I have whipped up a little pottery barn inspired art work tutorial for y’all. As seen here:
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See, while looking through my trusty catalog I saw this (below), and I loved the mosaic piece of art. So, I set my trusty little mind to figuring out a way to make this for myself, and now you can too.
( like my scrawl on the picture?… that is how I remember random ideas that float around in my brain…)
Collect your supplies:
Paper cutter
Scrapbook paper
(in the colors of your decor)
(in the colors of your decor)
Paint
(for background, in color of your choice, I used black)
(for background, in color of your choice, I used black)
Paper glue
Modge Podge
Piece of wood or Art canvas
(mdf or osb something inexpensive! Have this cut to your desired dimensions,
both Home Depot and Lowes will cut 4 x 8 foot boards down,
or they sell smaller 2′ x 4′ pieces usually on an endcap…,
I wanted mine to fill a larger space, so I did mine at 3′ x 3′)
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There you have it. An easy work of art that can be custom made to match any decor.
Since featuring this project on Ucreate, I have had a great response and I wanted to show you one of the projects that was submitted to me. Rose sent this, and she used 2 x 2 squares.
It looks great, and I bet the larger size saved a lot of time!
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>Beautiful! What a great project. It seems like it would be really relaxing to put all of those little squares of paper together. This is yet another project I am adding to my 'to do' list!
>Love the idea- looks like a great project for my kids to try over spring break
>You are giving me spring "cleaning/decorating" urges! So cute!
>Wow that is super awesome! I thought it was small glass tiles when I first saw the top photo lol. Looks very nice. Adding to my list of projects to work on
>Love it! I have already bought the paper for this project. Now if only I could get to Lowe's for the MDF! I'm going to make a mosiac to hang above my daughter's bed…and she's going to love helping me.
>This is a great tutorial! Love the idea!
>I so wish my camera wasn't busted, because I used your tutorial too!! I am only about halfway finished. I actually have had an idea similar to this for a while based on a project we did in college. Anyway, your way of going around the edge first and then working your way in is genius! It really helped to make sure I had the spacing right. I cheated alot though….I cut all those little squares (I did mine 1 in x 1 in) with my silhouette machine (kinda like a cricut) which really saved some time. I also didn't paint my board first and I only used 5 shades of paper…blues to match my new living room re-do. This will ultimately end up over the fireplace. I just love it so much! Thanks!!!!!
>Oh and one more thing for your readers. I went to Home Depot and looked through the scraps at the back of the store. I found a warped piece but when they cut it to 3×3, the "warp" was cut away. I got my 3×3 foot board for 51 cents!
>another project for my hubby to get excited about, right!! ha! I'm excited to try it!
>I saw this on Ucreate also and want to give it a shot. Using larger squares is a great idea and it looks great too.
>How helpful and creative! So glad you shared what you know with us. Can't wait to start a project of my own!
http://www.sellhousefast.co.uk
>I love this project and can not wait to try it myself!
>Definitely trying this out! I love mosaics!
>GORGEOUS LOVE how this turned out!!
Check out my awesome GIVEAWAY
~Morgan
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>Oh wow….this is definitely going on my project to-do list. I love how yours turned out!
>OMG! I love it! This would be perfect in our bedroom! Thank you thank you thank you! Definitely adding this to my list of things to do!
>Lovely! I tried something similar once with paint chips – I decided it was too contemporary for the room, but it was a fun project. I love the small size squares you used.
>I love it!! I love this technique, I plan on doing it again very soon!
>AWESOME!!!!
I did a PB inspired pc too!
http://www.prim4Him.blogspot.com
After seeing yours, I need to try harder!
You've raised the bar for sure!!!!
L~
>I loved it! Thanks for sharing! I have a great interview with a savvy blogger on my blog right now with great tips on how to help your blog grow. Come check it out http://bloggerchixdesigns.blogspot.com/2010/04/aprils-featured-interview-april.html
>It looks fabulous! It's hard to tell yours from the catalog.
>Love this idea!!! Adding to my "to do" list right now! Thanks for the inspiration!
P.S. I like yours better than the PB one
>This is such a wonderful idea! I love it! Be blessed. Cindy
>This is incredible! What a fabulous idea! You, ma'am are a genius!
>What a fabulous idea! Love it!
>Oh my goodness! I can't believe that's paper! I must try this!
☺ Celeste
>This is beautiful and the exact color scheme of my bedroom. I HAVE to try this and soon! Love your cleverness and creativity! I painted my pillows to match my bed,(and wrote a blog post about it) so making this mosaic out of paper is right up my alley.
>Just gorgeous and so perfect for the room! Here from Blogger chix Designs
>I just love this idea, and I love the colors you choose.
I want to make one with black, silver, white and grey!
Thanks for linking up to "AP Tuesdays!"
ps. your handwriting is so pretty I thought it was part of the magazine article:)
>Nice job! Much lighter weight than using real tiles too. Be sure to drop by AtticMag this week for our Giveaway!
