24 Nov 2009

DIY Wall Art

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I have had the recent fortune of making these awesome wall hangings and I am completely in love with them! I saw this idea in Lowes Creative Solutions this summer and have been obsessed with making them ever since. Luckily they turned out perfectly, were pretty easy and the results are gorgeous, so just I have to share them.2009_11_24_4463

I started off with a few pieces of poplar board, 1 inch x 12 inches x 6 feet. I had them sawed in half, which left me with two 3 feet x 12 inch boards.

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I sanded and stained the boards,

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lined the edges with painters tape, and covered the boards with this doormat that I picked up from Lowes.

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I then spray painted 4 light coats through the doormat-2 straight down on the mat and 2 from different angles to try to fill in all of the gaps.

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I allowed the paint to dry for about 30 minutes after the last coat,

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and when I pulled the mat off I literally squealed with delight.

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I sealed the wood with a spray polyurethane and hung those babies up as soon as I could.

I used heavy duty sawtooth hangers on the back of the boards, and hung them on wall anchors spaced about 13 inches apart.

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The wood shows through beautifully and the design looks so elegant on the wall. The only real problem is that I want to put them in every single room of the house-the neutral wood and ivory go with absolutely everything! It took a lot of deliberation before they finally landed in the living room, but I was glad to finally have something to fill the space above the TV, and luckily mom was willing to hold to hold them up against different walls while I debated.2009_11_24_4458

I'm so excited to be linking this up to the CSI project!


Visit thecsiproject.com

90 comments:

  1. That is Awesome!! Thanks for the great post and idea! I love it!
    -Ann

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  2. Those are sooo cool and I am immediately going to copy you and put them on the blank wall of my bathroom. I have trying to figure out what to do there! Thanks for the great idea!

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  3. Those are so original...and very pretty!

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  4. So awesome I can't wait to try this ! I have seen metal floor rugs like that used before to hang on walls too! So awesome! Yes I know I already said that!

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  5. I looked at this on my phone earlier and was impressed, but I'm amazed now that I'm looking at it on a larger screen! Go Erin!

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  6. OK, wow. Seriously in awe of your amazing craftiness.

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  7. Also, Lowe's owes you for some serious free advertising!

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  8. WOW! Erin, these are absolutely incredible. That is genius! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them! They look fabulous above the tv. WOW!

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  9. WOW! What a fabulous idea. They turned out great!

    Thanks for sharing!
    Kate

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  10. Wow. I'm so copying this. I love love love your creative art ideas!!!!!

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  11. Gorgeous! I've seen this done before, but not as well...yours rocks!

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  12. Looks great, and funny, when I was looking at your cute picture of daddy and baby on the swing, I realized I KNOW YOU!!!
    I am Ryan M's sister from CCU. :)
    Happy Thanksgiving Erin, tell Chris Crystal said Hi!

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  13. I LOVE THIS!!! Thanks for linking to A Soft Place to Land so I could find you!

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  14. These came out amazing! And they sound totally doable!

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  15. I want to go out and buy the stuff for those today. Thanks for the ideas. I love it.

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  16. Very nice. I like how you used two pieces of wood for one "print".
    @cheapchichome.blogspot.com

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  17. THat is one of the coolest things i've seen on here. Definitely going to have to try that out!

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  18. ok... that is soo cool! thanks for sharing!

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  19. I am SO stealing this idea for my bathroom. I have a giant piece of luan that I've been wondering what kind of art to put on it and now I know. Thank you for sharing!

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  20. These are fabulous ! I think I might just have to make some. I have some gorgeous pieces of wood that I've been wanting to make something out of.

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  21. I couldn't decise if I wanted to go yank up my door mat or leave a comment first. I am SOOOO doing this, it's gorgeous!

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  22. What a great idea!! They turned out great!!

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  23. Of course, I would have screamed in delight. These are beautiful. What a wonderful idea!

