Wall Art

Back in February I posted a few photos and ideas that had inspired me, including one link to wall hangings made of styrofoam and scrapbook paper. I subsequently found other examples of this type of wall art, including this art panel at Apartment Therapy, these wall hangings at Eight Crazy, and this example in the Craftster forums. (I also like this idea, which uses frames rather than styrofoam; however, the foam provides some nice 3-dimensionality.)

Well, since February I've acquired a house that needs decorating, so I decided to try making wall art from styrofoam and scrapbook paper. I find myself drawn to scrapbook paper despite the fact that I am not, and probably never will be, a scrapbooker. Using it in this way seemed like a fun - and frugal - way of decorating.


My friend Beki, who is studying interior design in graduate school, came over to lend her artistic eye and was graciously willing to stoop to my inferior artistic level of styrofoam and glue dots!

These were quite straightforward to make. Each 12x12x1 square of styrofoam has a brown grosgrain ribbon wrapped around the sides and affixed using glue dots. We used the same means to then attach the selected 12x12 pieces of scrapbook paper to the front of the styrofoam squares. I've seen instructions for this project that indicate painting the sides of the foam, but I like how the ribbon hides the texture of the styrofoam altogether, and I think it makes for a nice finished edge. I also saw directions to attach the paper to the styrofoam using a spray adhesive, but I was concerned about wrinkling and bubbling and decided glue dots were a safe way to go. They worked very well, and any slight raised bump from the glue dot can be pressed into the malleable styrofoam for a smooth finished surface. We hung these by simply pressing the upper center of each square onto nail heads we had already hammered into the wall at measured locations.


Since I got the styrofoam squares on sale, each piece of "art work" cost around $4, and I'm surprised at how much I'm enjoying the results. They turned out better than I imagined - and even Nathan seems to like the finished product. High praise from a fellow with self-proclaimed "Grandpa taste" in furniture and decor which rears its graying head from time to time. (And yes, I'm patting myself on the back for that clever sentence.)