.

OR...

2. Add picture hanging equipment of your choice to it (like the ones seen in the picture above). Just be sure to hot glue or super glue the equipment to the back of the box (you can't screw or hammer it in since there's no wood).

OR...

3. Use a removable (and non-damaging) adhesive putty to put on the back of your art.

OR...

4. Cut out the entire back with an Exacto-knife and hang it like a traditional canvas (a screw/nail in each corner).

"The-the-the-the...that's all folks!" ;-P