Saturday, April 21, 2012

Paint Chip Art

More free artwork? Check.



Um, I own an embarrassingly large collection of paint chips. 
I'm not  a decorator... or a designer... and I'm not a painter... I just have a serious problem with collecting paint chips. Sometimes I think I need some help with my home decor hoarding habits! (I kid.)

So I hung this black Ikea Ribba floating picture ledge a few days ago, but that poor ledge sat naked while I tried to figure out how to fill it... with stuff that I'd still like after a week's time. Then, I remembered my stack of paint chips. Light bulb moment!

Chevron's still "so hot right now," but lately, I'm really loving obsessing over herringbone. It's a super classic and traditional pattern, so I thought playing with the scale and color could give it a modern spin.

Then, there's ombre. It's color perfection.

Herringbone + ombre = LOVE.

I was inspired by some chevron paint chip and ombre masterpieces from my favorite blogs, and also from photos we've all seen floating around Pinterest.





Sources: (1) Pinterest (2) YoungHouseLove (3) A Beautiful Mess (4) Pinterest - Merry Pad


Working quickly so the a-ha! moment wouldn't fade, I whipped out a pair of scissors, my giant mass of paint chips, a glue stick, and cardstock. In the final product, you'll see that I cut each line of the herringbone pattern uniquely (read: I couldn't figure out how to cut each piece on the same angle every single time).  :) This was certainly a time consuming project, but well worth it for this little 5"x7" piece.

I chose about 3 consecutive paint chips with 5 shades on each card. Once I cut out the polygon shapes, I laid them out on the table so I could picture how they'd look and trimmed down the pieces that were too big. I got them just right - or approximately just right - I then summoned my inner 4 year old: I used a plain old glue stick to attach them to heavy card stock. Finally, I cut off the extra edges from the card stock and was left with a pretty 5"x7" art card.

Let's see it one more time....



A work in progress...


I love the way it combines the clean lines of herringbone plus the playful and fun color in the  gradient. I'm so proud of this perfect(ly free) addition to my picture ledge!

What do you think? Have you found any creative ways to use your paint chips? 


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2 comments:

  1. I first saw this on pinterest and boy, did i fall in love with it. And let me tell you I had my reasons: first, i am a paint chip hoarder just like you, there are people like us, I secretly spy on them in Bauhaus, people who have no intention whatsoever of buying paint but taking dozens of beautiful colored chips just as they pass along the aisle (i think we should unite). Second, I'm a frame-lover and I have my reasons to stop putting in photographs (you may read more if you like on my blog, I'm not gonna humiliate myself on multiple platforms) so I need something else to fill them with, because I cannot stop collecting them (them and mugs. umm and chips... you see the hoarding pattern?) and there's the issue of "creating art"(!) out of free (FREE!) material. So last night, I summoned my inner 5 year old too and went for it. With a different pattern, though. I hope it's OK if I post my take on the paint chip art and link to your page.

    Thanks for the inspiration. Seriously, I love the new member of my mantel!

    Oh and you can check it out on:

    http://decodeniquo.blogspot.com/2013/03/quatrefoil-paint-chip-art-boya.html#more

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for your kind comments! Paint chip hoarding solidarity, sister -- and the Moroccan tile twist was genius (I wish I'd grabbed paint chips that were as big as yours!). I actually have an obsession with geometrics and patterns, so I'm a huge fan. :) THANK YOU for commenting and sharing your post. Love!

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