DIY flower canvas for your mother

Even though we celebrated Mother's day since 8th of March here in Albania, I am totally up to celebrating it again, being exposed to all the excitement and gift ideas around the internet the past two weeks. Actually, Mother's Day is one of those special occasions, when I would go for a non material gift and focus on spending time together with my mum instead. You can find some ideas I wrote here.
But if you still want to surprise her with something, I'd strongly encourage you to make it yourself.

Here is a super simple and quick DIY, with a very feminine and romantic result, just in time for Spring and Summer. All you need is:

- a canvas ( blank or not - I choose an old one that I didn't like )
- vinyl glue or any other liquid one
- a brush
- an empty cup to mix glue and water
- one patterned paper napkin ( you can choose whatever pattern you like, but flowers look beautiful for this project. go for lighter colors if you work with a blank white canvas and with bolder ones if you work over an old canvas )

1. Take the canvas - blank or not - make sure it has no dust or other things
2. Separate all the layers of the paper napkin
3. Mix some glue with water to thin it out and apply on the canvas with a brush
4. Put a layer of paper on it and reapply glue.

5. Repeat with all the white layers and continue with the colored ones.
6. Make sure you put every layer  starting at the corner of the canvas, going with one corner at a time. This way you cover the whole canvas with the same density of paper/glue and have a uniform result.
7+8. After you finish with all the layers, spread some glue on the sides of the canvas and put the layers of paper left out of the canvas surface on it. Reapply glue if necessary every 2-3 layers. If you have worked with a square canvas and there is no paper out of it, skip this step.
9. Let the canvas sit on a flat surface overnight or outside in the sun for a few hours. Give it to the lovely lady and enjoy Mother's Day :)

As you can see, one napkin was enough for me, but you can add more if you like, making sure the first layers dry before reapplying glue. I prefer to separate all the layers of the paper napkin before and apply them one by one to create a more textured look. You can do the same or not, applying the whole thing at a time while being careful not to tear it apart.
Also, it would be fun to make a few canvases at a time, let dry together and make a small gallery wall or give one to each wonderful woman in your life :)

Special thanks to my friend Egla for helping me out with this project!

P.s : 10 things I have learned from my mother

| Love, Lisa |