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Intersecting Circles Wall Art Tutorial

Remember how I promised a fun paint chip project a few weeks ago?  Well, here it is (finally)!  It's more DIY art for us "non-artists", so I hope you have some bare space on your walls 'cause you're sure to want to make this.

Circle Paint Chip Wall Art 014

Just like my last DIY art for non-artists, this masterpiece is a knock-off of a pretty canvas from World Market. 

Jodi Fuch's Collective artwork

Yeah, it costs $129 at World Market.  My version cost about $3.  Total.  No joke.

If you want to make one, here's what you'll need:

one canvas in a size of your liking
TONS of paint chips
Mod Podge and a foam brush
Lots of patience
Saran wrap
A book (I used the Complete Works of Shakespeare Volume 1, but you can use any book you like--lol)
A template (Directions on making one follow)

Ok, first let's talk technical stuff.  You're going to need to think about math for a few minutes, so brace yourself and don't be scared.  Your canvas needs to have sides in a size where you can find a common denominator.  For instance, if your canvas is 15"x30", your common denominator would be 3" or 5", so you'd want to choose either 3" or 5" circles (I'd recommend 3").  If your canvas is 12"x18", you'll want to choose 3".  I used a 16"x20" canvas, so I used 4" circles.  Whatever you do, just make sure you have a common denominator when you choose your canvas, preferably 3" or 4". 

If you're mathematically inclined, a picture like this may help you envision what we're trying to accomplish.
Circle4Intersection_700

Or, here's a simple way I came up with to make my own template--it's easier than it looks so please don't get scared now!



1. Start with a circle in the size you need.  (Remember to use a canvas where the sides share the same multiples or else you will not get an exact match up and you'll be disappointed.)
2.  Fold it into quarters
3.  Cut out your quarters. You'll need two.
4.  Overlap the quarters by lining up the corners (the curved sides should overlap one another).
5. Trace along the exposed curved side.
6. Cut along the line you just traced--and badda bing--you have your template!

Use your template and trace a it a bajillion times on a bajillion paint chips and cut those shapes out.  (Really, you need 4 chips per circle. Think of it this way, I used a 16"x20" canvas and 4" circles, so there are 20 circle shapes on the canvas. I needed 80 "leaf shaped" pieces cut out.)

Circle Paint Chip Wall Art 002

To make placement of my pieces easier, I lightly traced a 4" circle in rows over the canvas.

Circle Paint Chip Wall Art 004

I also laid out my paint chips in the intersecting pattern prior to placing them permanently onto the canvas to ensure I was happy with the color distribution.

Circle Paint Chip Wall Art 005

Finally, you're ready to place the leaf-shaped pieces onto your circles.  It's not rocket science--look at the finished project and you'll be able to see how to lay them out.  To adhere them to the canvas, I used a thin layer of Mod Podge.   The paint chip cut-outs will begin to warp and fold up--don't worry!  Just brush a layer of Mod Podge over the top of the paint chips, cover with a piece of saran wrap and then lay a book over it for about 15 minutes.  This should prevent the edges from curling up.  Be sure to remove the book and saran wrap before the Mod-Podge dries!  I worked in sections over the course of a few hours to accomplish this.  (It's worth the effort, pinky promise!)

Circle Paint Chip Wall Art 011

Once you have all of your pieces firmly secured, cover the whole canvas with a thin layer of Mod Podge.  Once the first layer dries completely, go ahead an do one more layer just for luck.  You're done!  Now find a purdy spot to hang your masterpiece!

Circle Paint Chip Wall Art 019

I put it in my living room for taking pictures...

Circle Paint Chip Wall Art 025

But it found a permanent home in Junebug's bedroom with the Felt Heart Garland from Valentine's Day.  She loves the bright colors!

