I'd had a few paint chip mosaic pictures from Real Housewives of BC and Junk in Their Trunk hanging around my Pinterest for months when inspiration struck me: why not create a CHRISTMAS paint chip mosaic? If you haven't seen this project yet, let me tell you that it is an easy way for those of us without art degrees to create display-worthy pieces of art!
First, Mr. Spin and I headed to Lowe's to steal paint chips and purchase wood stain (I got Minwax Dark Walnut), a paintbrush, and art hanging doodads. I already had foam brushes, spray adhesive, and Mod Podge. Then, Mr. Spin snagged a 2' by 2' piece of plywood from work. This is another one of those times when it's awesome to have a husband who works in the home decor industry.
My plywood, stained Dark Walnut. I used a foam brush to apply the stain and let it dry overnight.
I used a paper cutter to trim all of my paint chips to uniform size. I left the names on a few that were somewhat Christmas-y: Graham Cracker Crust, Heirloom Red, Village Green, Evergreen, etc. After making a few practice arrangements, I sprayed some adhesive and started sticking on the chips.
I used my trusty tape measure to make sure my plywood "border" was about the same distance on each side. I left a much larger border than some of the other versions of this project I've seen because I love the somewhat rustic look of the wood around the mosaic.
After all the chips were laid down, I used a bristly brush to Mod Podge the whole thing in different directions. When it dried, the Mod Podge was so shiny and Mr. Spin tried to persuade me to leave it because the next step made him nervous! But believe me, the next step is where the real beauty comes in!
Scary, right? Another layer of woodstain applied with a foam brush all over, then wiped off with a paper towel after drying a little.
Voila! The finished project looks really good because the woodstain picks up the grain left by the Mod Podge. I sealed the whole thing with a final layer of Mod Podge after the wood stain dried. Look at that shine!
I attached the mounting hardware. And it was totally jacked up. So Mr. Spin fixed it. I did not document that process on camera.
Here's the finished product hanging in our kitchen! Let me know what you think.
Linking up to Restored It Wednesday...
That's awesome!! Good work :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Micah!
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