Show & Tell: Canvas Family Tree

I've been wanting a personalized canvas family tree for a while now, but they can get really expensive so I've been hesitant to have one made.  Being that I'm the crafty type, I thought I would try and make one myself.

I used these two as my inspiration:

This one is from Walmart.com.  I had no idea you could even get something like this from Walmart.  It is actually not very expensive, but I'm not totally sold on the overall appearance.  Anyway, I like the rustic hearts and stars.  The shape is very simple but cute.

I found a tutorial for this one HERE.  I really like the muted greens and blue contrasted with the dark tree trunk.  The family monogram in the center of the tree is great too.

So combining my favorite elements of  both canvases, this is my creation...

I went with a more simplistic design like the first picture, plus I used hearts and stars.  I incorporated the family monogram like the second picture and used the soft blue and green with a dark trunk.

I used a micron pen to write the name and year of birth of each family member on a leaf.  (This is just for our little family of 4)  I wrote our last name and the year our family was established in the center of the tree.

I jazzed it up with these 3d bird and butterfly stickers.  I had everything on hand except for these, so the cost was minimal.

I started by painting the canvas with blue and green acrylic paints.  I tried oil paints first, but they were going to take way too long to dry.  The acrylics dried super fast.

I cut out the hearts, stars, leaves, and tree trunk from textured card stock and then Mod Podged them on.  (Note: This craft would have been so much easier if I owned one of THESE.  I am definitely going to add this to my wish list!)

I'm thinking I might add some more leaves to make the tree a little fuller.  And I might have gotten a little carried away with the stickers.  What can I say, I love butterflies and birds.  :-)  What do you think?

It was super easy to do plus it is even more special since I made it myself.