DIY: Embrace your otherness

The idea for this project came from an NPR story I was listening to earlier this month. Two women who had been together, living in New York, for 40 years were explaining why they would not be jumping onboard and getting married because of the new state law permitting same-sex marriage. During their interview one of them said that they had "embraced their otherness". That phrase really struck me and I knew I had to work it into one of my projects.

This painting was on it's way to Goodwill after a garage sale but when I saw it I really loved the frame. Because I didn't want to deal with new backing, I decided to experiment with just painting over the canvas that was already there. To do this, I just used some leftover primer we had in our paint collection. 

It took two layers to cover the original painting. From there I started in with the stencils. I used larger 5 inch stencils because of the scale of the canvas and it just fit. 

I'm really happy with how this turned out and I love the reminder to embrace what makes me unique! I also think it's an appropriate saying for an up-cycled project. That's the beauty of up-cycling. You find the other uses for something you might normally throw out. 

Hopefully, you feel like embracing your one-of-a-kind otherness too!