Decorate Walls with Ribbon Wall Art

A blank wall to an interior decorator is the same as a blank canvas to a gifted artist. It is there to create their masterpiece. However, if you cannot afford an interior decorator, you are left with having to create a masterpiece of your own. It would be easy to fill your blank wall with framed family photos or cheap prints from a dollar store, maybe even some "original" paintings from one of those starving artist sales. Some people will say there is nothing wrong with displaying family photos, and I agree. However, why not display them in a unique way by using decorative ribbon. It is pretty, cheap (photo frames can be costly), and easy to use. Your ribbon wall art will get you many compliments on your decorating abilities and may even make your friends a little envious.

Items Needed to Make Ribbon Wall Art

-Two dowel rods about one-inch round and 36-inches long (depends on size of pictures and how big you want your ribbon wall art)
-Two to three-inch wide ribbon (the width will depend on what size photo you are going to use) (you can use the same kind/color or have a variety) (length will depend on the number of photos and how long and wide you want the wall art to be)
-Photos
-Photo mats to fit your photos
-One Acrylic paint (your color choice)
-Paintbrush
-Crafters glue
-Scissors
-Pen and paper
-Tape measure or yardstick

Designing Your Ribbon Wall Art

The instructions for making ribbon wall art are very simple and as an example, I am going to use a color scheme of red, black and white, four-inch by six-inch black and white photos, dark grey photo mats with one-inch borders, two one-half inch dowel rods, and two-inch wide red wire-edged ribbon.

Before cutting anything, I want to see what my ribbon wall art will look like, so I make some quick calculations and draw a rough sketch on paper. My nine photos are each eight-inches long (including the photo mat), and I want to space them about two inches apart (top to bottom). I am using wire-edge ribbon so I can add some bent sections in between each photo (three on each ribbon), so I will need extra ribbon for this so the spacing will look even. I will include an extra one-inch of ribbon in between my photos, making a total of three inches in between photos and under the last photo, and five inches above the top photo (two extra inches of ribbon to fasten it to the top dowel rod). This gives me a total of 37 inches for ribbon length.

Crosswise I want two inches in between my photos, which are six-inches wide (including the photo mat), so I will need a dowel rod that is 22 to 23 inches long. I always like a little extra length to work with, as I can always cut off any excess.

Making Your Ribbon Wall Art

I first paint my dowel rods black, letting them dry for 24 hours. While the dowel rods are drying, I glue the photo mats to the photos and let dry. I cut the ribbon in three 37-inch strips and lay them side-by-side on a flat surface (a kitchen table or counter top works great). When the photos have dried, I lay them on the ribbon, ensuring they are positioned correctly. I then glue them to the ribbon and let dry. I correctly position the three ribbons on the top dowel rod and glue the top of the ribbon over and under the rod. I make sure the ends of the rod are hidden by the ribbon. I then glue the bottom dowel rod to either the back of the bottom row of photos or to the bottom edge of the three ribbons, going over and under the rod. After all has dried, I will bend (crinkle) the wire ribbon in between the pictures. My ribbon wall art is now ready to hang.

Variations of Ribbon Wall Art

Variation #1: Use alternating different sized ribbon.
Variation #2: Use oval photo mats and photos.
Variation #3: If using rectangle photos (four by six-inch), attach some sideways and some long ways.
Variation #4: Stagger the photos on the ribbon.
Variation #5: Glue painted wooden beads to the end of the dowel rods.

Source: Personal Experience, Michaels