Monsoon Wedding Inspired Wall Art {#MovieMonday}

Last Updated on August 2, 2017 by lydiaf1963

This month’s #MovieMonday theme was Wedding Movies. One of my favorites is Monsoon Wedding, the 2001 film centered around an elaborate wedding ceremony in India. The film is loaded with gorgeous color and texture and I attempted to recreate the atmosphere with Monsoon Wedding inspired wall art.


I really enjoy playing with patterns and the traditional henna designs painted onto the body of an Indian bride are gorgeous. We’re familiar with the regular brown color of henna, but white, red and black also exist. My favorite are the elaborate designs painted on the hands of the bride. Here’s the mehndi scene from the movie where the bride is decorated while the rest of the women celebrate.

To make my wall art I first downloaded an image from the web and sized it to about 6 x 9 inches. Search Google or Pinterest for henna designs or mandalas. Next, a trip to the copistería to have my image printed (it cost 0.10 euros).

There’s a bazaar nearby. In there I found a canvas to fit my image plus acrylic paints, brushes, and the jewels. For the rest, a special trip to the craft shop across town was needed. I was able to buy carbon paper to trace my image onto the canvas and a brown felt tip marker to emulate the henna. Fortunately the lady at the craft shop is used to me trying to explain what I need. To my surprise she sold the carbon paper by the sheet (0.50 euros each). I’m glad I didn’t have to purchase a lifetime supply, hahaha. I still have nightmares from typing my papers in college!

The canvas was covered with a coat of white paint followed by yellow. Once dry, the main image was traced onto the canvas. Then I switched to the brown marker and went over the tracing. A puffy paint would be really cool for this part, I’ll bet. After that the rest of the design was free styled, much like my sister and I did last spring when we painted rocks.

To be honest, I am way out of practice when it comes to tracing and in retrospect I wish I’d pulled out a compass and worked freehand. The jewels do a good job of hiding some of my errors. Some seed beads I bought for another project helped hide a spiral I decided I couldn’t live with. My project definitely qualifies at “multimedia.”

Recently we came across the coolest Command Canvas Hangers (affiliate link). They’re perfect for hanging unframed canvases and work on any smooth surface. Keep them in mind when you need to hang your own wall art!

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Some of my blogging friends have also created something inspired by a favorite wedding movie. Be sure to check out the links below.