Paint Chip Artwork

So I have seen quite a few paint chip pieces of art out their. I had planned on making a replica of this, however my shapes weren't quite as well cut. Great job Two Girls Being Crafty! My mom had overseen and asked what I was doing with all the leaves and it sparked this piece of artwork! I am pretty proud because well I love to do art stuff, I am not as gifted as I would like. I hope this art can be your inspiration as the one I saw was for me!

You will need:

• A canvas
• Paint chips (or old book pages, scrapbook paper, anything really!)
• Mod Podge
• Foam brush (es)
• Sharpie
• Acrylic Paint (optional)
• scissors
• pencil
• paper bag

*As I mentioned, this could be done with any paper medium, not just paint chips. I feel a bit guilty about taking so many, as I have heard they do cost the stores...Sorry! I really want to try this with book pages!

Lots of paint chips! I got ones that were larger pieces, not the ones broken up by white lines. I made a leave shaped template and traced that 4 times on about 40 chips!

They started out one size, but as I put them on the tree, I cut some of them down. 

I used a paper bag as the template for the tree, so I could sketch and erase ( a lot) as I went.

When you get the tree as you like, cut it out, carefully!

There he is finished! It would be an option to paint (or not) and glue this directly on the canvas. 

I traced the tree on the canvas with a thin-tip permanent marker, and filled it in with this as well. After, I put a coat of black Acrylic paint where I could get my fat brush to fit. The paint was more of a true black vs the blue-black of a marker. (ha I rhymed!)

There is my tree, ignore the wet paint/shiny spot!

Now you can start placing the leaves, without gluing first. This is when I cut some down and moved them around a lot to get the right color patterns etc.

Now it's time for the Mod Podge! I used a foam brush, but any paint brush would work also. Brush some on the bottom of each leaf and press them into place. Don't worry about the corners sticking up, we'll get to that.

Coat the ENTIRE canvas in a layer of Mod Podge. IT WILL DRY CLEAR, so don't be alarmed. However, be sure to try and coat it evenly and avoid bubbles. I learned this the hard way. 

Okay, here is where we deal with those pesky edges peeling up! Grab a sheet of plastic wrap, and if possible cover the entire canvas. Lay it down as smoothly as possible. Now place some books as heavy objects on top to press down the leaves. *If your canvas is like mine, you may way to place something underneath it to, so you down put too much weight on the canvas and tear it, if that is possible?*

Remove the objects and plastic wrap after 10-15 minutes and let the Mod Podge dry. Do another coat or two as you please, to even it out and get everything covered. It will dry clear and glossy.

Here is my finished product! I am excited to put it up in our new house and to try some more artwork with the Mod Podge. Hope this artwork inspires you to try some of your own! Don't be afraid and just have fun with it!