Paint Chip Wall Art

Say you have an empty wall and an empty wallet. Luckily, there is a very simple solution to your problem: free paint chips!

These little cards can be found in the paint section of any decent hardware store. Just walk in and grab a variety of colors. The only other things you need are a pair of scissors, painters tape, and some creativity.

I got the idea stopping by a house where people had taped a bunch of chips to the wall in a much more abstract pattern, so credit goes to them, whoever they are. Also, after writing this up, I realized there is a similar instructable here, but I figure that this is different enough to get its own.

This is a great way to make a space your own, especially if you are in an apartment or dormitory where they get grumpy about thumbtacks and screws. I know when I lived in a dorm, blue painters tape was the only thing allowed. Also, the irony of decorating with paint samples is enjoyable in its own right.

Step 1 Prepare the Chips

Usually the chips come with three similar colors on each one, separated by little white strips.

I decided to separate the colors, and trim off the white strips.

You might decide to leave them on the same card, since they do look kind of cool that way. Or maybe you want to cut them into different shapes. Triangles, circles, amoebas, whatever!

Comments

[matthew5384]

Make a photo out of it!

[matthew5384]

http://www.instructables.com/id/Photo-Mosaic-from-Paint-Swatches/

[red28]

Thts awesome :)

[WhyHello]

intwesting

[porcupinemamma]

Way cool!

[richardmacman]

 double sided tape also works well. it keeps the chips closer to the wall

[rcaceres]

This is GREAT!!!!  I'm going to be moving into an apartment soon, and this is going to be a PERFECT solution, since I'll have no money after paying all the initial costs.  THANKS A BUNCH!

[daedalus12]

Glad you like it! Come on back and post a picture when you do yours, I'd love to see other peoples versions.

[l8nite]

this is one of those "WHY didnt I think of that?" type of things. I immediately thought of the plain walls in my granddaughters room.... 2 COOL !

[RaisedByRobots]

I've always loved the paint color display at the hardware store. I always wished I could take about two of every color and just play with them. Great idea.

[RaisedByRobots]

I've also wished I could have one of those paint color mixing machines like they have behind the counter. It would be cool to mix up your own colors of house paint and use them. Seems like house paint is an underexplored art material.

[ChrysN]

Nice, and you can get so many different colours too!

[Weissensteinburg]

I like this, a lot.