We all have that blank spot on our wall that needs a little something. Maybe it’s a small wall by the staircase, or a naked spot in the half bath that you can't figure out; these little areas can be tough to fill. Finding something personal to display will help your home reflect the things most important to you. 

These DIY painted birch panels are the perfect solution, and you can easily change what you’re using for the stencil to fit your specific tastes and decor. Love walking in nature? Find some leaves, flowers or herbs and make some art. 

Materials:

• 4 Backyard Art 4” square wood birch panels
• Paint (we used leftover wall paint, but any craft paint would be fine)
• Foam brush
• Pressed leaves (you could also use doilies, cut out shapes, or stencils)
• Newspaper or something to cover your work surface

We used wall paint left over from another project; if you’re not sure the color is what you want, you can test it on the inside and let it dry before you start to make sure that you’re going to get the desired effect.

Step 1: Lay your leaf (or the stencil you choose) on top of the board to make sure you're happy with the placement.

Step 2: Load your brush with some paint and gently start dabbing on top of your leaf, working along the edges. Be careful to use an up-and-down pouncing motion, rather than a spreading, painterly one. The dabbing will help you get clean lines around the edges without tearing it. 

Step 3: Once you’ve worked all the way around your leaf, you can remove it and carefully continue dabbing paint on around the rest of the top of the birch box.

Step 4: We chose a modern Scandinavian look and let the raw birch wood show on the top and sides. You can customize yours so many ways! Use a silver or gold Sharpie to outline your leaf (or go with a bold color if you like), stain or paint the birch and let it dry before you stencil on the leaf, or add your favorite Rumi quote with a white paint marker. You can make the sides match or do something colorful with them; the sky is the limit here. You might go with one look for a month or two, then take it down and add to your artwork later. Create your own little rotating art gallery.

We also pressed a flower so we could have a matching pair.

Below are some photos of our finished project. Is there a bare spot in your home that could use a pair of these botanical birch mini paintings? We'd love to see your work. Tag it with #globalbackyard on Instagram (we are @globalbackyard).