paper cut out

Recently, I was so inspired by the fish scale walls done by Kara Paslay and Two Thirty-Five Designs, I decided to make my own. I love how large and textural it is without over powering the room.

Project cost: Less than $30

What you’ll need:

5 ft. x 5 ft. pieces of ply wood

Scissors

Card stock

Hot glue gun

2 cans of gold spray paint

2 sawtooth picture hangers

1. Cut out your circles. I did this the hard way by tracing a coffee cup and cutting each one out, but this task could be easier if you got the proper tool. I cut out 200. No, it wasn’t my favorite part, go get yourself a circle cutter.

2. Hot glue gun your circles to your board, offsetting each row from each other. The other two tutorials above, attached their circles with push pins and staples. I got the wrong kind of wood for this, so I used my trusty glue gun.

3. Now that you have all your circles attached, spray them down with your gold paint. Makes sure to get the edges well and direct the paint so it get s underneath the circles a bit.

4. Let the paint dry, it shouldn’t take long.

5. You will find that your circles have dried a little funky, so I went back through with my glue gun and tacked them down so they lay flat. I attached my sawtooth picture hangers, and hung it up.

This project is simple, but does take some time, so be sure to set enough time aside to complete it. It’s a weekend project, for sure. I love the way this turned out and because my taste changes so often, I won’t feel bad if I get sick of it. It has been 4 months since I’ve hung this though, and I still love it!

Jenna

This Happy Birthday banner took me a full day and $2 to make. Worth it? Absolutely. (I would give yourself a few days though, cramping hands are no fun) Originally, I was going to paint the letters on, but when I realized you would be able to see them as well, I decided to cut the letters out in almost a stained glass pattern.

Here is what you need:

7 – 8 pieces of 8×11 cardstock. (I used chipboard)

An exacto knife

A pencil

Step One: Cut all of your 8×11 cards in half.

Step Two: Lightly draw your letters in pencil. I used a ruler and winged it, but you can trace a font you print out or use a stencil, the sky is the limit

Step Three: Using the exacto knife cut out triangular shapes. I kind of just winged it. I will say, my triangles started out small and calculated and got bigger and more arbitrary towards the end, when I got tired. You couldn’t tell the difference.

Step Four: Stretch your fingers.

Step Five: Finish, even if it seems daunting, you already put in a lot of time. It’ll be worth it.

Step Six: Congrats! You made it! Hang it up, I taped mine to the window, but you can also use a hole punch and string it up with some yarn or pretty ribbons.

Step Seven: Make sure no one steals it. You worked too hard. Keep it forever.

DIY: Fish Scale Wall Art

DIY Happy Birthday Banner

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