Mantle Dilemma

I have been looking for something new to hang over the mantle.  I have had this large blank canvas sitting around and I needed some inspiration for a DIY project.

So on to Pinterest I went and this is what I found.  All you had to do was splash the canvas with color, tape off with painters tape, and then cover the whole thing with a neutral color.  Once you removed all the tape, this is what you were supposed to get:

This is what I got...  It wasn't exactly the look I was going for.  Plus the colors were a little too blue and a little too bright.

So then I found this one.  Even though it is wooden planks, I thought I could accomplish the same effect with paint.

Hmm...not so much.  It was a little too modern for our living space.

Feeling defeated I threw some color over the whole thing.

Horrible.

Then I put a little more thought into throwing some color over the whole thing and added even more paint.

This will just have to do for now.  I'm going to feel it out for a couple weeks.

This thing may be a foot thick in paint by the time I'm done with it.