Large Color Block Art

Happy Wednesday! On Monday, I teamed up with some of my blogging buddies for a wall art blog hop and I received some comments on my...


Happy Wednesday! On Monday, I teamed up with some of my blogging buddies for a wall art blog hop and I received some comments on my large color block art so I thought I would address it and tell y'all a little more about it. 

First off, this piece was created a year or so ago...while on a blogging hiatus. Man, I hacked/DIYed/created a lot of good things while on that hiatus that I really did not think I would post on my blog. CRAZY, huh? I have a lot of tricks up my sleeve when it comes to creating inexpensive art--I cannot help it, I am cheap because of my budget...not because I necessarily want to be, but because I have to be. Having a strict budget allows my creativity juices to constantly flow! 



The main materials I used on this project is stated above. However due to my "frugalness," I literally spent less than $20 on this whole project. I purchased the frame from the clearance aisle at Michaels for $8 and purchased hardboard at Lowe's for approximately $9. Everything else I already had on hand. The dark mossy green paint was a mis-tint, so there is no true name to that. Keep in mind that you can substitute out any color for a color of your desire. This project took me less than one hour to complete from start to finish (including drying time). I actually created this on a whim at about 9pm at night. Yes, I spray painted the lower portion at night with just a small porch light for viewing. The one thing you will come to realize about me is that I am impatient, a messy DIYer, and I like simple projects. 

The one BIG thing missing (on purpose) from the material list is painter's tape. I chose not to put it on there because when dealing with hardboard, painters tape and masking tape will pull off a layer of hardboard---*the ONLY time this has not occurred is when I used enamel based paint or glossy paint. This piece has more of a matte finish and attracts finger prints. Ha! 


Steps: 
1. Place hardboard (cut to desired size) into frame

2. Tape off or mark off sections. I covered the bottom portion with newspaper and masking tape to mark off where I wanted the green area to NOT be painted. 

3. Paint the upper portion with desired paint color along with frame and let dry (spray paint or hand paint, it does not really matter). I hand painted the upper part with a paintbrush (I forgot to put that in the material's list...oops)

4. Once dry, remove newspaper (and tape, if using that) from lower portion of art and block off upper portion. 

5. Spray paint lower portion of art and frame. 
*While I spray painted the lower portion, I covered the upper portion with cardboard and left over newspaper and held it down so I can get a nice straight line. If using a satin, matte, eggshell finish paint I would not advise to tape off sections, it will pull off paint and some of hardboard.

6.**This was a doozy, I had to cover up the messed up hardboard some how so I decided to apply gold leaf over the rough spots of the hardboard. ---When using gold leaf, you can use modge podge to apply and seal it. Refer back to my Cutting Edge Stencil Review to see how I used it.  

If you notice on the picture above, I circled all the places on the art piece that has gold leaf. In all honesty, I do not think I would have this piece any other way. Nobody has ever questioned why it has random gold leaf on it. In fact the mister thought I planned that out---that says a lot because he is kind of opinionated. 


I love big art and I am always thinking BIG in terms of decor. This piece looks chic (minus the little finger prints) and was created on budget...my kind of DIY! Love it! 


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67 comments

  1. Wow - that's beautiful! And so simple! Great work!!

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  2. That's fantastic! This is an awesome share!

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  3. Great post I loved the simplicity of the project and all for under £20 is pretty good xx http://www.fadedspring.co.uk/

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    1. Thanks Ana for your sweet comment and for visiting!

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  4. Looks great, You did an awesome job! Thanks for the share!

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  5. I have gold leaf and a whole mess of paint on hand. I might have to make some new artwork soon. Great DIY!

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    1. You should, it would look great and you can totally personalize it to make it your own.

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  6. Great work. Even better that it we done on a budget!x

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  7. I'm kind of getting into the framed pretty paper thing. I have SO much scrapbook paper I bought and now won't use on my pages because it's too pretty. Which, totally ridiculous. But I notice a lot of it matches decor in my house, so I'm on the hunt for some fun looking frames I can paint and make art for my walls.

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    1. You sound like me with my scrapbooking paper. You should frame them---the thrift store has great prices on frames or you can use search your local hobby store clearance aisle.

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  8. I am totally doing this! It's so fun and easy. I am moving in to a new room and have been looking for fun DIY wall art.

    Mikayla | A Seersucker State of Mind.

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    1. It would be cute! Good luck with your move and wall art!

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  9. Love this project. Might just be my next DIY!

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  10. So simple and such a statement- love it!

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  11. I love it! This is a great DIY piece and I cannot wait to try my hand at it in my own room.

