Paint Chip Collage Art

I have a stash of paint chips up to wazoo. I was quite indecisive when it came to choosing colors for my room last year. I collected a multitude of swatches in the process, and I kept them all because who in their right mind would discard of perfectly good, wonderfully colored card stock! Earlier this week I decided I would make a mosaic like display with punched out shapes, and the idea has just morphed and evolved from there.

It's a really straightforward process with endless possibilities!

You will need: 

-Paint chips

-Hole punchers

-Sticky tack/poster putty/blue tack

First off you'll need to punch out as many shapes as you need. I used 2 small flower punches and the assorted alphabet punches I own. A couple years ago I found around 22 letter punches at the thrift store for less than a dollar each, and naturally I bought them all. 

It took me about 2 hours to punch all of these out. I suggest plopping down with a nice TV show and going to town on it.

Try to punch out as many letters per color as you can. I chose to avoid the lines and wording, but that's all based on personal preference.  

Once you have punched out what you think will be a sufficient amount of shapes, it's time to begin sticking! I rolled out small balls of sticky tack. You are most likely familiar with sticky tack, although you probably use one of its alter egos. This stuff is wonderful. It is fairy low adhesive, so it won't damage your walls, but it sticks paper and photos onto my textured walls, and that's a small feat in itself!

Below is an image of the size of globules I started with and a dime for scale. 

Now for letter with lots of concentrated space I just stuck the sphere on the backside and applied a little pressure against it, but for the other, less friendly letters like Us, Cs, and Gs, I rolled it into a little snake and then smooshed it into the wall/ piece of furniture I was decorating. 

Now go to town! Make whatever shapes and designs you'd like! I just started with something basic, and let my mind wander a bit. I am planning on adoring other parts of my craft room with art in this same style but with different designs and themes. Maybe do a heart made of all flowers in purple hues, or make a big C out of lots of different colored Cs. Maybe do a colorful array "falling" from the top of the wall. You get the idea. Let your creativity run wild. I cannot wait to keep playing with this. 

I do like the design I made, but it could be more meaningful and detailed. I was half tempted to rip it all off and start again, but I figured I can always add more detail to this bit. The more I thought about the design I was absentmindedly making the more I realized how telling it is of me. This bit of art closely mirrors my thinking in some ways. My mind is always going, but sometimes I get this big burst of thoughts and activity and I get so excited about it. Sometimes my thoughts are all mixed up and upside down and sideways, but they are still invigorating. Sometimes I get too enthralled within my own mind and then I can't think of a single thing. Sometimes my trains of thought cross paths. Really, I like how it shows that fluctuation and variation can be visually appealing, if not beautiful. The ups and downs can be lovely. I especially like this bit's placement because I see it every single time I walk into my craft room, and so it's a great source of inspiration. 

I really like this thing I did. I think I can call it art, right? 

Also, here's a more practical usage for this technique: Fixing imperfections in your walls; We had this little spot where the paint got chipped...

...and I fixed it with a little field of flowers!

It's just so fun and spunky!

Take this technique and run with it, my friends!

P.S. 

I got my learners permit today :)