How To: Wall Mural

I've been meaning to post about this for quite some time, but am just now getting around to it... Ever wanted one of those tree murals that are all the rage? Never wanted to spend the money on it? Guess what... you don't have to! (I should totally be an infomercial actress.)You may remember that a little over a month ago I went down to Oklahoma City to visit my cousins Julie and Anthony and help decorate their nursery for their baby girl-to-be (well, I suppose she exists currently, just not on the outside of her mama's belly.) One of our projects was to paint a tree on her wall. And honestly... it was a piece of cake. Anyone could do it. Julie, being a non-crafty (she says it, not me) person, even could do it. Let me show you how...

First you choose a tree. We chose the picture above and decided to alter it a little bit... We took out the birds and simplified the leaves. (It would have been 40 euro, y'all. That's $49.12 in American moolah. We probably spent, well, I don't know how much the paint was, but I'd say less than $10? And we get to brag and say, "You love it? Well, thanks, we did it ourselves." Which is priceless...)

Then, you print off the picture of the tree, insert it in a plastic page protector (here's a ridiculous website to help you with all your page protector needs), and use a Sharpie to trace around the image. The tricky part? Finding an old overhead projector. We just happened to have a hook up (thanks, Aunt Cindy!) so it was a piece of cake. You just project the image on the wall.

Next, you trace it with a pencil. You could trace it with whatever you wanted really... crayons, red lipstick, you name it... But pencils are safe and less scary. And they have erasers. Which are great when you make mistakes. (Not that we made any... we're awesome.) P.S. I like this girl... a lot.

Then you paint it. We had to do a couple of coats. But it wasn't too painful...

Finally, you add really cute things: like a beautiful crib, a rocking chair, and owl themed bedding. The room isn't finished yet... this project was just the beginning. But check it out! It was so easy. And I'd say the whole project took 3 or 4 hours tops! Try it out! And if you need a mural painting partner, and live in the Kansas City area... I loved doing this and would love to do it again. (Pardon the crappy pictures... I took them with my phone.)