Ok so let me tell you about this weird blank wall in my entryway. It sat there for months, mocking me with its emptiness. I tried a mirror. Too small. A shelf. Too cluttered. Then I stumbled on the idea for this DIY Whale Tail Wall Art and honestly it changed the whole vibe of that corner. Just a piece of scrap wood I had lying around, some ocean blue paint I mixed from leftover samples, and a free template I snagged during a random Etsy sale. The before was so blah, now it’s a conversation starter. Seriously, people walk in and go “woah, where did you get that?”.
The Hunt for the Right Whale Tail Template
Finding a free template online that isn’t a total hot mess is harder than you think. I spent a good hour on Pinterest and Etsy. Some were too cartoony. Some looked like a science textbook diagram for marine biology class. I finally found a simple, modern silhouette. It was offered by a shop called “Sand and Salt Design Co.” or something like that. The download link worked on the first try (which never happens to me). I resized it in Photoshop but you could totally use a photocopier or just eyeball it with a grid technique. Or just print and tape pieces together. Anyway.
Look, I nearly gave up and just traced a picture of my dog’s tail instead. A whale dog. It would have been weird. Glad I stuck it out because the right shape makes everything look intentional. Not like a craft project. More like an art piece.
Why Scrap Wood Beats Store Bought Every Time
Here’s the thing about using scrap wood. It already has character. Dents. A bit of grain. Maybe a faded paint splatter from a previous project. I pulled mine from the garage. It was a piece of 1×6 pine offcut, maybe 3 feet long. It had a small knot in the corner that I almost cut off. I left it on purpose. It looks like a little eye or a moon. Happy accident.
If you don’t have a garage stash, try these sources:
- Check behind your garage or under the workbench. Seriously, look right now.
- Ask the cut-off bin at Home Depot or Lowe’s (they sometimes give scraps away for free if you ask nicely).
- An old pallet that’s clean and splinter-free (just sand it down so you don’t get a splinter while you’re admiring it).
- A piece of trim you found on the curb. Not gonna lie, I’ve done this. It’s free real estate.
Store bought wood is perfectly smooth and soulless. For a coastal craft, you want a little texture. It makes the paint look better. It makes the whole piece feel older, like it washed up on shore.
Mixing the Perfect Ocean Blue Palette
I am not a professional paint mixer. Not even close. I wanted that specific ocean blue, the color of the water right before it gets deep. You know what I mean? That teal-ish, gray-ish, perfect blue that looks different every time you walk past it. I had three leftover sample jars. A flat “Sea Salt” by Sherwin Williams, a satin “Gentleman’s Gray” by Benjamin Moore, and a random craft acrylic in “Turquoise”.
I mixed them together in an old yogurt container. It made a weird greenish blue that dried absolutely perfectly. It was a total accident. I also painted a small piece of cardboard first as a test. Always do that. Unless you like repainting walls. I’ve repainted too many walls to take that risk again. The
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