How to Create Affordable Art for Your Walls

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My husband and I love art, we often go to conventions and art galleries and scour the internet for art we love. Every wall in our home is COVERED in art collages varying from 2.5″x3.5″ Artist Trading Cards to 48″x32″ framed pieces! I wish I could say it’s all original art but unfortunately only a few smaller pieces here and there are.

When were were shopping for our daughters nursery, our planned space theme was surprisingly difficult to find things for. Turns out space isn’t popular for nurseries so forget the big box stores. We branched more into science fiction/fantasy space themed and found tons of amazing pieces on Etsy and commissioned a piece from my talented artist mother, but we still did not have enough to fill her walls. It wasn’t until we stumbled across a puzzle from the video game Song of the Deep, that we fell in love with and suddenly saw the potential.

Turning a puzzle into a piece of art!

Once we decided it, we also snatched up this fantastic nebula puzzle for her room as well!

But how to do it…

Creating a piece of wall art from a puzzle

The first step is deciding how you want to hang out, and I recommend doing this before you even pull the pieces out of the box because organizing yourself from the get-go, saves a lot of potential headache later.

You’ll need the following items:

• Puzzle
• Cardboard/newspaper/or mat-board
• Mod-podge
• Popsicle stick (or something to move the glue around with)
• Super glue
• Mounting Board
• Books/heavy objects
• Box cutter
• Mounting Strips (optional)
• Frame (optional)

1 | For the Song of the Deep puzzle we wanted it directly on the wall. So we pulled out a piece of mat-board I had lying around (a large piece of cardboard would work as well or a few layers of newspaper!) and started putting the puzzle together on top of this. This is important because whatever is under the puzzle may/will get destroyed and moving the puzzle after you make it is more annoying than its worth!

2 | After you’ve completed the puzzle, smooth it out, making sure there are no bumps or uneven pieces. Then poor on a thin layer of mod-podge on top, moving it around with your choice tool until its smooth. I used a Popsicle stick (I don’t like a brush for this because it tends to leave streaks) and matte mod-podge to reduce glare. Make sure the mod-podge has no bubbles and ever inch of the puzzle is covered, it doesn’t have to be thick but you don’t want it too thin either because it could show streaks. I let the puzzle dry 24 hours, its usually dry within 20 minutes but I like to be thorough.

3 | Next up, peel the puzzle (carefully!) from the cardboard (or whatever you put beneath it) and flip it over. I put a liberal amount of super glue on the back, make sure you get close to the edges, and place your choice mounting board on the back. Lay a few heavy books on top after pressing down and leave it for at least 24 hours!

I use foam board because you can find it anywhere, and its cheap! I get it oversized to he puzzle so I can cut it down later, but you can buy it in a specific size as well. But you could also use mat-board, styrene, backing board etc. Some options will be more expensive, but less likely to warp over time so whatever you are comfortable with. We’ve had our puzzles on the wall for a year now and no issues with warping!

4 | After the long wait is over, you can bring your mounted puzzle somewhere it can be safely trimmed (pavement, cardboard, etc.) and use the box cutter to trim the edges up.

5 | When you’re done, use the mounting strips on the back to place on the wall! And whoa-la, beautiful, affordable art!

Framing your puzzle

If you want to frame your puzzle instead, go back to step 3, and instead of attaching backing board, simply put your puzzle in the frame of choice instead! With the nebula puzzle, we happen to have a frame lying around with the exact dimensions so it worked perfect!

Since then, we’ve added four more puzzles to our walls, and our currently working on the fifth!

We love this so much because we get to enjoy time together doing something fun but low energy (great for days when the baby has worn us down), we just set it up on one side of the dining room table and put a piece down once in a while! And one of my favorite things is, we were able to get a hold of a puzzle of a couple of Thomas Kinkade’s Disney paintings (Ceaco Alice in Wonderland) and Mickey and Minnie Sweethearts which I’m obsessed with! We also have this San Diego Coronado puzzle (it’s where we got married), Art by Shu Alice in Wonderland,  and are currently finishing up this Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild!

Will you try this super easy (and affordable) art hack for your home? It’s great for anyone, singles, couples or families! Puzzles are great for improving mental speed and thought processes! Plus, they’re fun!

PS: This may or may not be shared with these link parties.

This post was featured over at Gwin Gal Over The Moon!