arrow art DIY

This is a quick DIY project that ANYONE can do. I promise. Check out my original post on the how arrows are so hot right now. Or maybe they’ve been hot for a while and I’m just realizing it now. {That’s probably the case}. So, I finally got around to doing my own arrow art for our home. And it found a spot on our new updated gallery wall.

If you want to follow along, here are all the steps. But this is a project that you can have fun with and give it your own personal touch.

Before I start a DIY project, I like to cut out or pin pictures of what I’m looking to do. This is a good way to figure out what you like {and don’t like} and also to establish a style you’re going for. I wanted to do a wooden sign. And I liked these:

I was going for a simplistic, hand drawn style that had a sense of age to it.

Here’s the materials I used to create my wooden arrow sign:

Piece of wood, painted or stained as desired.
Sandpaper
paint & thin paint brush
pencil
glue gun
feathers {I got a package for $1.99 at Michaels}. They have lots of colors and sizes to choose from.

1. Luckily, I had an old piece of wood – I think it was leftover trim from when they built our home. It was painted white already so I decided to just sand down the finish to create a weathered look. I sanded the edges a bit more too. If you don’t have random wood pieces laying around, you can get remnants at Home Depot and paint as you’d like.

2. I always need sources to refer to when I’m drawing so I usually go online to find my ideas. Draw your arrow onto the wood surface with a pencil. Arrows are a simple shape. Line, triangle tip and feather shaped ends. Add any details if you want.

3. Use acrylic paint to paint over the pencil marks. I used black mixed with a burnt red to add some depth. Let paint dry completely.

4. Pick out a few feathers for the fletchings {the aerodynamic stabilization of arrows using materials such as feathers}. You’re very impressed aren’t you? Trim the ends of the feathers as needed. Use hot glue to adhere them onto the wood. Repeat on the other side.

5. Done!

6. Wait. I didn’t love how the painting looked – I wanted a more fluid, hand drawn style {kinda messy}. So I took a dryer paint brush and added some brush strokes outside the lines. Outside the lines? gasp! Yes, that’s the look I was going for. I considered adding some copy underneath – like “be brave” but it’s a little busy where I’m hanging this sign, so I just kept it simple.

All that’s left is to hang your beautiful, kinda messy, funky, arrow art in a great spot in your home. Or lean it on a shelf, or turn it sideways, or have it point to some thing fun or meaningful. Lots of options. I hope you enjoyed this DIY project and I hope it inspires you to make you own. Or maybe you just learned a new word. I know I did! Send me your comments – and I’m always happy to make any of these DIY projects for you!