I just recently {Put a Pin} in creating a custom piece of art using nothing but FREE paint chips, and already I've accomplished the task! Pats on the back for me! This is a great, simple, and inexpensive project that will leave you with an amazing work of art that you'll be proud to brag that YOU made! And boy have I got your back on this one; I will even give you an extra little FREE incentive for you to try this project. So, how about it; are you ready to impress?

Before you get started here are the supplies that you will need:

A few supplies that will give your art amazing impact!

1. Paint chips: of course paint chip art just wouldn't be the same with out them! Pick up a large variety from your local hard ware store - remember, they are free, so don't worry too much about donning a disguise before sneaking over to the paint isle. If you want an ombre effect make sure to grab light, medium, and darker colours, and do get adventurous by picking a few different colours. Grab more paint chips than you think you'll need to save you a trip back to the store.
2. Paper, cardboard, cardstock: whatever you would like to paste your paint chips onto.
3. Frame: for displaying your masterpiece - mine is an 11" by 14" black frame with a fancy shmancy double mat (8" by 11" window) that I picked up from Michaels on sale and with a coupon so it only cost me around $15
4. Additional tools: such as scissors (or a trimmer) to cut out your design and glue for affixing the cutouts onto your chosen paper medium.

To make cutting out my herringbone pattern even simpler I decided to create a template and print it directly onto the back of my paint chips. I used Microsoft Word to design the template, stacking up my cutouts in a column for optimal cutting. I only used one column of the pattern and placed it on the right back side of the paint chip in order to avoid the colour codes that appear on the right front of each chip.

Rectangular cutout template for a herringbone design that
can be printed directly onto Behr paint chips

Before running the paint chips through my printer I had to cut off the punch out that is on Behr's chips (so as not to have it snag in my printer, thus ruining it and making this project just a tad more expensive). To do this I simply lined up the very edge of the punch out with the top edge of my trimmer, then lowered the blade handle to cut a strip right off of my paint chips. I received this trimmer as a gift; it's designed for use with photos, but my Behr paint chips fit just perfectly. This is an awesome little tool and I would highly recommend one (for ~$25 it is a bit pricey, but it will save you lots of time on cutting and can be used for many projects).

Don't forget to get rid of that tiny little punch out that can potentially
give you a massive printer malfunction headache!

Then I simply inserted each paint chip into my printer's paper feed tray, making sure to place the BACK of the paint chip facing UP. This configuration avoids messy template lines on the coloured part of your cutouts.

Print out the cutout template onto a paint chip, then just easily start cutting away

Use either your trimmer or plain ol' scissors to cut along the template lines of your paint chips. Just keep on repeating for as many paint chips as you like until you feel you have enough to complete your design! The dimensions of my art were 8" by 10.81" which gave me enough room to make 64 left and 48 right rectangles (for 112 total). I also made plenty of extra cutouts so that when I assembled my pattern I could easily switch around colours if I wanted to.

Hello little paint chip cutouts! You're all right (not like those pesky {nailheads})

Since this project was so super easy, I decided I must add in an extra step just to make it feel like I was really doing something - so, prior to gluing any of my pattern onto cardstock, I thought it would be a good idea to arrange my cutouts onto a small board to help me get the most appealing colour combination to me. This really didn't add too much time to the whole project and made re-arranging so much easier (I just used some sticky tack to secure the cutouts in place while configuring my design).

Arranging your cutouts before gluing will help you visualize your final product

Then it was back to Microsoft Word one more time so that I could create my full page herringbone template. I used the same rectangular shapes that I used for my paint chip template, but with a bit of a tweak; I reduced the size of the rectangles slightly, lightened up the line colour, and changed the line from a solid to a dashed pattern.

See that subtle herringbone pattern {eyes squinting}

Why the heck would I do that? you ask - well, because I only wanted the template to be a guide for my cutout's placement - NOT an outline for each cutout. Thus, I needed to make sure that once I glued a cutout on top of the template the lines would be completely covered by that cutout. Next it's just a matter of gluing each cutout onto your cardstock in whatever colour combination you've decided on.

Making a full page template of your final design keeps you right on track when gluing down each cutout

Once you're finished gluing your cutouts just position your masterpiece inside the mat of your frame and bask in the glory of your fantastic creation!

Ombre paint chip art in a herringbone pattern

I would like to send out a very special

THANK YOU!!!

For featuring my art on her blog:
Gail at {My Repurposed Life}, post {here}

Again, thank you SO MUCH!

So what do you think!?


Will you try using paint chips to add some artistic flair to your home? Or, have you already gotten creative with these awesome free little chippies? The possibilities are virtually endless when it comes to using paint chips - I'd love for you to share a link to any of your amazing designs! And now for that FREEBIE!!! I hope you enjoy it!

Free Downloadable Templates:

If you would like to try my herringbone paint chip design,
please feel free to download the below templates.

Behr Paint Chip Template *

FREE

• Designed for use with Behr Premium Plus Ultra paint chips
• Behr paint chip size 7 3/4" x 3 3/8"
• Six columns utilize entire paint chip
• Herringbone cutout size 1 5/8" x 11/16"
• Use with Herringbone Template

Download

Herringbone Template

FREE

• Full page herringbone design
• Light dashed outline slightly smaller than paint chip cutout for ease of cover
• Page size 8" x 10 13/16"
• Prints on standard 8 1/2" x 11" sheet
• Use with Behr Paint Chip Template

Download

* USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. I make no guarantee that your printer will be able to handle printing on paint chips. Use only if you are confident that the paint chip will not cause any damage to your printer. Any damage that is caused is solely your responsibility.

I am linking up this project to the following blogs: At the Picket Fence, The 36th Avenue, French Country Cottage, Not Just a Housewife, Remodelaholic, The Shabby Nest, Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, My Repurposed Life, and Everything Under the Moon. Please stop by to be inspired by just about a million other wonderful projects over there!!!