DIY Mickey shaped Disney pin art
February 08, 2016
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This cute Disney pin art is one I've had this project in mind since our first trip to Disney World (and our love for all things Disney started!).
Our boy collects pins every time we visit -- finding a new cool pin is seriously one of his favorite things ever. We all love them because they are little works of art and represent so many of the memories we've had there as a family. Hanging them on the lanyards didn't seem to do them justice so we've been wanting to showcase them better for some time.
I saw a similar idea with the smashed pennies years ago and I thought it would translate well to this project:
So fun right? I've never been able to find a source for this unfortunately.
Since the pennies are flat you can used a frame -- that wouldn't work with the pins so I figured out a different version. It started with a two by two foot board from the hardware store:
They come in this size and it was $7. It was really thin but thicker boards are available. You can go even cheaper with plywood but I wanted something that was perfectly flat -- that's harder to find in plywood this size.
Next up was the foam board -- I found a set of 16x20 boards at Walmart, (you can also find them here). I knew if I cut them up I could cover the wood:
Excuse the cat butt. :) I liked this stuff because it was thicker than basic foam board -- the thinner stuff wouldn't have grabbed the pins as well. I used the level as a straight edge and scored the boards with an X-acto knife to cut them. They break easily and then you score the other side.
I used basic glue to stick them to the wood and then placed books on top to make sure they laid flat (for about 20 minutes or so). I cut some black fabric to the size I needed and used spray adhesive to spray the board before I laid the fabric on and stapled it to the back:
I used the adhesive because I knew we'd be repositioning the pins and just thought this would keep the fabric on there well. It worked! I think you could get away with not using it though.
Then we started creating our art! I used random stuff to figure out the sizing for Mickey's head -- a round mirror for the big circle and plastic containers for the ears. I cut out the circle and then cut out a slightly bigger outline to tape to the board. That way we could follow the lines with the pins:
We placed the pins upside down to figure out what would fit and that helped a ton. After they were all on we moved some around here and there -- the foam and fabric makes it easy to do. When we finished I took the paper away and we were left with a super cute art piece:
I think his ears could be a little bigger so we may add a bit to those. It's hard to get precise with the randomly shaped pins! I may also add some trim to the side but will wait to see it hung first.
My plan is to create a small Disney gallery wall with mementos from our trips. I want it to be fun yet tasteful and we have the perfect wall picked out. This pin art turned out even better than we had hoped and took less than $20 and an hour to finish up. I LOVE that we can really see all of the fun pins and they'll be out where we can admire them. It tides us over till our next trip. :)
Have you created any fun Disney art? Feel free to share if you have! I've kept some random items to frame for the future wall -- I think it will be a fun spot when we're done!
What a fun idea. Love how this turned out, Sarah!
ReplyDeleteHow adorable! I love this idea to display all of your pins instead of keeping them hidden away somewhere in a drawer. It looks great and you are so creative!!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! I have all our Disney pins in one of their 'pin books' and it is not really something we take out and enjoy!
ReplyDeleteSo cute! Great idea!
ReplyDeleteLove this! I couldn't help but notice the pretty rug you had this on though! I follow your blog pretty closely and don't remember seeing it before. Would you mind sharing where you got it?
ReplyDeleteLove this! While mine isn't Disney art, it is pin art. I made a heart for Valentine's Day.
ReplyDeletehttp://wearealreadythere.blogspot.com/2015/01/pinteresting-action-valentine-button.html
So adorable and such a great idea!!
ReplyDeleteMel | www.thegossipdarling.com
This is such a unique idea! It is absolutely adorable!
ReplyDeleteI love this! We have not started the pins (not for sure if we will), but we do the pressed pennies, so I love that you included your inspiration. I would love to hear more about your wall and what you plan to include? I have so much I would love to display tastefully, including our drawings from Art Academy at Animation Studio.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun way to display your souvenirs! I collect bracelet charms when we travel, but I was always too afraid of losing the bracelet to wear it. I took all the charms off and put them in a labeled shadow box so I can enjoy them more often now. Here's my blog post about it:
ReplyDeletethe cozy birdhouse | simply charming
Thanks for sharing a great idea!