Circle Paint Chip Wall Art 014


Tristin Signature

78 comments:

  1. okay - LOVE IT!! I also love World Market. It would look really cool too in like all shades of one color - like blue...hmmm....I really need to go get some paint chips :)

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  2. Love this, Tristin! I may be recycling the wall canvases for this little gem. I already have a bazillion paint chips that I collected for no reason!

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  3. Such a wonderful idea! Really, really, clever!!

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  4. i love this so much. i'm actually planning on buying paint for my kitchen in the next few days, so i'll just grab a huge handful of different paint chips!

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  5. That is great! You could also actually paint the canvas too, instead of the paint chips.

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  6. I LOVE this!! I cannot wait to make one. I think I am going to start out with a small one and then see if I can tackle a bigger one.

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  7. Wow Tristin! I think this is my favorite of yours so far! It looks fabulous! :)

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  8. HOW CUTE!!! I love this idea and the price! I'm seriously going to give this a try! I really enjoy your blog and a fun crafts! Thanks for sharing!

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  9. I can't wait to make this for my guest bedroom. I have two twin beds in there and I think I will make one for above each bed. Thanks for the great idea!

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  10. This is exactly what I was looking for! I have a canvas with a small imperfection that needs covering, but I was too hoarder-tastic to throw it away LOL. Thanks for the fab idea! :)

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  11. I LOOOOOOVE this! And I love that you did it with paint chips - I thought it was going to just be paint when I saw the thumbnail, but this produces much sharper, gorgeous lines (not to mention that I get to use the paint chips I hoard). I'm adding this to my to do list right away!

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  12. spectacular!! awesome diy!!! I would love for you to link it up at our link party this weekend! We are new followers
    Amy
    www.SistersoftheWildWest.blogspot.com

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  13. Love this!
    Michael
    bluevelvetchair.blogspot.com

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  14. So clever and so pretty! Thanks for sharing! I think it's high time I dip into the modge podge world. :)

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  15. This is great! I may do one with many copies of the same color family... I am excited by the possibilities! Thank you!!

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  16. Love this too and I WAS THINKING BLUE SHADES TO! Thanks so much for sharing!

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  17. WOW ! is this ever a very neat project and cheap !! AND it looks very pricey and impressive ! Would look good in one color , different shades too ; ohhhhhh , the possibilities here !! thanks !

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  18. Love this! So creative and absolutely do-able. Great instructions, too. I'm thinking I need a blue shaded one for my master bedroom. And another for my craft room. And another one in reds for my livingroom....tx for getting my brain going!!

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  19. I have to say I like yours better than the original. :)
    Very cute!

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  20. this is amazing! I love it. Pining it for inspiration.

    megan
    craftycpa.blogspot.com

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  21. What does: "make sure the sides share the same multiples" mean? I don't know understand the word multiples in this content. Do tell!
    Thanks.

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  22. Karen, what I mean by that is that each side has to have a common denominator to make sure your circles fit. In other words, you can't use a 24" x 30" canvas and use 4" circles because 30" is not divisible by 4", but you could use 3" circles because both numbers are visible by 3. You could use a 24" x 36" canvas with 4" circles though. Math is not my strong suit, but I hope that explanation helped.

    I used a 16" x 20" canvas and 4" circles.

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  23. Love this!! I see a weekend project in my future :)

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  24. Amazing!

    Would love to see you share it at my link party!
    http://allthingsfee.blogspot.com/2011/04/calling-all-crafters-2nd-edition.html

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  25. You know what...after the dot art I saw this painting and tried to come up with a way to create a stencil and paint it. I never thought, for even a second, to use paint chips. You are my freaking hero.

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  26. This is so fabulous! I love it! I've been looking for a good project to do with paint chips, and this is just perfect! Thanks for the inspiration!

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  27. I featured this on my Fun Finds Friday today, so feel free to stop by and grab a Featured button!

    http://momscraftyspace.blogspot.com/2011/04/fun-finds-friday_22.html

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  28. Wow, I'm so glad I found this! I was going to try to recreate this by sketching but gave up. Now that I found your post I'm reinspired!

