DIY Geometric Animals Wood Art

You Will Need:

• Scrap wood
• Plywood for backing
• Spray polyurethane
• Drum sander
• Hand sander
• Clip-style hanging hardware

I have a huge collection of scrap boards leftover from other projects and I searched through my collection for boards to use for the pieces I needed in my project. I chose contrasting toned boards for the project to give the animal shapes depth and interest.

      I used a planer to get my boards to the same thickness for the project so that the animal shapes would have an even, level surface on the plywood backing. I wanted this look for my finished project but if you prefer that some of the geometric pieces sit higher or lower than the others, I think that would also look cool and interesting.

I wanted small wall hangings for the kids’ bedrooms and cut two pieces of plywood to fit their geometric animal printed templates. I printed templates of a fox and a moose on paper to the size I wanted the animals to fit on the plywood.

I cut my boards into different shapes and angles to begin laying out the animal patterns on my templates. As I worked, I needed to make small adjustments by sanding and cutting the pieces several times to get the right fit within the pattern. I covered the templates with angled pieces to create my animals. I started with the outline to get the general shape and then cut random pieces to fit inside the pattern.

I used wood glue to secure the pieces from the animal-shaped templates to the plywood backing. I transferred the pieces one at a time from the pattern onto the backboard. It was much easier to stage the pieces first and then transfer them than to try to glue them as I went.

I used my saw to create four mitered pieces for a frame for the plywood art and give it a finished, polished look. I attached the four pieces of the frame with wood glue and used a pin nailer to hold them together while the glue dried. Use a miter saw or table saw with a miter gauge to create your frame for the size of your plywood backing.

I used a clear satin finish spray polyurethane to coat the finished wood art and was extremely pleased with the way it coated and covered all of the intricate angles of the wood pieces.

      My kids absolutely loved their geometric wooden animal art, were so thrilled to receive a handmade item from me for Christmas, and couldn’t wait to hang them in their rooms. The animals we chose are special to the kids and had sentimental value for that reason but you can choose whatever shape or design appeals to you and fits best in your decor to build your wood art around that shape. It would look great with any combination of wood tones in many different designs so don’t be afraid to get creative and try it!

           Have you incorporated leftover scrap wood from projects into artful home decor? Share your woodworking projects and tips for how to use up every last scrap of wood in your shop or find inspiration for more clever wall art projects like this one on Hometalk!