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25 Sep

DIY Ballard Design Inspired Art

Hello all! It’s Sarah here from Thrifty Decor Chick! I am honored to be guest posting on Ucreate today! Kari asked me to share a craft project with you, and I just couldn’t resist sharing one of my all time favorite projects, which is also one of the easiest and cheapest I’ve done.

I have a serious obsession with Ballard Designs decor, but more often than I should probably admit, I find I can recreate their items on my own for a fraction of the price:

I saw this one months ago, and I had the supplies I would need to recreate it for a loooong time. I mean, a LONG time. I kept hesitating because of my new found fear of mod podge. I was sceered.

It bubbles up EVERY time I use it. It drives me batty. I bought a fun new tool to keep it from happening with this project, but in the end, I decided to just go with my trusty spray adhesive and it worked great!

This project is SOOOO easy and will take you about an hour to do. You’ll need 12×12 paper — I got this large book on sale awhile back for $9. But this would be even cheaper if you just bought the paper in singles:


I had a ten foot MDF board cut down into one foot pieces at Lowe’s:
And used a brown spray paint to spray the sides and the edges:

Then spray adhesived (my made up word) the crap outta them — the back of the paper and the front of the board. I let them both set up for about a minute, then just placed the paper on each board:

I stacked them on each other as they dried to make sure everything stayed where it should.
To hang them, I nailed them right into the wall, instead of putting brackets on the back (all those holes will be REAL fun if I ever decide to take them down):I love it! I bought trim to do the edges like Ballard, but in the end decided they didn’t need it:
I’ve seen this done on other blogs, and I think most people use canvases. I was being cheap — all the wood for this was less than $10. Total with the wood, paper and spray paint, this cost less than $25. The Ballard version is $200!:
My version for $25:

I LOVE when I can save $175. 😉

Thanks for having me Kari! For more of my thrifty decorating and crafts, come visit me at my place, Thrifty Decor Chick.

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Comments

  1. Alexandria says

    September 25, 2009 at 3:38 AM

    Love it!

    Just added it to my project folder!
    Boy that thing is filling up!

    reply to this comment >
  2. Melanie says

    September 24, 2009 at 10:08 PM

    It looks great!

    reply to this comment >
  3. Red Writing says

    September 24, 2009 at 10:17 PM

    Such a great knock off! Love the texture you can see on the close-up photo!

    reply to this comment >
  4. Kari @ Ucreate says

    September 24, 2009 at 10:38 PM

    I have been a fan of Thrifty Decor Chick since I’ve started blogging!! Sarah, it’s so fun to have you on Ucreate. Thank you!

    reply to this comment >
  5. Me and My Family says

    September 24, 2009 at 10:40 PM

    that is such a great idea! I ‘m gonna have to make me some now. Thanks. I am also a follower of your blog Thrifty Decor Chick. It was fun to see you over here too. P.S. did Lowes actually cut the wood for you?

    reply to this comment >
  6. Tales From the Land of Motherhood says

    September 24, 2009 at 10:44 PM

    Love these! Great idea to scrap lift. Now I have a great idea to use up my left over scrapbook & card making paper. Thanks for sharing!!

    reply to this comment >
  7. Michelle says

    September 24, 2009 at 10:54 PM

    That is so cute!

    reply to this comment >
  8. The Hughes Family says

    September 25, 2009 at 12:03 AM

    Sarah I made these right after you blogged about them on your blog! I absolutly LOOOOVVVVEEEE it. I have it in my bedroom…it has its own little wall. It fits there sooooo perfect! Once again I love your blog and I love this blog…Always getting great ideas and saving money!

    reply to this comment >
  9. whimsy*couture*sewing*tutorials says

    September 25, 2009 at 12:28 AM

    Fantastic craft idea!!! Super cool to save so much! 🙂

    reply to this comment >
  10. Kim at Polka Dot Thought says

    September 25, 2009 at 2:15 AM

    I think I’m going to give this a shot this weekend–I have the perfect spot at my house! If I do it, I’ll be sure to post and share!

    reply to this comment >
  11. Brandy says

    September 25, 2009 at 3:00 AM

    Love it!

    I posted a EASY and SIMPLE way to decorate up a pumpkin!

    I think some of your readers may love it! Check it out!

    BTW, LOVE your blog! Get lots of great ideas from here!

    reply to this comment >
  12. Lorie says

    September 25, 2009 at 6:21 AM

    I adore Sarah! So talented and SO sweet!

    reply to this comment >
  13. kheli says

    September 25, 2009 at 1:34 PM

    Love it! Will definately try this!

    reply to this comment >
  14. Shayna Mills says

    September 25, 2009 at 9:43 PM

    This is great, now I need to find 1×1 boards.

    reply to this comment >
    • Deby says

      September 6, 2012 at 3:55 AM

      I went to Lowe’s just as she said and asked them for a 10 ft MDF board cut into 1 ft pieces and they did it – no problem.

      reply to this comment >
  15. The Cake Lady says

    September 25, 2009 at 5:29 PM

    I just found your blog!! I came across it by chance then remembered that we had ‘talked’ before:)
    You left a comment on my blog…. not sure if I told you but you asked if you could add mine to yours! Please know that would be wonderful! I would like to add you to mine as well! So many GREAT ideas!!
    Shelley, the cake lady

    reply to this comment >
  16. Becky says

    September 25, 2009 at 5:39 PM

    I LOVE THIS IDEA! You are a brilliant Thrifty Decor Chick.

    reply to this comment >
  17. Wes and Dani says

    September 25, 2009 at 7:09 PM

    So cute! I might have to totally try this!!!

    Dani
    craftrookie.blogspot.com

    reply to this comment >
  18. Mod Podge Amy says

    September 26, 2009 at 3:31 PM

    Whew! I’m glad Sarah got over her fear of the Podge. 😀

    This rocks!

    reply to this comment >
  19. sherrie says

    September 26, 2009 at 5:51 PM

    these are great. how did you get the textured worn look on the scrapbook paper?

    reply to this comment >
  20. Megan the Plumber says

    September 30, 2009 at 2:01 PM

    Wow, looks great

    reply to this comment >
  21. Amanda says

    October 4, 2009 at 8:29 PM

    I love this! I love the idea of using the MDF board instead of canvases. Thanks for sharing it with us!

    reply to this comment >

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