altered bench

It should come as no surprise that I like to draw on furniture and once in while something comes over me and I have this uncontrollable need to get creative altering something in our home! Recently it was a bench that was screaming for a makeover. A little spray paint and some of my doodles transformed the bench into something new!

I started by spray painting the bench in a dark teal color which meant I needed some light colored materials for the doodles-

Paint Pens- I love oil based paint pens because you can use them to draw on just about any surface.

Correction Pen (or white out pen)- I will use a white correction pen to draw on just about anything and believe it or not they are pretty darn close to permanent.

Nail Polish- I love adding dots to embellish my doodles and drawings and colorful, fast drying nail polish works great!

Then I filled the entire surface of the bench with doodles. The bench is BIG so I picked simple doodles and pattern that were easy to repeat over and over and over again. 

Doodling Tips-

Keep it Simple-

Doodles don't have to be complicated- sometimes using simple shapes or lines and repeating them is all it takes to create a surface filled with pattern.

Find Your "Go To" Doodle-

I think everyone (whether you consider yourself an artist or not) has a doodle in them. And it is very likely you have a design that comes easy to you (mine are flowers). Think about the things you draw over and over again when you are on a long phone call or bored in a meeting- I call these "go to doodles". Try using these doodles as as starting point in your creative projects.

Draw and Repeat-

The easiest way to create pattern or even the illusion of pattern is to simply repeat the same things over and over again. You can alter the size, placement or color to create