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  24. WOW...what a COOL idea you had here...love how it looks! Thanks soooo much for sharing it and showing us how you did it. Hope you have an awesome week!

    Blessings,
    Linda

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  25. I am bowing down to your craftiness!!! Those look sooooooo FANTASTIC, what a great job! I'm completely stealing this idea.

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  26. Fabulous, totally going to borrow this idea!!

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  27. This is awesome. And I love how things you say are so easy are light years beyond what I would/could do! :)

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  28. Holy cow - saw you on ASPTL and so glad I clicked the link!

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  29. It really did turn out fantastic. Who would have thought???

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  30. Wow! I have to do this! I recently moved into a house with vaulted ceilings and LOTS of wall to cover, this is perfect! Thank you!

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  31. WOW! those are beautiful! I'll be doing this ASAP! We really need some art for our walls! brilliant!

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  32. That is brilliant!! Just found your blog through A Soft Place to Land. Glad I did!

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  33. This is amazing..thanks for linking up and sharing!

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  34. Love these! I already have one of those rugs! I wonder if I could use the back side of it and not ruin it??!! I might have to try! I think I found it for under $10 at Ross, though....I could just buy another one! Great project!

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  35. ROCK and roll !! That's the coolest thing I've seen today. Going. to. Lowe's.

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  36. WOW- that art work is STUNNING!

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  37. Ummm yes those are absolutely, positively, amazing...came over from OPT.

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  38. I love it!!! I am so going to try this! Great job!

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  39. Thank-you so much for sharing this! I have a large wall in my living room that I haven't been able to find art for. I'm going to leave the boards the 6' length and double it up.
    How did you secure them to the wall?

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  40. WOW!!! That is fabulous! now I have to find a place to put something so beautiful!!!

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  41. Erin!!! Hi from Shawnee, Rob, Katie, and Logan Fleenor! I saw the (gorgeous!) wall hanging link on One Pretty Thing, and when I came to your link and saw the photos on the right, I recognized you! Okay, that's a lot of exclamation points for one comment. Anyway, we're at rsfleenor at juno dot com, and we'd love to say hello and see what's up. Blessings, Shawnee

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  42. AMAZING-- love these-You are so creative.
    Thanks for linking to the party.
    I will click to follow and add you to my subscriptions if you have that feature on your blog.
    Do you want to know why
    I am both following and subscribing? Check out my blog for the Google update.
    Cheri

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  43. You've been featured--come check it out.
    Cheri

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  44. Holy cow. Those are A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. I am in love, and in awe of this idea! I also have a BIG empty space above my sofa that would be absolutely PERFECT for this project! Thank you for sharing!

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  45. Ive had these on my "to do" list since I saw them in the magazine too. Glad to know they were as easy and awesome looking as they said they were!

    Great job!!

    J

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  46. This is SO GREAT!!! One of the neatest projects I've seen in a long time!!! Wondering if I have someplace for that......

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  47. I would have never thought of using a door mat for a stencil - thanks!!!!!

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  48. That is brilliant! Wow! So creative. I'm going to steal that sometime. Really, I am SOOOO impressed. I wish you could "hear" me as I type.

    :)
    Jen

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  49. That is really pretty! Great job!

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  50. Really pretty! What a great idea to use the rubber mat as a stencil. It turned out really well and looks very posh.

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  51. Art isn't just for canvas! They look awesome. It's fun creating unique art.

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  52. Wow, I would never, ever have guessed these were made with a doormat. What a wonderful project and they came out beautifully!

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  53. i am soooo glad i clicked on here from the lettered cottage! thank you for the detailed instructions...i am sooo so so so excited to make these this week! thanks for sharing!

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  54. I'm so glad you linked this on the Best of the Nest, it's super cool!

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  55. I love your blog, and I love this! I am going to try this out for sure. Good job on them!

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  56. wow, what a pretty project! and can be done with any colors too, thanks for sharing

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  57. I love that idea! I am now looking around my house thinking of wear I could put something like that!! Love them!!

