This week’s post is our next challenge for our international blogger group.  This month’s challenge was “Hang her up” which is down to interpretation, so I made  3D wooden wall art using a 4×4 fencing post.  This was a fairly straightforward project, but the results are mind-blowing “literally”.  I sit and look at it at times and the design messes with your eyes. More about IBC is at the bottom of this post.

The great thing about this 3D wooden wall art is that it can be hung either horizontally or vertically. The fence post I used looked like it had been made by glueing lots of pieces of wood together.  Because of this, my pieces of wood had a wide variety of textures and patterns which added to the design. If I had the time I would have done Shou sugi ban on the pieces because they would have turned out amazing with all this texture and wood grain.

How to make 3D Wooden wall art

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Cutting the wood

My original idea for this project was to use a 4 x 4 fencing post and cut the wood at a 30-degree angle.  But after I had cut a few pieces I realized that the wall hanging would be too heavy to hang on our sheetrock walls.  To solve this issue I cut the fence post down to 3×3 which I thought would work better.

Before I cut all the pieces of wood I sanded all the sides using 120 grit sanding discs on an orbital sander.  I found it is easier to sand it now rather than all the smaller pieces later which is very time-consuming. To cut my pieces I used a drop saw set at 30 degrees to cut the first piece.

To cut the second piece you set the drop saw back to “0”  line the cut up with a straight end as shown in the picture below and make your cut. The third cut is back to 30 degrees on the alternate side of the drop saw and the fourth back to “0”.  You keep repeating the cuts until you have enough pieces to cover the base you plan to use.

Prepare the base

To make the base I used 1/2-inch plywood, I would recommend this thickness so the weight of the wood does not warp the base. The plywood I used was recycled wood I found at a construction site so it does need to be sanded with 100-grit sandpaper before use.   It is fine to use recycled wood for the base because you will not see it and it will keep your costs low.

I did not cut the base to size until I had finished creating the design I wanted.  You can now have some fun creating your design.

Create your design

I tried a few different designs which I will share with you. This first one was a very basic design created by making peaks and dips using two pieces of wood put together and repeating the pattern.

I did like this design but felt it lacked some colour.

For the second design, I added some cedar and dark mahogany wood stains to some of the wood. If you are going to do this allow the stain to dry completely before creating the design.  I did not do this and some of the wood stains bled onto the next piece of wood as you can see in the image below. But it is not the end of the world you just have to go back and sand the wood again.

By moving the stained blocks around you can get a different design each time.

By placing the wood at different angles you can also get a unique design.

An ombre design looks really cool too.

Once you have created a design that you like it is a good idea to take a photo as a guide for the glueing stage. Next, draw a pencil line around the design then slide the wood pieces off the base. You can now cut the base to size.

Glueing the wood to the base

To glue to wood to the base I used a combination of hot glue and wood glue.  I added wood glue to the wood leaving a small gap for the hot glue. Next, I added a dot of hot glue and push it down firmly onto the wood.

The hot glue will keep the wood in place while the wood glue dries. I like to start in the corner and work my way down.

To finish, I added 2 coats of spray polyurethane to seal the wood.

The finished 3D wooden wall art

If you are looking for more wooden wall art ideas using scrap wood here are some I created.

This wall art was created using all my small scraps of wood you can find the tutorial here. 

Shou Sugi Ban wall art

More about IBC

If you follow my blog you will know I am part of IBC (International Bloggers Club) which is a group of talented bloggers from around the world. We have members from Spain, South Africa, Australia, the United States, and Canada. Each month we come together and create a project with a common theme.

The “Hang her up ” contributions from my fellow bloggers joining us this month are listed below, please feel free to jump over and give them some love.

1. 1. Me
   2. Tea and Forget Me Nots|Rice paper decoupage clock
   3. Fifth Sparrow No More |A unique box made with a wooden hanger
   4. Birdz of a feather | Hanging air plants
   5. Birdz of a feather | Concrete cross sand mold

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