Paint By Numbers Wall

So if you follow me on Facebook you should know that I was chosen as one of the 20 contestants on the One Craft Contest over at One Artsy Mama! I have to admit I was completely shocked to even be chosen and I couldn't be more excited!!! Last week was Round 1 and we got our very first "challenge supply"... PAINT!!! Ahhhhh... so exciting.

I knew right away what I had wanted to do. If you know my Bella at all, you know that she is the most crazy, fun, and creative child you have ever met. She LOVES to create things. She could sit at the kitchen table and color for hours. She loves to paint, draw, and tell stories. She is just like her mama:)  I decided to take a wall in Bella's bedroom and turn it into a GIANT Color by Numbers picture.

(source) 

I got to work right away choosing a picture that I loved (a little girl swinging on a tree swing) ... and then of course, Bella didn't like it!!! That's how things typically go for us. So then, like the amazing mother that I am, I let her choose a picture. She chose a cute little girl roller skating.
She liked it because her Daddy and Jonny like to roller skate! (play hockey)

So lets get to the point... Here's how I did the project.

I started by painting the wall white... with a little help from my mini me:)
She painted and took the photos!!! She is so multi-talented! :)

Then I printed the picture, which was actually a coloring book page. I don't have a projector or any transparencies  so I used a regular old sheet protector and cut it in half and used a black sharper and traced the image onto it.

Then I made a "projector" out of a cardboard box. It is really so simple! I just cut a square in a box and taped the picture over it. Then you put the light you are using inside of the box:) and voila!!!! you have a projector! Moving the light and moving the box you can adjust the size of the image. We decided to make the little girl a smidgen bigger then Bella and to also add a tree for some depth.

Once I had the image projected how I wanted it. I used a pencil and traced the image right onto the wall.

Then came the fun part. I used black paint and painted over the pencil lines. It took a few coats to make the lines smooth but I love the way it turned out.

Once the image was entirely painted I used my Silhouette and cut some vinyl numbers to add. This was fun. i just decided what colors I wanted everything to be and cut the numbers accordingly:) I also added a quote in vinyl just to give it a little color. "I dream my painting, and I paint my dream." -Vincent Van Gogh

I had hoped to fill in "some" of the spaces with some color to look more like an unfinished Color by Number, but the competition deadline came quicker then I had planned and I ran out of time. To be honest, it is really starting to grow on me just the way it is. Bella thinks it is the coolest thing EVER that she has a coloring book page on her wall. Her artsy creative side is itching for a chance to color it in!!!! ... All in do time! :) I do plan to someday let her have at it...
but I'm hoping to get the rest of the room decorated before that craziness starts!

Thanks so much to everyone who voted for my Color by Numbers Wall in the One Crafty Contest over at One Artsy Mama. This is my very FIRST craft contest and I am having a blast! and the good news is I survived Round 1:) If you haven't checked out this weeks projects yet, definitely head over and vote for your 5 Favorite:) This weeks challenge was Washi Tape!!! I can't tell you which project is mine YET, but I'll be back once voting closes to let you know.