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  58. WOW, this is beautiful! Thanks for showing.

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  59. What a cool idea! Thank you.

    Jennie @ Cinnaberry Suite

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  60. Those lok great! What a clever ideat! Thanks for sharing! ~Lisa

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  61. What a great idea! Good for you!
    smiles.

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  62. That is so creative!It looks great on the wall. Thanks for such a great idea!

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  63. This is truly spectacularly (Probably not a word, but you get it's meaning)creative! Ingenious, do-able, and it looks stunning.

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  64. BEAUTIFUL!! I had seen this idea before but forgot all about it!!

    Can I ask, how did you get them lined up so evenly on the wall when you hung them? I'm SURE I wouldn't be able to get them so even!

    ~TidyMom

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  65. Love it! I was looking for something to do as an insert for a armoire panel and I think I'll try this!

    www.timeforbeads.com

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  66. This is seriously gorgeous - I would squeal too!

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  67. I can't believe it. I love this and I threw out this same door mat a few months ago! I wold do this for sure. Thank you.

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  68. WOW! These are truly amazing and I'm so going to make some - I can't stop thinking about the color combination possibilities! Thanks for this awesome idea!

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  69. Hey I mentioned you on my blog. I tried this project. It did not turn out quite like yours but I tried! Thanks!

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  70. I made this project when that magazine came out. Mine turned out terrible the first time I tried it. The problem was the floor mat I used. The rubber edges along the design weren't smooth and neat and so when I sprayed the paint my design was messy. I went back with a Dremel tool and cleaned up the floor mat. It took me three hours! Then I tried it again and it turned out great! So get a nice floor mat and pay attention to the design.

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  71. what an amazing idea!! THANK YOU!!

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  72. AWESOME!!! Love it! : ) Great job.

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  73. Awesome job! I'm gonna have to try this one day!

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  74. This is such a great idea and so easy! Great craft!

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  75. I saw this when you first posted and we were building a new house. I knew just where I wanted them but knew I would need to make them on a slightly bigger scale to hang on the wall over my stairs. I have made them and they turned out great! Now I can't figure out how to hang them. They are HEAVY and this will be an awkward place! How did you hang yours?

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  76. I also wanted to know how far apart you spaced yours. They look great!

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  77. WOW! You have done such a great job on this wall art! The tutorial is great, too. Hope it's okay, I just couldn't help but post this on my new blog here:

    http://frugal-home-design.blogspot.com/2012/01/frugal-design-inspiration-and-ideas.html

    Thank you SO much for sharing!

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  78. We made these last November and I love them:
    http://sharedpinterests.blogspot.com/2011/11/my-debut-project-stenciled-wall-hanging.html

    Thanks so much for the brilliant idea!

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  79. What color stain & spray paint did you use. They turned out great...I just happened to come across this on the Lowe's site today, but the directions were terrible. Thanks so much for the explanation!

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  80. Did any locate the actual 24 x 36 mat used???? The current mat at lowes is super different and I like the one she used better. Would anyone be willing to send it to me? I would be apply to pay for it, plus shipping??? Thanks!
    Jen McCannell

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  81. I absolutely LOVED your project! I thought it came out amazing. I tried to do it myself and it didn't go well at all. I tried two different mats and I just couldn't get the same result as you. You should start selling these! I just featured my attempt at your project on my blog, check it out some time.
    http://pinorpass.blogspot.com/

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  82. Love this beautiful wall art, you have done great work, i have enjoyed it. many thanks for sharing.

    http://bigsight.org/bestcanvasprintsbycanvasdesignuk

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  83. I have seen metal floor rugs like that used before to hang on walls too! ... 4wallart.blogspot.com

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  84. I have seen metal floor rugs like that used before to hang on walls too! ... 2largewallart.blogspot.com

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  85. I have had the recent fortune of making these awesome wall hangings ... wallstencils.blogspot.com

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