It’s the little things that make a place feel like home, that give it character and style, things like the framed pictures on the shelves or the decorations that adorn the walls. A lot of these elements can be viewed as potential DIY projects. Something small and simple that you could do for the entryway for example is this popsicle stick wall art piece.

Materials you’ll needed for Popsicle Stick Wall Art:

Wood framepopsicle sticks spot glazegreen creme acrylic paintpencilpaint brushscissorswood letterheart wood decorwood gluehanger

How to craft the popsicle stick wall art:

Step 1: Prep all the supplies

As always, start this project by getting everything ready. Pick a wooden frame that you like, make sure you have the right type of paint, enough popsicle sticks and all the other little things and let’s get started.

Step 2: Remove the back panel from the frame

You won’t actually need the back piece of the picture frame for this project so go ahead and take it out. Put it aside and perhaps you’ll find a way to use it for something else in the future. This time you’re only going to use the actual frame itself so make sure it’s in good shape and ready to go.

Step 3: Line up the popsicle sticks on the back of the frame

The reason why you won’t be needing the back piece of the frame for this project is because you’ll be crafting a new one out of popsicle sticks. Turn the frame upside down and line up the sticks along the wider edge all parallel to one another. Figure out how many sticks you’ll need and put the extra ones aside.

Step 4: Trace a thin line along the side edges of the sticks

As you can see, the popsicle sticks are just a bit too long for this wooden frame. They’ll need to be trimmed so the back panel is actually smaller than the frame, like the old one used to be. In fact, you might be able to use that one as a template when tracing these lines.

Step 5: Place two popsicle sticks diagonally on top of the other ones

Next you’ll need to add some support pieces to the back panel. Take two more popsicle sticks and place them diagonally, from one corner to the opposite one of the frame. They’ll form an X shape on the back of the frame when they’ll be permanently attached to it.

Step 6: Trace thin lines where the two popsicle sticks intersect

Using the pencil trace two thin lines on the popsicle stick that sits on top, marking where it intersects the one beneath. You’ll need to cut off the piece in the middle so the two sticks are flush and on the same level and these lines will serve as a guide. Go ahead and also cut off the excess pieces from all the other popsicle sticks so they get straight edges.

Step 7: Line up the popsicle sticks one again and glue them together

Once you’ve cut off all the excess bits and all the popsicle sticks are prepped and read to go, go ahead and line them up once again as you did before. Take the diagonal ones and place glue on them, then press them in place. These will keep all the other pieces connected.

Step 8: Paint the frame

The next step is to paint the wooden frame. Use a thin paintbrush to paint the front and all the edges until it all looks nice and even. You might need to apply two coats of paint in order to be happy with the result. We chose a dark shade of green but you can go with a different color if you think it would suit the rest of the decor better.

Step 9: Paint the popsicle stick back piece

Using the popsicle stick spot glaze paint the back piece that you just made. Apply the glaze to the entire front surface, the one that’s flat and doesn’t have the cross pieces.

Step 10: Paint the letter decorations

The last things that need to be painted are the little letter decorations. Use a color that contrasts with the back piece so the letter can stand out and be visible rom far away. A light color like beige or a soft pastel nuance would work really well. You’ll only need the H, M and E letters since the O will be replaced by the little heart ornament.

Step 11: Glue the back piece onto the frame

Now that the frame is painted and ready to go and the back piece is finished too, it’s time to glue them together. Apply some wood glue along the four edges creating a thin outline, then press it gently in place and clean the excess with a piece of cloth if necessary.

Step 12: Glue the letters onto the frame

It’s now time to add the letters. First you might want to just space them out and see how they look so you can center them nicely in the middle of the frame. Then apply a bit of glue to the back of each one and gently press them in place.

Step 13: Add the hanger

The last thing you need to do is to attach the hanger to the back of the frame. If you’re using a self-adhesive picture hanger all you need to do is feel off the paper and glue it onto the frame. Make sure it’s centered or otherwise the frame won’t be level when you hang it up on the wall.