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Friday, August 31, 2012

DIY Linen and Paper Wall Art

DIY linen and paper wall art in the dining room by Stay At Home-ista


Our dining room desperately needed some additional soft surfaces to absorb the sound, and some texture to add a little bit of interest. We have lived here for over a year with nothing on the walls in here. 

4 walls. Nothing on them. This was right after we moved in, but it's a pretty accurate before pic.



So finally, I was inspired by Bryn Alexander to attempt my own DIY linen and paper wall art project.

The walls are huge, so I loved that the project was about $200 all in. For 4 pieces!

Linen and Paper DIY art

This way I am happy if we leave these up for 6 months or 6 years. My idea of gallery hopping and finding "real" art, was clearly a fantasy, it's just not happening for us for a long, long time.

Tutorial for DIY Linen and Paper Wall Art:

First I got 4 of the largest Ribba frames Ikea sells. 

                       

I also ordered 4 different handmade papers from Kate's Paperie. I chose 4 different patterns, just to make each wall "go" but not be exactly the same. The paper is a bit longer than the frames, so I trimmed the ends, trying to keep the pattern looking as organic as possible.

                       Handmade Paper from Kate's Paperie into large scale artwork

Next I "upholstered" the backing with a gray linen that I bought on Fabric.com for $7.99 a yard. I used 5 yards, although I think I could have gotten away with 4 yards...


We cut the fabric out around the back of the frames, then used an industrial office stapler (that's what we had on hand) to pull it taut.

                       

This is the part of the process that took too long. Just wanting to give you fair warning:)

Upholstered Ikea Ribba frames for DIY artwork

The tutorial I had pinned, had the paper behind the plexiglass of the frame. We tried it, but with the lighting in our room, it turned out looking too glare-y, so we improvised and took out the fake glass.

DIY Paper and Linen Gallery Art


I used Tacky glue to attach the paper in a few spots to the fabric, then weighed it all down with a selection of cookbooks.

Weighing down paper with cookbooks

I let everything dry overnight, and the next morning we hung them up.

Each one is slightly different which I love since it gives you a slightly different view from each spot.

From the living room.

                        StayatHomeista Dining room from Living Room

From the kitchen.

StayatHomeista Dining room into Living Room with DIY Paper and Linen Art



From my spot at the head of the table looking towards the library.

Paper Wall Art


I am so proud of myself (and my husband), this is a project that I pinned, he loved, and we tackled together. And just because I love to keep everything real, here is the "during" shot of our 60 foot long gallery.

                    

What fun projects have you been up to? 

My house is featured today at Southern Hospitality for Feature Friday, stop by to see my house through Rhoda's eyes:)


Jessica

Thanks for stopping by! 
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I link to these awesome parties:

36 comments:

  1. looks great and really helps fill up that wall space! :)

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  2. Such a great project! Art can be sooo expensive (reason #1 I don't have much on my walls either!) so it's great when you find an inexpensive option that looks like a million bucks! Love it!

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  3. I love this! Nice way to bring natural elements in. It is so pretty without being loud. Love!

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  4. Very nice indeed! At first glance I thought you used dropcloth...either way, nice art!

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  5. hahaha, I love the after hall shot.

    Great idea!! They look great!

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  6. This is a beautiful idea, and makes for perfect art. Thank you for sharing. I also noticed that your selection of cookbooks is awesome too. I love Ina Garten, she's my favorite.

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  7. Jessica,

    Congratulations on the amazing feature over at Southern Hospitality! Your house should be in Architectural Digest!

    Have a great day rock star!
    karianne

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  8. Jessica, loved featuring you today!! And I love your artwork you created. That is so clever and looks perfect in your space. I was just in Ikea today, I have a feeling I'll be spending lots of time in there once I get in my house.

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  9. Amazing! I want those in my house pronto! :) they look incredible.

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  10. Hands down my favorite project of yours. Love it.

    ~Bliss~

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  11. This is beautiful and so unique! What a wonderful idea!

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  12. I love this so much!!! They look gorgeous hanging in your dining room; it makes the room look complete. I love that you chose papers that were all different except in color. It makes it more interesting but they're all still soft and neutral. Awesome project!

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  13. This looks great! I love how simple it is. Make a great impact.
    Sarah

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  14. They look STUNNING! Worthy of an art gallery for sure! Can't wait to give this a go! Thanks for sharing! :)

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  15. Love these! They look so amazing and elegant! Awesome job. I'd love for you to share them at my party, Twirl & Take a Bow at www.houseontheway.com. I think they'd make a great addition! Hope to see you there!
    Leslie

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  16. Jessica! These are awesome! I love creative DIY. I'm including a link back in tomorrow's highlights. :) Thanks so much for sharing. They look amazing in your gorgeous home!

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  17. Love, Love, Love it!! It's such an interesting a mix of modern and timeless. It can definitely stay up for years. New follower.

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  18. I LOVE your artwork! I'm pinning for future copying. ;)

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  19. No way! I never would have known that these were DIY! Just beautiful. Hey, and nice photos too!
    Camille

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  20. Wow, these are beautiful..so simple and clean. Your house makes my eye twitch...in a totally good way, it's just amazing!

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  21. Such a great project! I'm totally inspired. Your home is so beautiful too. Thanks so much for sharing!

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  22. These look absolutely amazing ( as does your home! )
    XOX

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  23. This is pretty cool! I had to reread your blog cuz I thought YOU made the paper. Still, it's beautiful :-)

    I know someone that has made handmade paper. It's something that I thought would be a fun project...some day ;-)

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  24. absolutely gorgeous! What a fun idea. I've shared on FB and pinterest!

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  25. Love these! You did such an awesome job with these - your dining room is so gorgeous I always love your style.

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  26. Jessica, your artwork looks amazing. Beautiful job!

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  27. Beautiful - just perfect for your room! I pinned this!

    Would love for you to submit it at www.ohmy-creative.com so I could feature it!

    Susan

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  28. Hi, The paper linen cutouts look so good! Can you tell me the color of the dark blue/gray that you have in your dining room? We think is a great color.

    Thanks,
    Michelle

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  29. These are gorgeous! Love the gray fabric too -- can you provide exact fabric selection from Fabric.com? Thank you!

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  30. I love the paper art- it looks exactly like some artwork I fell in love with at West Elm (and couldn't afford!) I went to Kate's Paperie to purchase similar handmade paper but they didn't have a lot of options. Is that where you got all the patterns? What color did you use? Thanks!

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  31. I too went Kate's Paperie but could only find 2 types of similar paper. Zgallerie and West Elm have art like this that I just can not afford. But making my own would be great! Do you know where else I could find paper like this?

    Thanks so much!

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  32. Similar paper options can be found here: http://www.188galerie.com/decorative-paper/

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Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. I love hearing what you have to say! Sometimes I'm busy chasing after the three kids who can walk, or feeding the baby, but I promise, at some point I'll get back to you and head over to your blog (if you have one) to leave you a comment too:)