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  29. I love this blog so much! I finally decided to "follow" after filling up my bookmarks with all of the stuff I want to try! Thanks for such GREAT inspirations!

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  30. This art completely rocks - it's so right up my alley! :D I love.

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  31. This is very cool- love it! I have a spot in our living room that needs something- this just may be it!

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  33. I am your newest follower from www.thestuffofsuccess.com - I absolutely love this project and I am always looking for uses for my paint chips. Thanks for sharing.

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  34. This looks amazing! I definitely want to try it! :)

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  35. Hi! I featured this project on Fun Friday Finds. I hope you will stop by and check it out.
    http://www.itsybitsypaperblog.com/2011/08/fun-friday-finds-paint-chips.html

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  36. Just made this this morning and used paint chips to match the colors in my room! Absolutely love it!

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  37. Awesome. I saw this canvas the other day at WM ($129!!! ugh) and decided I could probable make my own. I just painted mine and about 2 hours later I am really starting to love the paint chip idea, that would have made it so much simper and faster!! you rock

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  38. I love this idea! I am a bit confused with the saran wrap. can you help me to understand why and how to do this part.

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  39. @ Tiffany I was having a problem with the corners of the paint chips curling up, so I needed to weigh them down. Because they were drowned in Mod Podge, I had to lay down saran wrap before being able to put a book on top to press down the curling-up corners.

    Hope that helped!! And good luck! (P.S. I think that if you used thinner paper like scrapbook paper or the like, you won't have the curling edges problem.)

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  40. I really love this simple idea, I love the pattern and the way you executed it. Plus, awesome tutorial, and as I am math challenged, I appreciated the details on that. I think there is lots of opportunities with this to do many things . . . perhaps paint the canvas prior to the mod podge or use different types of papers for different kinds of textures. Maybe use old book pages (seems to be all the rage now). What about painting letters on different sections to form a word, names, or a quote? Possibilities are endless . . . absolutely love your interpretation and appreciate the inspiration!

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  41. Thanks for the ideas and How to! Where do you find your canvases? Any suggestions on finding inexpensive canvases. They are about $20 around me.

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    1. I found a 3 pack of 16x20 canvases for $9.88 at walmart!

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  42. This is great! I used this project as my first ever pant chip project and I love it!

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  44. I just moved into a new apartment and have been looking for ways to spice it up and personalize it. I needed something for the bedroom and this looked perfect. I ended up painting the canvas dark brown because some of my leaflets were too pale against the original white background. It worked out great but I did encounter one problem as I started gluing the leafs on. I should start by saying that I too used a 16x20'' canvas with 4'' leaflets. Anyway, by the time I got to the end of the gluing process, I found that the last circle was too small to fit the 4'' leaves. Even though I worked really hard to make sure that I condensed my circles as much as possible and I laid them out several times prior to gluing them on, I think that it's inevitable that your leaves take up more space than you think (especially at the edges of the canvas - the leaflets don't rest at the very edge and therefore waste about .1'. And this adds up) Anyway, I wonder whether you or anyone else had the same problem and whether you think we should try cutting circles that are just under the common denominator? Should I have tried to cut a circle that was 3.10'' and made my leaflets from that?

    I still love my new art piece and even though it has a circle in the corner that's smaller than the rest, I find it charming. Thanks so much for the great tutorial!

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    1. I had the same problem, but solved it by cutting 4 - 4" cirlces out of template plastic. Then I laid them across the top of my 16 by 20 canvas. I noticed that the last circle was to big on mine and the last circle extended beyond the canvas. So I just started shaving I tiny bit off each template till all 4 template fit across the canvas from edge to edge , with no overhang. Then I was able to take the template and cut my leafs. I don;t know if I am making sence, but hope this helps somewhat. Making a template really made it a lot easier for me. I am certainly not blessed in the math part. Good luck. Vicki

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  45. Just wanted to let you know that I featured your pretty art work on my blog today!

    www.sweet-raisins.blogspot.coom

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  46. Hi
    I am very new to crafting and don't even know the basics.....I love this idea and want to make it as my 1st crafting project...Please pardon me for asking the silly question but where can find paint chips?Thanks!!

