Barn Wood and Branches Wall Art

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I had an incredibly lucky moment a few months ago, when some friends asked me to make a few signs for their house. They wanted to pull apart a beautiful old chest that was in their home and use that wood for the project, and offered me the rest of the wood to use as I wished. They added, "the chest is made from some old barn wood from our farm." I couldn't get my yes out fast enough!! The wood is beautiful, rich, warm and weathered, and I was thrilled.

I knew I had to come up with something special for this wood, no typical sign would do, so I turned to Keri at Cutting Edge Wall Stencils and got this incredible stencil.

I lined up the boards and enlisted a few cute handymen to secure them to one another on the back with metal braces. Then, with a flat base I started on my stencil.

I wanted some depth to the design, so I picked out light, medium and dark shades of acrylic paint to stencil with.

I started off with a shimmery bronze paint that was a very similar shade as the wood. I lightly sprayed the stencil with a tacky stencil adhesive, and placed it a bit off-center on top of the wood. I then grabbed a stiff stencil brush and started to layer on the bronze.

I let the bronze paint dry, repositioned the stencil, and painted a shimmery gold color on the corners of the board, overlapping a bit of the bronze branches.

When this was dry I centered the stencil, and started in on my lightest color, a creamy white. I pulled away the stencil and was done!! I attached wire hanging gear across the back and put it right up on the wall.

One of my favorite things about this piece is how different it looks depending on where you're standing in the room. When the light is hitting it just right, all of the shimmery colors just pop out.

If the light is not directly on the picture, the creamy colored branch stands out the most,

but if you're looking at it face-on, there is a nice blend of the three colors. I wanted this painting to have the sense of depth that you'd have if you were standing under a tree looking up at the branches.

I also was so happy with the contrast between the old and battered wood, and the elegance of the branches in the shimmery tones. I love it!

I practiced the design on two smaller sections of the same wood. I included this sweet little bird, who didn't make it onto the big piece, but I think is a fun element.

I am so pleased with this project! It has really given me a new appreciation for wall stencils, something I had previously shied away from since I am such a commitment phobe with decor. But being able to stencil onto something that could then be moved around is fabulous!!

Also, I'm so excited to say that this project made it into the Top 12 over at the The DIY Club!

and

Erin