DIY Thursday - Patchwork Wall Art (Ballard Designs Inspired)

I love the look of several things coming together to form one piece of art, mosaics and collages are among my favorites. These Ballard Design Patchwork Prints is a perfect example of this. Though they are now on sale for $169 (marked down from $199) they are still out of my price range ('cause I'm cheap thrifty).

I was able to work it out for just under $20. Want to know how? Come on, girl, let's make some Patchwork Wall Art!

Supplies:

8x8 inch wooden tiles (If you or someone you know is handy with tools, these can be cut from a pine board found at any building supply store)
Black acrylic paint
Mod Podge
Sponge brushes
Coordinating scrapbook papers
Thin plywood or MDF board
Wood Glue


The beautiful array of scrapbook papers available today really make this an easy project. If you don't trust yourself to coordinate papers, buy the paper sets that come pre-coordinated.



I started by cutting and sanding my 8x8 tiles (which actually measure 7 1/4; for some reason an 8 inch board isn't really a full 8 inches).

Paint the sides and edges of the front of the blocks with the black acrylic paint.

While this is drying, use your handy dandy paper cutter to cut squares of paper to fit the tiles.

Once dry, begin to decoupage the papers to the tiles.

Can we take a little break at this point for some decoupage tips? I've read that some of you have decoupage fears - bubbles, lumps, and creases, OH MY! Listen, this isn't rocket science, just follow the steps in the right order:

Apply decoupage medium to the wooden tile AND to the back of the paper (applying to both is important). Now, stick it and press all the bubbles out. Once you're happy with the placement LEAVE IT ALONE.

Just let it dry, go paint your nails, do a load of laundry, eat some lunch while reading People magazine, I don't care, just don't touch it now. DON'T paint more Mod Podge on top yet, this will wreck everything!

Is it dry? Are you sure? Okay, now go ahead and apply one or two coats of Mod Podge on top to seal it.



Let it dry again then dirty it up! Why dirty it up? Because I hate new looking things! I want it old, I want it grungy, I want it to look like I rescued it from the corner of an old barn! How do we do this? Take an old rag or your finger and apply some Burnt Umber acrylic paint to the edges. Now, wet the corner of the rag and smoosh it around. Play with it adding and taking away layers of paint, leaving the center lighter and edges darker, until you get a look you like. (like it clean looking? Just skip this part, ain't no big thang).



Now, this next part came about because I just couldn't resolve in my brain pounding 9 nails into my freshly painted walls. It just seemed so harsh! So, I cut out a thin piece of plywood or mdf a few inches smaller than the finished project (so, I used a board 18x18 inches) and used wood glue to attach all the tiles onto one base.

See? Now I can hang it with one nail, or lean it against the wall like I did here.



Accessorize it a bit, and voila! You have yourself a Ballard inspired piece of patchwork wall art to match YOUR decor! Yes! Oh, and enough change in your pocket for 4 pedicures! 3 lunches out! 140 beers for dollar beer happy hour! MMMMMWWWWAAAHAHAHAHA!!!!!



I'm participating in Kimba's party, but you knew that, right? You know the drill, click the button to be whisked off to the land of inspiration. Leave some comments for those ladies, they're workin' their little buns off over there!

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