Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Paint Sample Wall Hanging

One of my (many) house projects is to decorate our guest room. This may sound somewhat simple, but I have a slight complication. You see, the guest that's here most often is Mr. 31's 10 year old brother, but the room also has to be suitable for grown ups. So, I've decided to decorate the room in shades of blue, using metal washers as accents. That way, it can look polished enough for adults, but in a fun, funky way suitable for a 10 year old Star Wars fan.

One of the first projects was a wall hanging. Inspired by the Iron Crafters challenge from Fireflies and Jellybeans, I decided to make it out of paint samples and washers.

I started by gathering paint samples in the shades I wanted: Ink Drop, Blue Corn Chips, Lazy Day, City Gray, and White (in Kilz brand).

Then I purchased 1 inch wide washers, navy blue satin ribbon, and fishing line.

I started the process by punching circles out of the paint samples using a 1 inch punch. I got 4 circles out of each sample. Then I punched 2 holes in each circle using a safety pin, unless the circles were going to be on the top or bottom line, in which case it got 3 holes.


Next I laid out the pattern I wanted (the hanging measures roughly 24 inches by 18 inches).


I then strung the top and bottom lines of the design using the fishing line and secured the line using hot glue.

I assembled the rest of the hanging upside down. I found out it much easier to assemble that way so I could glue without having to flip each piece over.


Once all the paint sample circles and washers were strung together (and my back was sufficiently sore from bending over it!), I decided to glue some smaller circles from the paint samples onto some of the circles to make it a little more interesting. Then I strung the navy ribbon through the 4 washers on the top line. The hanging will hang from those ribbons when I actually hang it.



I'm happy with the results. It's fun and different, and will add a nice touch to the guest room. Also nice: the cost. The total was roughly $8.00, though that's the total cost with the fishing line and ribbon, both of which I have lots left over.

I'll be linking with Fireflies and Jellybeans' Iron Crafters contest and also the usual suspects on my link party page.

17 comments:

  1. I am hosting a giveaway over at Sassy Sites. Come on by and join in on the fun! We would love to have you!

    -Marni
    http://sassysites.blogspot.com/

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  2. That's really awesome, Vanessa!!
    Looks great : ) good luck!

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  3. This turned out awesome! Very creative!!!

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  4. Oh my goodness, I love this! The washers, the paint chip circles, the fishing line... this is just my kind of craft! I'm off to gather paint chips now... and to vote for you for the iron crafter! I'm so glad you stopped by my blog (just Lu) so that I could find you here! Happy Thursday!

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  5. this is so awesome and creative!!! i love this and your blog too! i really like the title and your header. it is really creative and cute, plus it sends an awesome message. I hope to talk to you soon!!! :)

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  6. This is soooo amazing! I never would have thought! Thank you so much for linking your wonderful creation up at Frou Frou Decor today!! Have a great weekend!
    ~Terrell @ Frou Frou Decor~

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  7. This is great, I I have tons of paint samples! I'd love for you to link this up to my weekend Art Therapy link party . Hope to see you there!

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  8. i really like it, it's so different. way to get creative and have affordable, and home made, art!

    stopping in from frou frou decor.

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  9. Saw you on Frou Frou decor. WAY COOL!! I have a gazillion paint samples since we are redecorating our living room. So creative!

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  10. Very creative!

    I wanted to let you know about Atticmag's new linky party - Giveaway Friday! It's a convenient place for bloggers to link their giveaways each week. We've kicked it off with a fantastic giveaway of our own. Five lucky winners will win material to do a backsplash in their homes. Hope to see you there!

    Allison
    Atticmag

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  11. Very cool. I've never thought about reusing paint chips! You got me thinking...

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  12. That is amazing!! You got me wanting to make one. I maybe asking you more question later!! Thanks for a great frugal idea!!

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  13. Super cute...

    I'm featuring this over at Life As Lori if you would like to grab my I was featured button please do so...

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  14. What a labor of love, it is so cute and original. Paint can work wonders for any project, but I never thought of paint chips. Great idea.:-)

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