Office Art Tutorial

I mentioned that I wanted to decorate my office. JM (for some random reason) didn't want to paint. Something about me not painting correctly and him not wanting to help. Anyway, he was totally on board with the decorating providing it was A- cheap B- didn't involve painting and C- didn't require him. So after some brainstorming and poking around, I have come up with a great plan. I'm sure the plan costs more than my budget so I'll just have to see how far it takes me. But this, is my first project. I really wanted to get some color into my otherwise bland, white space.

I found this great idea several places to make cheap art from scrapbook paper and set to work. I bought all needed supplies:

• 12 x 12 scrapbook paper in desired colors/patterns


• Styrofoam boards - I bought 1/2" thick


• Styrofoam glue


• Ribbon


• Sawtooth hangers

The first thing I did was layout my paper until I found that pattern I liked. Then I TOOK A PICTURE. I found out after how important this is and I'm really glad I did. After all the shuffeling over multiple days, there is no way I would have remembered which order I wanted things in.

The Stryofoam comes in large boards 36" wide. Meausre and cut the board into three 12x12" pieces.

There are fancy styrofoam cutters out there. I just used a box cutter and a ruler.

Next, spread the glue on the board. I tried using a glue stick first, and it wouldn't hold, so buying the glue specifically for styrofoam was a good idea. I used a popcicle stick to spread it out a bit. I didn't want big lumps of glue making bumbs on my paper.

Attach your paper to the board and press firmly.
Try not to get too frustrated when the edges curl up and refuse to lay flat. Let them layout over night to dry. By morning, they will have flattened out a bit.

Get your ribbon and a hot glue gun. I bought 3/8 inch ribbon because it was cheaper and I didn't want to have to deal with excess ribbon around the edges. You could just as easily get 5/8 inch which would leave you a little more coverage. I'm not that picky. If you have a low heat glue gun, I would reccomend using that. I don't, so the glue melted and sizzled on the styrofoam. I ignored it and pressed the ribbon in place.
I suggest starting in the middle of a side instead of a corner. That way, it's easier to finish - just overlap the ribbons a little bit. No corners to to deal with. Glue the ribbon on all boards.
Last glue the sawtooth hangers on the back. You could also use ribbon to hang. Make sure to measure so they all line up straight!

The final product. This is where you get your husband and beg him to help you hand it on the wall. Or, if you are more spacial adept than I am, you can do it yourself.

This is my office wall prior to cheap art. Boring right?
And the after shot. I think I would have hung them a little further apart, but I wasn't going to ask my loving husband to redo it.

All told, this cost me about $30. Well, I actually paid $45 but that included the really cute extra paper I had to have, the 40% off Valentines decorations and extra ribbon just to make sure I had enough. Ta da!