Pretty Initial Wall Art

I've been busy over the last week!  Between refinishing a table & chairs (which is becoming a chore rather than something fun because I keep running into snags...) and four different wall art projects I've barely had time to take pictures along the way let alone tell you about it :)

I promised myself that I would get some, hopefully all, of them posted over the next week.

Here's the first one, a pretty initial for Avery's room.

I was inspired by this - it's made with quarters and I LOVE it: 

justinesmith.net

I thought about replicating it with the letter A for an 'art wall' that I'm working on in her room.  Unfortunately, lack of time got the upper hand and I resorted to creating something sparkly and simple instead.  I also thought the block letter might be a little too modern for her very pretty room that has a slightly vintage feel to it.

When I was in Dollarama last week I stumbled upon pushpins with 'rhinestones'.  I knew they also had packages of square cork boards (2/pack) so I got both and went to work.

First I printed a letter on a sheet of paper, making it as big as I possibly could (the cork boards are 12"x12" and I wanted to fill them as much as possible).  Then I placed it on the cork boards.  Slowly I put in the pretty push pins 3/4 of the way - meaning I didn't push them in completely. 
 

I used the letter as a guide and worked with the size of the push pins rather
than trying to make them conform to the shape of the letter.

Once I was finished, I tore the paper out (carefully) from behind the pins. 

Originally, I thought the natural colour of the cork would be an interesting textural and colour contrast but then I decided that it would be better painted a pretty dark silvery grey. 

Replacing with straight pins before I start painting

So I removed each of the push pins and replaced them one by one with straight pins (you can skip this step if you know you want to paint it and do it before you begin!).

After I painted, I waited for it to dry.

Once it was painted I used contact cement to glue the two cork boards together and then took the pins out and put the push pins back in.  I added a simple ribbon along the top to add a little colour and provide a little more balance to the design (I didn't centre the letter very well  :s).  I think I might add something else because I think it might be a little too plain still, but I'll wait until I see it up on the wall with the rest of the art.

This was super fast & simple and I think it turned out really well especially since the total cost was under $10!  If you didn't have push pins with rhinestones, you could easily make your own by buying rhinestones at Michael's and gluing them onto pushpins yourself.

You could also adapt this project by choosing a simple shape, like a cat or an acorn.... ooh an acorn would be sooo pretty! 

- Jacs