easiest art you'll ever make

Here's a super simple craft that's perfect for anybody who wants to add a little, dare I say, pizzaz to their wall space. All that you need is a small piece of canvas, some kind of paper (tissue paper, scrapbook paper, wrapping paper, even print-outs. Just nothing from a magazine because the image on the opposite side will bleed through) Elmer's glue, water, some thin cardboard, a paintbrush, scissors, and glitter.

Start out by mixing a generous amount of Elmer's glue with some water. Dip in your brush and coat your entire stretched canvas with it. It'll be wet, this is completely okay! Begin placing strips of paper on the wet canvas, overlapping, if you wish. Cover it in the glue/water mixture with the brush just as you did with the canvas.

With the excess, you can either trim it or glue it to the sides. Let it dry. Mine took about an hour to dry completely, I left it in my kitchen with the ceiling fan on. After it's dry, cut out your desired shape from the thin cardboard. I just used the cover of an old sketchbook. Nothing TOO thick, but also nothing that will bleed. Pour some Elmer's (not mixed with water this time) on waxed paper and dip in your brush. Holding down the cardboard tightly with your hand, paint inside of the shape.

Wait for the glue to dry a bit (you're going to want the glue to be tacky, not wet. I learned the hard way that this makes it run and it DOESN'T look pretty!) and pour on some glitter. Leave it for about a minute or so, then take the stencil with the excess glitter off. Shake off your canvas and find a nice place for it!

xo, e.m.