As a teacher, I have read many children’s books and naturally have quite a book collection. Of all the wonderful books I’ve read, some of my favorite books are those written by Eric Carle. I LOVE his artwork and simplicity. I could go on and on about it. When Pottery Barn came out with an Eric Carle bedroom and bathroom collection, I may have squealed a bit. 😉 One of my favorite pieces they came out with were the Hungry Caterpillar and Brown Bear Artwork. I especially loved the Brown Bear canvas, but at $119 for one canvas, there was no way that adorableness was going to end up in my shopping cart. Sad day.
Fast forward a couple months to Target. I happened to stumble upon these Brown Bear and The Very Hungry Caterpillar wall decals for only $10!
Instantly, I remembered those pricey Pottery Barn canvases and knew exactly how I could use the decals to create similar artwork. I snagged the Brown Bear package and headed to Michael’s to pick up a canvas and some cheap acrylic paint.
I stuck the Brown Bear decal on the plain, white canvas then used painters tape to help me paint straight green and blue lines across the bottom. All I did to create the subtle striped effect with the green was paint it thick in some places and thin in others. Easy peasy and I love how it turned out! I did have to use some additional glue on the back of the decal because it didn’t adhere well to the textured canvas. I was going to Mod Podge it, but decided to just leave it well enough alone. 🙂
I used the remaining animal decals to make decorations for Little Man’s birthday party. I just stuck them on pieces of foam poster board and roughly painted different colors around the edges. I had them sitting up around the house for the party along with the Brown Bear canvas.
Don’t you love how bright and cheery Eric Carle’s illustrations are?!
Cost breakdown:
Decals-$10
Canvas-$10 (It was on sale.)
Paints-$2
Total Cost: $22
Not too shabby and nowhere near the $119 Pottery Barn price tag!
Linking up to Tater Tots and Jello
I love that! Makes me think of baby brother reciting that book. 🙁
Great job Sam! You certainly didn't inherit your artsy skills from me.