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DIY White and Gold Triptych

September 9, 2011

My first TDW (The Diplomatic Wife) original artwork is finally hanging over our bed. I love waking up and seeing it above my head first thing in the morning. It’s simple, gold and white and is SO totally me! It adds to the warmth of our off white room, and in the morning it magnifies the feeling of the sun shining down on me through our massive bedroom windows! How I ended up doing it after the jump!

That’s another of TD’s birthday gift for me. I wanted to wait for him to get home before opening it.

A while back, I saw this picture of IKEA fabric art on top of Kaho’s master bedroom bed and got the idea to have a triptych over our headboard as well.

via Chuzai Living

Unfortunately we don’t have IKEA here, and the only fabric paintings I found were in Informa in Gandaria Mall (same owners as Index) and they weren’t my type. I briefly contemplated making my own fabric art like below, but I’m not really into printed fabrics and tons of colors.

Found on Pinterest via Sew4Home

So I put it off for a while, until I my friend Tin (owner of the fabulous PLC107) told me how she made her own art! Thanks so much for inspiring me Tin!!

I did a variation of it. I started with an inspirational moodboard on Pinterest so I could get inspiration on the color and design.

Oh crap. I placed numbers and links to acknowledge the sources of the photos in my moodboard. I didn’t realize I accidentally erased it. So sorry! If you are one of the owners of these pics, please don’t hesitate to let me know so I can place the proper links. Thanks.

  1. I purchased 3 same-sized blank framed canvas for painting for cheap at Paperclips bookstore in Gandaria (I think it was about Rp 60,000/ Rp 70,000 each (6-7usd est. each) and some gold ACE brand spray paint from ACE hardware.
  2. I thought of a pattern. I didn’t want my DIY art to look like the crisscross DIY art out there so I thought of making it look like the rays of the sun. It was perfect! The colors I wanted were white and gold and I am a total beach bum who loves the sun and the hot tropical climate we live in! I love anything that reminds of the beach – like sunshine!
  3. I then taped the pattern on the 3 blank canvas beside each other, making sure that the “rays” were perfectly aligned and continuing to the sides of the frame.
  4. Then I put on a face mask (I have asthma and allergies so the smell of paint is really irritating for me) and clear goggles, then I laid out newspaper on my balcony, placed the triptych, and spray painted them in layers. I wasn’t very good at this because I got impatient and sometimes sprayed the next layer even if it was still wet. It didn’t matter though, I thought it added character to my art.
  5. I let it dry to the touch then sprayed a finishing spray to protect it
  6. Again I let it dry outside then just be be sure I brought it indoors overnight to dry some more
  7. The next day I slowly took off the tape. It wasn’t perfectly straight, but I liked it.
  8. I hung it with 3M command picture hanging strips, and voilà!
I love even the imperfections which for me give it a more character. See the texture and the not-so-straight lines below.
I’d love to do something like this sand and sea acrylic triptych in the future (it’s obvious I’m always drawn to something related to the beach).
sand line triptych
When I checked online, there were many other DIY art projects! Check em out below!
aee3461b67fa69ea1b7a088a6df59eb0

Newborn Photograhy Triptych via

Found on Pinterest via V & Co.

Found on Pinterest via V & Co.

This isn’t DIY but I love the concept! You can buy it off etsy here.

il_570xN.405455603_ezx3

via

8 Comments · Diplo Home, Diplo Tips

Comments

  1. Tala says

    September 10, 2011 at 4:40 AM

    YOU made it??? Waaaay coool!!!!

    Reply
    • diplomaticwife says

      September 11, 2011 at 3:19 AM

      Thanks Tala! I am finding the inner artist in me due to budget and shopping limitations! LOL!

      Reply
  2. Chuzai Living says

    September 11, 2011 at 2:25 PM

    Thanks for posting my bedroom photo!! Hugs. And nice work on the TDW art piece! I like it. The gold looks really good on white!! I know you love gold since I saw a fashion photo you pinned on your Pinterest board which you said white and gold was your favorite. 🙂 I’m impressed that you actually did this work. That is very impressive. I feel like I’m such a lazy bum. I like V&Co’s idea. These paintings must be using wall decal. That is actually a great idea! You can take your wall decal when you move. I used Wall decal in some of our rooms, but I have to leave them behind when we move to another post. Your post made me think about making a painting with the decal I like.

    Reply
    • diplomaticwife says

      September 11, 2011 at 3:53 PM

      Hi Kaho! Thanks! YOu are so not a bum at all! YOu are a super busy mom! And you even made your own wreath which I am sure is so much harder than this simple painting!

      I can totally see you doing V&Co’s idea. It’s so you! And it fits the style of your home! I say go for it! =) I can see how sad it will be to leave your beautiful decals sweety… you are totally right! This is one way for you to bring the pretty decals wherever you go!

      Reply
  3. Lorena says

    September 11, 2011 at 4:57 PM

    Hey there! So sorry for my late response to your question last month about who takes my photos, I’ve been away most of August.. Usually whoever I’m traveling with will be subjected to having to take them for me, lol.. Sometimes my sister or a friend.. I need to get a new cam pronto! Thank you for visiting me 🙂 And I love the artwork you have here, really nice..

    TravelDesignery.com

    .

    Reply
    • diplomaticwife says

      September 11, 2011 at 5:02 PM

      No biggie =) Wow! I’m surprised you don’t have pros taking your photos! The quality is just amazing… You’re sister and friends are amazing photographers! Thank you for the compliment on my DIY artwork!

      Thanks for dropping by Lorena =)

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. DIPLO HOME ♖ Organized Display & Storage in our Jakarta Bedroom | The Diplomatic Wife says:
    September 25, 2013 at 9:17 AM

    […] Philippines in 2009. You can imagine how bare it looked. I slowly added items one by one (like a DIY triptych, teak furniture, etc.) and at the end of our 4 years Jakarta, it looked like this. More photos […]

    Reply
  2. DIPLO HOME: It’s another GOLD Christmas says:
    January 2, 2014 at 4:55 PM

    […] had to buy more decor for the Christmas dinner we were hosting. From my earlier posts, you can tell I love gold so to keep with the theme of my home (white, natural wood with gold and capiz accents) I decided it […]

    Reply

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Hello! I’m Ayessa, trailing spouse to a diplomat, mama to DiploBaby and DiploDog and founder of Declutter MNL. I love talking about how to achieve a minimaluxe lifestyle one step at a time.

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