Arty Mum Creates Stunning Disney Mural Over 18 Months Of Lockdown For £89
- Michelle Proctor, 45, spent a year and a half painstakingly creating a Disney mural for her daughter
- Michelle bought £89 of pencils, paints and paintbrushes from Asda, B&Q and Amazon
- Her creation soon went viral on social media
Lockdown brought out the creative side of many of us - and one talented mum took the time at home to design an incredible Disney mural for her three-year-old daughter.
Michelle Proctor, 45, a mum of two who works in childcare, worked on the mural for 18 months and spent just £89 on the creation, buying pencils, paints and paintbrushes from Asda, B&Q and Amazon.
Michelle, from Wiltshire, told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: “My oldest daughter was moving out to be with her partner so I had a room free for my little lady, aged three.
“First we stripped the bedroom wall back, sealed any holes and painted it white ready for me to draw and paint for my little lady.
"At first I didn't know what to do. I sat in the room in deep thought.
“At the time she was just around one and a half years old so she didn't have any favourite characters, so I decided to do a Disney-themed bedroom.
"I am not arty and never did art at school, and I don't spend much time drawing.
“The last time I did anything like this was for my oldest daughter 20 years ago - I did her room with a 101 Dalmatians theme.
"I started researching on Pinterest and looked at lots of different Disney rooms and animals, which gave me lots of ideas.
“I spent time looking at waterfalls, flowers and different trees.
"I started to plan on A4 paper roughly what images I would like to draw on each wall.
"I began to look at different furniture I wanted in her room and measured up so I could design my drawing around her furniture so she could see the pictures clearly.
"I went to Asda and bought a handful of pencils and a couple of packs of rubbers to start me off with.
"I picked a wall to start drawing freehand on and the first pictures didn't go as planned!
“I did some lovely pictures of an owl but as I finished, I stood back and thought to myself ‘these are way too big for the area’, rubbed it all out and started again.
"Once I started to get into my drawing and giving the pictures final details, I stood back and thought to myself ‘yes, I might be able to pull this off’.
"I just used my mobile phone to copy the pictures from, and made my own story using different pictures and adding them together.
"As I went along I changed some of my ideas because they didn't look right to me or sometimes there was just not enough room to fit everything I wanted on the wall.
"I went to B&Q and looked at the different colours, comparing it to the animals or characters on her wall.
"I bought lots of different test pots which cost around about £3.99 each and I used matte finish ones.
"I ordered a set of paintbrushes off Amazon.
“I took different stage photos along my journey, feeling very nervous about this just in case I went wrong.
“I knew I could mess it up and repaint over with white paint and start all over again, but I just took my time and did it bit by bit.
“It took me a year and a half to draw freehand and paint in between being furloughed, looking after a two-year-old and going back to work.
“I spent hours every day, even in the early hours in the morning, because I couldn't sleep, grabbing any chance to add to my progress.
"I changed some of the colours on my way, making my own colours up or just repainting over them because I didn't think the colour was just right.
"I spent lots of time in her room drawing or painting, or even just sitting there in deep thought wondering if I needed to change things slightly or asking my oldest daughter for advice too.
“For all the paint, paintbrushes and pens, it cost me around £89.
"My daughter was very excited when she saw the final result.
“Her reaction was 'wow Mickey Mouse, Olaf, Rabbit!’ She was going around, jumping up and down and naming all the animals saying 'my bedroom, my bedroom!'
"I was so happy to see my daughter's reaction and to see her so happy and excited to sleep in her room made me know I did a good job.”
Michelle and her daughter are over the moon with the finished result of the Disney mural, and have received thousands of likes and comments since posting it on social media.
"As I finished her bedroom, my daughter said I should put photos up on social media,” Michelle adds.
“At first I thought 'don't be so silly’.
"I didn't feel was my drawing was that good, but I built the courage up to put a range of pictures up online, feeling a bit nervous and anxious and asking people to be kind to me as this is my first time.
"The next day I was in shock to see such a positive response and beautiful words and comments from complete strangers!
"I was blown away with the response - I never expected it at all.
"My advice to anyone who plans to do a project or any project like this is to plan ahead and take your time.
“Don't be afraid to change things on your journey if it doesn't feel right to you.
“Do your research and never rush it because it will make a big difference to the outcome at the end.”
Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, comments: “All the various lockdowns since March 2020 have felt endless, and we have spent an inordinate amount of time at home to keep ourselves and others safe.
“However, many of us embraced our creative sides with all the extra time at home, learning to bake, paint or dance.
“Michelle’s creation is a real labour of love and it looks incredibly professional.
“As she says, she was never arty before, which shows you can do anything if you put your mind to it.
“Her daughter must be so proud of her new room, knowing that her mum created it just for her.
“The fact she only spent £89 on it also shows you really don’t need to break the bank in order to create a one-of-a-kind, extra special home mural!"
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