Faux Metal Wall Art

I have had tons of toilet paper and paper towel rolls laying around my house in the hopes that someday I would make some awesome craft with them.  Somehow over months and months they have reproduced like bunnies!  It's out of control.  I needed to find something that I could make using my quickly multiplying little cardboard rolls.  And find something I did!  I am so proud of this decoration that I found, and I just had to share it with you!  I wish that I could say that I was awesome enough to figure out how to do something like this from my own brain, but I'm not.  This beautiful craft is the brainchild of Suzy at Suzy's Artsy Crafty Sitcom.  Here is the original tutorial on her page.  She is a genius!

Here are the supplies that you need for this project:
- toilet paper rolls (I used about 15 total rolls for all 3 of my designs)
- paper towel rolls (I only used 2...)
- 3/8" balsa wood strips (found at craft stores, don't waste your time at a hardware store...)
- tacky glue
- metal looking spray paint
- scissors, pen, paintbrush


How to:
(Sorry there aren't pictures to help show the steps.  You can find photos to help you in the original tutorial.)

1.  Cut the balsa wood strips to your desired length.  The original length of strips that I found were 24", so I just cut them in half making them all 12".  Glue them together to form a square.

2.  The paper towel rolls are used to make the straight parts of each design.  Simply cut along the length of the tube, flatten it out and use one of the balsa strips to measure 3/8″ strips cut lengthwise from the tube.  Then cut out each strip.

3.  The toilet paper tubes were cut in 3/8″ strips across the width of the tube to keep the curl.  Simply cut along the length of the tube, flatten out and mark 3/8″ strips across the width.  This will result in 3/8″ curls.

4.  I started each square by dividing them into 4 equal sections using the longer (and straight) paper towel strips.  Then in each section I created the same pattern.  I used a few of the free patterns posted in the original tutorial as a starting point for each design.  But because my squares were larger, the patterns didn't work perfectly.  I had to fill in empty spaces with other curls and designs.  It was actually kind of fun putting my own personal spin on each design!

5.  I glued all of the straight pieces first, then laid out the pattern with the curly ones.  Once the pattern looks the way you want, glue each curly piece in.  You achieve the curl by curling the cardboard around the end of a paintbrush.  Super easy!

6.  Once your designs are complete and dry, spray paint them using metal looking paint, and voila!  You have your very own metal wall art, but much lighter, and much cheaper then the real thing!

The entire cost of this project was under $10!  I love them!  

     

Have you completed this project?  Let me know how it went!

February Cards

February, the month of LOVE!  And I have got to say, I loved making these cards!  It is so much more personal to make a card for someone, as opposed to just buying one off the shelf.  The entire time I am creating a card, I am thinking about the person that it is for.  It's pretty awesome!

So far, so good with this resolution.  Next month could be a little tough though.  I'm not trying to make excuses (ok, maybe I am), it's just that having a baby usually takes time away from crafting, right?  I guess I gotta go make some cards before my son decides to make his arrival into the world...
  

This one was made for my 3 year old niece.  Her parents call her their "little monster", so I thought it would be appropriate.  

I was pretty nervous with this one... It was for my mother-in-law who is pretty much a crafting genius.  I figured it was better to go simple and clean, then to try and do something over the top.  What do you think?

This one was for the love of my life, and I loved being able to make it for him.

My oldest brother has more ties and suits then any person I have ever met!  His jobs have usually required a nice tie, but even on his days off he seemed to find an "excuse" to wear one.  I don't often get opportunities to tease him, so I just had to... You know how it is with siblings :).

Oh, and here's the inside.  I followed this tutorial to make each of the origami ties.  I love trying new techniques!