An Easy Brushstroke Makeover for All Your Basics

Just when Florida was teasing the return of sane, warmer weather, we’re back to sub 60s. I’m going a little wardrobe stir crazy since 1) I hate layering. Anything more than 1 sweater and 1 jacket is a no from me. 2) I’ve been refusing to buy more clothes to shove into our shared closet.

So I started reaching into the depths of my drawers for those all year round basics I could zhuzh up and found this oversized tunic. Perfect!

This “dress” reminds me of elementary school when the art teachers would requests kids bring in one of their dad’s old shirts for smocks. I use to paint the sloppiest heart over the pocket, so I’m glad I’ve grown beyond that and now embrace much more adult scribbles.

You’ll Need
basic tee/dress/anything!
wide bristle brush
acrylic or fabric paint
water
cardboard

Pre-wash your piece to get rid of any residue that could interfere with the paint or pre-shrinking issues.
Lay out your clothing piece on a flat surface with enough cardboard inside to keep it smooth.
I personally prefer a watered down acrylic for this kind of brushstroke effect. Fabric paint can be super thick with a limited color range and as anyone who has played with acrylics before, you know that stuff never comes off clothes. Dilute the acrylic paint with just enough water to make it runny.
Use a wide bristle brush and paint your design! Let the front dry completely before flipping over. I think it’s always a special touch when a design carries from the front to the back, so I had each side shifted slightly on the cardboard for continuous strokes so I could finish them once flipped around.
Flaunt proudly.

I can not wait for it to be warm enough for me to wear this just as a tunic. Right now I’ve been pairing it with leggings & a moto jacket or J. Crew front-tucking it into jeans. For the fall I want to try it as an open, light weight jacket over summer tanks and shorts. See? All year round staple.

P.S. this makeover was also inspired by everyone who took the time to fill out our reader survey! It seems like you guys are most interested in short & sweet projects and the biggest hurdle to doing them is time. Would you like to start seeing a “project time” section like recipe blogs? Most DIYs here can be done in under 30 minutes, so if there’s anything I can do to help ya’ll start creating, I’ll work that into the next iteration of this blog’s design!