Seahorse Wall Hanging

One of my favorite stores carries these awesome wooden wall hangings in various beachy shapes: seahorses, whales, mermaids. I love them, and really wanted to buy one for the nursery. I settled on the seahorse.

I was in the store, holding the seahorse in my hand, but two things made me a bit unsure about my purchase. Number 1: The shape was a bit ornate for the nursery I was envisioning in my head. And Number 2: At $49 the price was a bit steep for me. I started looking at this little guy a bit closer, and decided that I could make one of these fellows myself.

So off I went to Lowe’s where I picked up a small piece of plywood for a few dollars. I then sketched a seahorse onto the wood–a bit of a more nursery-friendly seahorse.

Then, using a jigsaw I borrowed from my co-worker Mike, I cut the little guy out and sanded down the edges (I will say, I don’t necessarily recommend jigsawing in your 6th month of pregnancy–the big belly can make it a bit hard to see what you’re doing). All in all, it took about five minutes or so.

Finally, using $1 acrylic paints in sea blue, teal, and white, I used a stiff dry brush to layer the color. I just love how it turned out!

Not to shabby, if I do say so myself–and for less than one hour and less than 1/5 of the price of the original. All the more I can spend on cute little boy clothes!