patchwork wall art

Remember my Must Make List for 2010?  If not, you can read it here.  On my list I have a link and picture to a ballard designs inspired wall art tutorial by Hope Studios. 

My hubby and I decided a few months back that we are tired of having a thrown together master bedroom.  We are no longer newlyweds using hand me down furniture.  It's about time we make our room what it should be.  So we have been working hard on creating the perfect master bedroom.  The patchwork art is one of the new additions to our room.    You can find different tutorials on this project online and they are probably similar.  Here is how I created mine.

Supplies:

1. 
   
   1x8x8 pine board cut into 8x8in. squares
2. 
   
   mod podge (I used a matte finish)
3. 
   
   foam brush to apply mod podge
4. 
   
   9 sheets of scrapbook paper or pictures
5. 
   
   black laytex based paint satin finish (got my quart in the paint department at Lowe's for $9)
6. 
   
   picture hanging hardware for back of squares, you'll need 9
7. 
   
   paint brush
8. 
   
   sand paper

Click on the pictures to make them larger

I went to Lowe's and picked up the straightest 8 in wide by 1 in deep by 8 ft long pine board.  It cost me about $5.  I had the Lowe's employee (who was super nice) cut it in as many 8 in. squares possible.  I did this so I would have a back up in case there were any defects in one of them.  I picked up 9 sheets of 12 by 12 in. scrapbook paper that compliment eachother in colors/ patterns I like.

I sanded the wood squares by hand until they were semi smooth.  My husband has a sander but I didn't have time to mess with that out in the garage (my garage is 30 degrees with a heater and I can't bring the baby out there).

I painted 2 coats around the outside of the squares using paint that I had bought for another project.  Placing them on styrofoam cups to dry worked great (unless you have little ones who will hit the table or cups).

I added picture hanger hardware to the back of the squares next.  Use a ruler and try to make them as even as possible so they are easy to hang later.

Next I turned the square over and traced it onto the back side of the paper.  Even though each square should be 8x8 in. they are all a little different so I cut each paper to fit the square it goes on.

The last two steps are decoupaging the paper onto the wood.

Apply an even coat of mod podge on your sqare making sure it covers the whole area the paper will cover.  Apply the paper and do it quickly because the the glue dries fast.  Once you get it on smooth it out with your hand or a card to make sure there are no bubbles.

Repeat this step with all of them and by the time you are done the 1st one should be dry and ready for a top coat.  Once again apply a smooth even layer to the top of the paper with the mod podge.  Make sure you cover the edges of the paper and don't worry about getting it on the wood cause it dries clear.  They will dry pretty fast.

Once they are dry you can hang them.  That happened to be the hardest part.  Luckily my husband hung them for me and he's a perfectionist when it comes to those things so they are as close to even and spaced out as you could get.  Thanks honey!

Nevermind the blinding white snow out my window.  I am hoping it melts sometime in the next month so I can see outside without going blind again.

And here is the original patchwork wall art from Ballard Designs. I like my version better and I paid quite a bit less for mine (under $20)  Oh, and I was thinking this would also look great using black and white photos. I may have to try that next.