DIY Wooden Tree Painting

I love white in houses.  I am always drawn to the white, country decor in magazines.  When a Country Living magazine comes in the mail that is an "all white" issue, I get giddy.  

Well, I have wanted to find something white and unique that I could put in my kitchen.  For years, I have searched for things.  What I found was either extremely overpriced or just not my style.  I am a unique, frugal girl.  I will NEVER pay full price for things.  I also rarely like things that can be found in stores for wall decor.  That's when I decided to try to make something on my own that was what I wanted, exactly.  This is what I ended up making:

We had a bunch of leftover boards in our garage from building our fence.  They were very rough, which I like, and seemed perfect.  So, I asked my awesome husband to cut these boards and screw them together to make a canvas for me.  

This is the back of it:

We also strung some wire on the back.

Next, I went and bought some generic white interior paint from Walmart.  I think I paid like 15 bucks for an entire gallon (and I still have over half left for future projects).  I also bought some basic paint brushes (some extremely small), and some black craft paint, yes, CRAFT PAINT.  Note: be sure not to get foam brushes if you are using rough wood.  They don't work, they snag, and suck.  

Then, I went to work.  I painted the front with about 5 coats of the white paint.  If you get a softer, smoother wood, you would have less coats to do, but, again, I like the rougher, rustic look.  

After it was completely covered with a good coat of white paint, I stenciled out my tree.  I chose to draw a tree because they are imperfect.  I hate giving myself restrictions with drawing.  Straight lines suck, so I like to choose things that can be imperfect, just like my drawing.  Be sure to stencil with pencil and to measure where the middle is so it is centered.  

Once stenciled, start painting!  I used black craft paint and, first, outlined the trunk, leaves, etc.  Then I filled it in.  Once the tree was completely painted, I went back with the white paint and painted over any leftover pencil marks, which there were, because I changed my mind over and over.  

My finished product turned out perfect!  It is exactly what I wanted.  I spent under 20 dollars for all the supplies and it is cuter than anything I could find in stores.  

You could choose whatever to paint.  I almost did a silhouette of an animal, but decided that is too hard.  Choose what matches your house.  I love trees.  To me, they represent life, family, and love.  Great choice for our house.