Carved Wood Wall Art, DIY

Carved Wood Wall Art

Welcome back friends.  I know the world has been turned upside down but I hope you are all healthy, washing the heck out of your hands, staying far away from your friends, not touching your face  (every time I say that, I have to touch my face) and hopefully just coping.  With no end in sight, I was wondering whether I should be keeping up with my weekly blog.  I always have a project in the works but right now I think it’s so trivial considering what is happening to the rest of the world.

My youngest son said I should just do it.  He happens to be home from college. First it was spring break, then an extended spring break,  but he will probably be at home for the rest of the semester.  He knows if I have a project in the works, I won’t be bugging him about school…hmmmmm. 

I received this iron and carved wood wall hanging (or room divider) from my oldest son a few years ago. I used the iron pieces a few weeks ago to make a candle holder box and a few years ago to make shutter sconces with 2 of the wooden pieces.

While watching Fixer Upper, Joanna Gaines used a carved wood piece as part of her decoration, similar to this.  You never know when inspiration will strike.  My first thought was, that’s really pretty, my second was,  I have some carved wood I’m not doing anything with.

To get my vision of a carved wood wall art piece, I’m thinking 3 pieces wide by 3 pieces,  I had to dismantle the whole thing.

This is the basic idea, though everything is just laying there.

Laying out the pieces did give me a good idea of how big the finished product would be so that I could cut a  backer board from leftover plywood.  Make sure you paint the backing before assembling because there is absolutely no way you’d ever get a paintbrush through all the carved wood.

Because of the way the pieces fit together I started from the middle and worked my way to the outer edges using a nail gun to attach.  A nail gun is soooo easy but you could also use wood glue or a hammer and finish nails.

Because my inspiration piece was white, mine is going to be white also….white with a little layering.  I’m not very original and white does go with everything.

This first layer looks whitish but is actually more of a tan.  Linen by Craftsmart

This first coat does not have to cover all the surfaces, just most of them.

Covering even less surface was my second coat, a nice medium gray.  This wasn’t even chalk paint, just a color sample I got from Home Depot for 50¢.

Finally the last coat, a nice watered down white chalk paint. 

The left side of this picture shows just the linen and gray, the middle has the watered down white painted haphazardly, and the left side has been wiped down with a paper towel while the paint is still wet, blending it all together. 

White wax may give the same effect, I didn’t try it, but you may want to.

Sand the edges of the wood if you want a little more of a rustic finish.

This is the official before and after pic…or what’s left of my before.

I thought the carved wood would look great with a little moss or boxwood wreath.    Since I can’t go to the store,  I’ll give you an idea of what that would look  like by stealing the wreath off my front door.   Go check out my  boxwood wreath (and vintage window) or spring wreath to make your own.

Stay safe, stay healthy and come visit me often if you want more ideas for what to do with all your junk while you’re stuck inside.  Stay inspired.

 

16 Comments

  • CC says:

    looks great! i love your remakes.

  • Gail says:

    Love the way it turned out! Please, please keep up with your posts. We need something to look forward to right now.

  • Mary Loveland says:

    Wonderful, great job! Wish I could find some of those! Keep up the good work.

  • Valeri Benjamin says:

    You inspire me with your creativity. And definitely keep the posts coming. My husband has a garage full of interesting salvaged wood and picket fence pieces and your ideas will help me use some of it.

  • Becky Dickinson says:

    Great project, thank you for sharing. Please continue the blog as it is a bit of relief from all the other news.

  • Ann says:

    Trivial posts are exactly what is needed right now.
    AND
    That wall art is beautiful!

  • Karolyn Love says:

    Love it! You have certainly gotten a lot of great pieces out of this divider/wall hanging from your son and this is another one!! Thanks for posting and helping to keep our minds off what is going on right now….it’s so much better the news!! Take care and we all appreciate your posts!

  • Marie says:

    Ooooh, I love this, Joan! I’ve enjoyed your creative ideas for repurposing the wall divider. It looks great above the sideboard!

  • Cute backdrop for just about any decoration!

  • Sandra Chaplin says:

    I visit your blog often and love everything you do; the way you present it, the way you narrate it, not to mention your unique eye and style. So far I have made 2 sets of cubbies and an on my third cutlery box revamp, all Joan inspired! The news is bad and is likely to be for some time. Don’t give up on your blog!
    Greetings from England.

    • Joan says:

      Sandra you made my day. I love knowing that I’ve inspired someone somewhere. I know England is being hit hard right now, stay home and stay safe. I’ll be thinking of you.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.