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    1. That would be awesome, it would look great! Thanks for stopping by!

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  12. Okay, I am so GLAD you did a post on this! I seen it the other day while reading about your post of decorating your walls and I just LOVED this piece! Wow I had no idea you made that yourself! So neat! Thanks for sharing I am going to be adding this to one maybe more of my walls! Thanks again and have a great week! Glad you are not on a hiatus anymore! Hehe!
    ~Amanda Marie~

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    1. Thanks Amanda for stopping by and your kind words. I am happy you love this piece! Good luck with your wall art and feel free to share it via social media once you complete it!

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  13. This is such a great idea to easily make a big impact in a space Jess, thanks for sharing! I love the gold leaf!

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    1. Thanks Justine for being a dedicated follower and for your sweet words~

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  14. I love gold touches on things. This is a great (and simple) effect you've done--love it! What else do you have from hiatus that you can show us??

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    1. Haha Brooke, I have a handful of things I have not shown y'all! Thanks for your comment...I love gold, I cannot help it.

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  15. I LOVE this!! And I love how easy it looks to make... I'm not the craftiest person so I love easy DIYs. Thanks for sharing!!

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    1. Thanks! Trust me, this is simple to create...I love simple projects!

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  16. It's beautiful! I prefer it with the gold leaf as well. Many years ago I painted myself an abstract piece, and used gold leaf throughout. It's such a beautiful effect!

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    1. Yes, gold leaf adds another layer that just gives a piece another dimension...I love gold leaf. Thanks for commenting and for understanding the effect. Love it!

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  17. It's so cool. Thanks for the step-by-step instructions, although I still probably couldn't do it. It really looks great.

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  18. I looked at the pictures before I read this and I gotta say, from the pictures you took, the fingerprints seem to give it an interesting touch...a personal touch, really. This turned out great. Good job! :)

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    1. You had me laughing! The fingerprints definitely give it that oomph of character---that is what happens when you have kids. Thanks girl for stopping by!

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  19. You really make this sound simple! Thanks for the steps. Lovely piece :)

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    1. Thank you for stopping by and taking time to comment!

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  20. I love huge art pieces as I think they make such a statement on a wall. The color block idea is fabulous

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  21. I like this a lot! Such a chic, modern look. Definitely make a room pop!

    Coming Up Roses

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  22. This is really cool, and it would look amazing in my daughter's room. Thanks for the idea!

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    1. thank you for stopping by. I am glad that I was able to inspire you!

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  23. This is a great idea! I have been thinking all along that big pieces like that would cost a ton to DIY or buy new... I was so wrong. Love this!

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  24. This looks fabulous! thanks for the idea! I think the gold would combo with so many colors - I love the black, but just think of the possibilities given different rooms colors. Cool!

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    1. Yes, gold matches everything....it is my neutral color. hehe! Thanks for Stacey...you are always so kind!

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  25. I love this! I'm so nervous to try gold leaf!

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    1. Why are you nervous?The first time I purchased gold leaf, I did not use it for 6 years because I wanted to use it on something "great"---Idk, me and my theories. You should just try it...you know they make some that can go on your face. You can possibly test it out with a chic Halloween outfit. It would be cute!

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  26. Agh! I geek out for frugal DIY :) Like you said, a budget does help push creativity. It becomes a necessity! Love the big art piece, and isn't Mod Podge the best?

    -Shelly
    www.shellyscabaret.com

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    1. I am happy to know that I am not the only one who loves a good FRUGAL DIY. ---That is the whole purpose of DIYing, right? Modge podge is the best! Thanks for stopping by!

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  27. This is awesome, I love it! I could DIY all day long, so I will have to try this!

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    1. Please do try it and thanks for stopping by Brittney!

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  28. This looks so cool! I can't believe it was a DIY. Thanks for sharing the instructions. :)

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    1. thank you for stopping by, happy I was able to inspire you!

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  29. Love it. Great job and I can't believe you did this on a budget. Bravo!

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  30. I ADORE this piece (and the gold foil, of course)!!

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  31. So funny because I am also an impatient and messy DIY'er. I ruined our patio table because I was too lazy to put down real drop cloths while spray painting! lol! I love the look of the gold leaf...it almost looks like gold watercolor. So great and I love that it was CHEAP yet makes a HUGE impact! Well done, girl! xox

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    1. So happy you can relate! That whole spray painting incident is something I would totally do! HAHA! Thanks Soul Sista for stopping by!

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  32. I LOVE the look of the frame being painted with the board inside of it. Great project!
    xo, Caitlin
    And Possibly Dinosaurs

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