Allison
>This is amazing!
>So wonderful! I found you on Blogger Chix Desings TAIT. I am now following.
http://spottedsmiles.blogspot.com
>I have a bunch of paint chips I've been saving for this very project
Now, do you have a tutorial on how to find the time?
>Love it! I'm going to have to remember this one!
>how fabulous and easy;} thank you for sharing the tutorial!
>It is a lovely piece and seing others doing it differently makes me want to try to make one too.
Found you at Anti-Procrastinating Tuesday.
>OOH, that is so pretty!
>This is so impressive! I'm in awe of how you kept them all aligned! Great job!
>That rocks. Loved my visit here
T
>I love the colors! This is a FABULOUS project! : )Great job! : )
>Ooh, mosaics are so pretty. I love the colors you chose! It looks really, really good.
Thank you for linking this to A Little Craft Therapy with Life in the Pitts
>What a great project for us DIYers! I love it when you can find something you love and create it yourself – and for a fraction of the cost! Thanks for linking up to Be Inspired this week!
Chelsea
>I really love this idea!!
>Wow, this is really fantastic! Did you dream of little squares! Thanks for linking up!
>Oh this is great! I love it..thanks for the tut on making it. ♥
I'm visiting today from your link at Somewhat Simple for Strut Your Stuff Thursday.
I hope you will drop by my place to see my fabric flower designs. ♥
Have a wonderful Spring day…
Hugs,
Stephanie ♥
>Wow! That's just gorgeous!
>That is very cool. Was it frustrating getting all of the one inch pieces to fit? 36 x 36 is a LOT of pieces!
Thanks for linking up to Make it Yours Day!
>Have I told you lately that I think you're amazing?!
Great tutorial and beautiful artwork. Thanks for linking to the DIY Project Parade…sorry I'm late but I'm so glad to catch up!
Roeshel
>I love this! I think it would be great over a fireplace mantle
>Great tut! I did something like this using paint chips for my daughter's room..
Thanks for joining Get Your Craft on Thursday! Please join me next week for another great party!
>What a fabulous idea! I am totally going to do this! Thanks for sharing your secret
>That looks amazing!! I think it's just what I've been looking for and can't wait to try my own – I love, love, love the colors you chose!
Popp'n over from your YHL headboard tutorial, I'm sure I'll be back!
>wow this is awesome, really different and impressive! I WILL DO IT!
>Thank you so much for sharing this awesome idea. I LOVE mosaic tiles and have wanted them forever! But I didn't want to invest in my home since I know I'll be moving in a couple years and renting it out. However, this project will let me have the effect and it's completely portable. I just finished mine and posted about it here:
http://rabbitandpiggie.blogspot.com/2011/01/mosaic-art-reveal.html
This is fabulous! Thanks for the tutorial! I just have one question, you said to use paper glue do you mean like Elmer’s glue? Also the modge podge, how did you apply without messing up the paper tiles? Did you just brush it on? Thanks for your help!
LOVE this idea. Quick question though, how much scrapbook paper did you use? I would also like to second #55 Faith’s question, how did you apply the Modge Podge and what kind of paper glue are you referring to? Thank you so much for posting this!!!
Lily, as far as scrap book paper goes really you only need about 10 sheets, (they are 1 foot square so it depends on how big your canvas is, mine was aobut 9 square feet) I used regular modge podge, and just brushed it on with a big foam brush. The paper glue I used was just some random glue I had left over from a class in college, so i can’t tell you the brand, but it was similar to elmers, in a little dispenser that was like a pen to make it easy to apply…. hope that helps! Good Luck
I was wondering if you had a system made up for how you picked out the colors so randomly to glue down? I don’t think you have any doubled up colors anywhere on there!
Misty, I had a stack of about 12 different paper “tiles”. Each tile was slightly different because of the print of the paper. I laid out my rows, a side at a time from the outside in, and glued down each row as I ;aid them out and liked how they looked. I just eyeballed the design. I wanted random, so If it looked to cookie cutter, I just changed it before gluing the paper in place.
I bet it would be even easier if you could find a square punch! I can’t cut straight even with a paper cutter. Great work!
I think by the end of that day your thumb would want to fall off (from using the punch!), I had to cut a LOT of squares! But you could do it!
I love this art piece. I have been looking for an affordable eye catching piece of art for my bedroom up-cycle restyling project that requires more creativity then trained artistic talent. I wonder if you could buy a square cutter to save time? Nice post!
I see the last one has a frame around it. Do you think Michael’s or a similar store would do this? I’m trying to figure out how to make sure the ends of the square are capped off properly and not showing any of the wood or canvas.
When you paint the background, you can paint the edges the same color. Or you could of course pay to have it custom framed… Or better yet, by a standard size canvas so that you can buy a standard size frame at like hobby lobby for example. Good Luck!