Afordable, Creative, Easy Wall Art

Remember those blank walls in my girls' play room? Well this weekend, I finally had time to make some fun art to fill up those spaces!

This is a really easy and affordable way to liven up any blank space, and there are so many variations that you can use to make it your own. This was the inspiration for my project. I can't remember where I saw this at, so if you know, let me know so I can link to them:-)

What you will need:

Styrofoam boards (Mine were 12x36x 1 inch thick, but you can use the thicker ones if you chose)
utility knife, or just a sharp knife
cement glue
scissors
pins
scrapbook paper
pictures or photos
coordinating ribbon (thick enough to cover the edges of your squares)
any extra accessories you want to use on your art

I began by cutting my Styrofoam boards into thirds. Three sheets of 12x12 scrapbook paper fits perfectly onto one board, so you can use this as your guide for cutting equal squares.

Use your utility knife to mark a straight line, and then cut your Styrofoam down the line.

After you have your squares all cut out, you will need to glue your scrapbook paper to the Styrofoam squares. I used Elmers cement glue because it doesn't make the paper wrinkle when its applied.

Next you become the artist and glue on your photos, mementos, jewels, buttons, or whatever you want to use for your masterpiece. I just had some pics off the internet printed out of the girls' favorite cartoon characters and used them along with some accessories I had around the house.

After you are satisfied with your layout and everything is secured, then pull out your coordinating ribbon. Take your ribbon and cut a piece that will overlap all the way around your square. Wrap it around and use a pin to hold one end in place. Then overlap the other end and secure it with two pins (I forgot to take a picture of the overlapping part so make sure you so this). I pinned mine at the bottom, so it wasn't as noticeable.

Now all you have to do it hang it. There are a variety of ways that you could do this, but I found this way to be the easiest and most cost effective. I simply cut a piece of ribbon and attached it to the back of the square with two pins on each end. Then I just used a thumbtack in the wall and hung the ribbon over it. You could use nails and picture hooks, or something fancier, but this is just a play room, and I didn't care that much.

And there you have it....your own work of art! Like I said before, you can do so many variations of this. You could use fabric, or 12x12 photos instead of scrapbook paper, or hang them all together like my inspiration pic above.
I have one more project to complete in this room and then I will show you the final results.
If you decide to try this, let me know....I would love to see how yours turns out. I think I might be extending this project into other areas of my house now.

I am submitting this project to Kimba's DIY day at A Soft Place to Land. Go and visit her party and get great some great DIY ideas!

Blessings
Stacey