Sock Monkey Canvas

I've been in Florida for a couple of weeks

and I thought the best way to get myself out of

that "now-I-have-endless-laundry-to-do" funk

would be to jump right in on a big project.

That's big as in big,

not to be confused with big as in

"very involved, time-consuming, and dread-ly".

I made that word up.

It's a combination of deadly and dread.

As in, I am dreading this very involved

and time-consuming project because ...

... well, because it's deadly.  ?

ANYWAY!!!

It's not that.

So one of my very sweet girlfriends has

spent hours and days decorating her little

boys' bedroom ... she has

repainted furniture and walls, and she

found some super cute sock-monkey bedding.

Above each bed she wants to hang a

fun sock monkey canvas -

what a fun way to switch up the whole

headboard thing.

She got a great start on redecorating ...

... and then lost momentum when life happened

and she got busy with other projects.

That's where I come in.

And I am so grateful to have had such a fun

project to help bring me out of my

 post-vacation funk!

First, I used black and white spray paint

to mottle the design on each canvas.

Don't be alarmed!!

She told me to start over completely!

I promise.

Then I squeezed two shades of green

acrylic paint onto a paper plate

and rolled the paint onto each canvas

(front, back, and sides)

until there was good, opaque coverage.

It took several coats to achieve opacity.

There.  Love my moving blanket.

It makes a great drop cloth.

I'm happy my boy decided to use it when

he sprayed rocks with gold paint.

Otherwise, I would have to admire his over-spray

every time I step outside my studio door,

instead of only when I spread out my moving blanket.

I made a really large sock monkey pattern

and a pattern for each of the boys' names.

Then I transferred the main pattern

lines onto each canvas.

Let the fun begin!!!

So my very sweet girlfriend Laura

thought it would be fun if one of the monkeys

was hanging upside down.

And then I flipped the pattern and made

the other monkey downside up.

Wait.  Yes, that's right.

Sometimes a green base coat will show

through your paint, so I blocked in some of the

design with white acrylic paint.

I shaded around the left and lower sides

of each big shape.

I used the colors in the sock monkey blanket.

Fun bright colors like green,

blue, orange, red and ...

... well, sock-monkey-brown.

I used blue painter's tape to mask off the

areas I didn't want to stencil.

Then I used a stitch stencil to give the

monkeys their sock-like texture.

I removed the tape when the paint was dry

and used a sanding block to distress

the canvases.

I thought they needed something more.

So I added a random star stencil

and a fun monkey tail.

I like the randomness of the stars!

It reminds me of confetti!!

If these were girly canvases,

I would have used my Extreme Glitter.

 Just sayin'.

I spattered the canvases with white paint.

Just to give it that monkey-business look.

And now I'm having trouble with the eyes.

Sock monkey eyes.

Buttons??

What size??

Placed where??

 Great big?

Or really small??

Close together?

Or farther apart??

I'm not sure yet.  I have to give these

monkeys some more thought.

hmm ...

Psst ... hey, Laura?  What do you think??

peace and just-the-right-size

sock-monkey-eyes

Oh, and I will be posting a final picture of these

sock monkeys hanging on the bedroom wall.

Stay tuned for that!