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    Replies
    1. Reena,
      Paint chips are available anywhere that sells house paint--hardware stores, specifically--Lowes, Home Depot, Ace, etc.
      Good luck!

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  47. My local paint store gave me 6 books of outdated wallpaper books and I have been using the beautiful papers from this to do my leafs. I have done many different projects using these papers and the have turned out great. Love browing through these books, my juices just overflow with inspirations. Paint stores most of the time throw these books away, might be worth the time to ask one of your local store if they would save them for you.

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  48. I am new to modge podge. Do I put a thin layer on the canvas place the leaf shapes on and then put another layer over the top or do I just place the leaf shapes on and then apply a layer of the modge podge. Thanks for your help.

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  49. Yes, Marc, a layer under AND a layer over. It acts as a glue on the bottom and a sealer on top.

    I hope you love the world of Mod Podge as much as I do.

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  50. Very cool project, ladies! I shared it in my slideshow this week of project's to cover your white walls! http://www.good.is/post/7-diy-art-projects-to-cure-your-white-walls/

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  51. I just made this and I am so proud of how it turned out! Thanks for the great directions.

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  52. Love this artwork! I'm gonna try this as we speak...

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  53. Loved your idea so much I'm right in the process of making a similar one now but with varying shades of lilac/violet/purple to match my decor. Would it work as easily if I just glued on the pieces with tacky craft glue and then modge podged on top to prevent a major sticky mess? (I'm good at messes lol) Waiting for your reply. Thanks!

    Leena May 17, 2012 8:00 pm

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  54. Leena,

    I think you'd be just fine to do it that way! Whatever glue/adhesive you choose to use, just make sure that you use a thin/even layer so that you don't get bubbles/bumps underneath.

    Best of luck!!

    Tristin

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  55. Very cool project! I work at Pier 1 and just saw a rug in this exact style!!

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  56. what kind of canvas we can use?or can we use some paper chart for this?thanks!!

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  57. When you're referring to paint chips, do you mean the paint display samples or something different? I feel like the display samples are too small for this. Thank you for any response, I'm new to crafting as well.

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  58. would you advise against spray painting the canvas before the decoupaging begins? I don't like the stark white canvas look, and was thinking just a touch of almond satin finish spray paint in the background.

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  59. I love it, I Love it, I LOVE it!! Thanks for sharing!

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  60. Wow, it's looking so unique and awesome art, i have never seen this before, you have made amazing 'circles Wall Art' i know that wall art can make our interior more attractive and this type wall art can make it extraordinary. I wan to say thanks for sharing this great easy Circles Wall Art making tutorial.

    home wall art decor

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  61. I stumbled upon this idea on pinterest while looking for some wall art ideas for my dorm room and decided to give it a try. It turned out absolutely beautiful and was really easy to complete! Thank you so much for sharing the project and easy to follow tutorial!

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  62. Thanks for the idea. I kept getting hung up on the geometry of this geometric art, but ultimately, I conquered! I ended up doing a scaled down, simplified version that was a lot easier for me to complete. I put on my blog here: http://nolocomo.wordpress.com/2013/11/11/art-for-the-non-artist-geometrics/

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  63. I know it's been a million years since you posted this and then since I tried to make something equally awesome, but I finally got my act together and shared my versions over at my blog. If you want to see them, they're all here. Thank you so much for the awesome tutorial and inspiration - I gave you full credit for the genius of this! : )

    -Mel the Crafty Scientist

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  65. New subbie here...I'm so late to the party but its still happening...love love love this art and will be doing or trying one soon ;-)...BTW was in Ikea this morning and totally saw a recall on the wall lights in Junebugs room check it out... http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_AA/about_ikea/press/product_recalls/index.html

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