Cheap and Easy DIY Wall Art With Wood Shims

6 Materials
$20
1 Hour
Easy
If you’re looking for a texture filled piece of wall art that will make a big impact on a tiny little budget, then this cheap and easy DIY wood shim wall art project is perfect! With minimal supplies and skill you can have an awesome piece of artwork to display in no time!
Decide on a pattern of your choice. Initially, I planned to go with a herringbone pattern like this. But eventually decided on something a little different. I tried to plan my design for the best fit of my wood shim length.  
Once you’ve picked a pattern, it’s time to glue your shims down to the plywood backer board. I simply found the center of my board and glued each individual shim down in the pattern of choice. 
Some alternative options here would be to use liquid nails or a nail gun. If using a nail gun, ensure that your backer board is thick enough, otherwise, your nail length may be too long. Trim any additional overhang from the edges so that the wood shims and plywood backer board have a clean flush edge on all four sides. I simply used a jigsaw on mine. The shims are thin and cut easily.  
Framing the piece will hide the raw edges of the plywood and shims, giving the piece an overall more finished look. I used this thin lattice trim. and attached two opposite sides first, then measured for the other two lengths before cutting. I simply nailed these into the plywood using my nail gun, but you could easily hammer in a couple of tack nails or possibly even get away with just gluing. 
That’s it!! A super easy DIY project that you can complete in under an hour.  If you love easy DIY projects be sure to check out my DIY bracket shelves and how I painted my ceramic tile the easy way!
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Jessica | The Martin Nest
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Frequently asked questions
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  2 questions
  • Jodi Kleinschmidt Jodi Kleinschmidt on Jan 19, 2020

    Did you seal it with anything when finished??

  • Patty Patty on Jan 14, 2023

    I have a small white laminate table I would love to do this to. I figured I'd just glue them down. Can your score them with a box cutter and pop off to tgeneeded length, then sand the edges?

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  • Jennifer Jennifer on Oct 20, 2020

    Thank you. I love this. What a great idea. I think I'll try this for my outside concrete bathroom floor but sand, stain & seal. Thank you:)

  • Shelby 🐈 Shelby 🐈 on Apr 05, 2021

    Woah - looks great. I love how you alternated the thin side of each shim; one up, one down. Gives it that pop and "I want to touch" look.

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