Easy 3D Watercolour Wall Art DIY

Today I have a fun watercolour wall art project that's so easy, you do not need to be an artist to create! Using a shadow box frame this 3D scallop pattern packs a colourful punch on any wall.  

I was discussing what theme to have for my little boy’s first birthday party with my mum. Naturally, her teacher instinct came out and she suggested to base it on a book called the Rainbow Fish.  

Whilst I ended up going with a ‘stache bash theme for my little man’s first birthday, revisiting that book did inspire me to create this watercolour wall art.  

Funny enough a couple of years later my mum noticed the finished wall art tucked away in my study and admired the colours and the watercolour effect. When I told her that I made it, even she was pretty impressed. Gold star for me, thanks Ma!

SUPPLIES

• Watercolour paper sheets A3 or similar, ideally 300 gsm
• Watercolour paints
• 3D foam adhesive squares or tape
• Circular paper punch (I used 1.5″)
• 50cm Shadowbox frame
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Paintbrush
• Glass of water

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I have to apologise for the quality of some of these images. As I said, I created this quite some time ago, long before AVM, I'm surprised I actually took any photos!

METHOD

If you don't have watercolour paint handy this tutorial doesn't require you to spend a fortune. Purchase some from your local discount store and that should do the trick.  

I recommend using paper of a reasonable thickness. For this project, I had 110 gsm painting paper that was just laying around the house so I used that. Really though I found it too thin which affected adhering and staying ability.

STEP #1 | Create your own watercolour art… super easily

Decide how many colours you would like in your wall art. I used a bunch of different colours at first but the narrowed it down to five. For each paint colour you have, paint a whole A3 sheet.

I really don't know a lot about painting or watercolour but that's the beauty of this project. You don't need to be perfect or have any real skill for this, just start splashing some paint and water around!

Experiment with more water or adding more paint to get some variance to your colour.

STEP #2| Cut your scallop circles out

Using a circular paper punch, cut out perfect circles for each of the colours that you painted.

STEP #3 | Configure your watercolour wall art layout

Lay down your frame on another sheet of paper and lightly trace around the inside of the frame. This is the area you'll be adhering your paper circles to.  

Take the frame away and roughly layout your watercolour circles within the square. You may wish to play around with the way the colours are clustered until you've come up with something you like.  Be sure to take the circles past the pencilled outline.

STEP #4 | Attaching the circles to your creation

Using foam adhesive tape or squares it is time to start laying out and placing down your circles. Start at the top of your wall art and work your way down. I attached one layer of foam tape to the base of the circle and two layers to the top.

Once you've finished all that needs to be done is for your art to go into the frame.

So there you go. This freshly coloured little guy sat on the floor of my craft room for several years before I actually found a space to put him. Then when I got a compliment on him I realised it would be a great post for you all.

Whilst the pictures aren't the best quality (sorry y'all) I'm glad I had the foresight to take them to share with you.

Have you ever created (or half-finished!) something that just didn’t seem to keep your attention at the time only to realise it was actually a winner? I’m pretty sure it’s safe to say most of you have an unfinished project (or many!) laying around. Why don’t you whip it out and have another crack at it?

Even if you thought it was past saving, try a different angle, that’s my favourite part of creating! Ending up with something I didn’t see coming!

Share your finished, refreshed pieces and the story behind them with me via Instagram (use #avmdiy) or by tagging @avisualmerriment on Facebook.

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