DIY Gallery Wall Photo Collage

In today's postal service: Acquire how to brand a huge impact DIY gallery wall at a fraction of the cost!

I've always loved the expect of photo collage gallery walls, simply not the cost. Buying a whole bunch of frames is pricey, and then hanging them all – and trying to make certain they are evenly spaced and not crooked – is a huge hassle. So when I decided to *finally* put up a photo collage in my front hallway, I turned to the photograph mounting hack I've used earlier with large prints: foam cadre board.

Cream core board is super inexpensive, has a corking minimalist await, and is very lightweight and then it's easy to hang on the wall using picture hanging strips or photograph mounting putty instead of nails. I used cream cadre before to mountain large prints, but this week I used to it make a photograph collage using 8×8 inch photo prints:

Instead of placing each photo in a frame, I adhered them to a square of foam cadre board, which gives the look of a frame without the cost. Y'all tin can buy cheap foam core at the dollar store for a dollar per board (which makes 6 squares of this size) OR you tin really splurge and get nicer quality board at Walmart for about $1.80 per lath. Either style, each foam core square is simply going to cost almost 30 cents plus the time it volition take you to cutting them. And when you desire to hang 28 photos, that's a WHOLE LOT cheaper than buying frames.

Gallery Wall: Should I buy or DIY?

Using cream core to make a gallery wall will definitely salve you money, but information technology will require endeavor AND you'll need a few boosted supplies. If you don't desire to take the fourth dimension, or you don't already have things similar a large ruler and cutting mat, you might just want to await into an online service that will send you lot preprinted photo tiles. That volition certainly exist easier and faster.

But if you like making things, already have basic craft supplies, and don't mind a little elbow grease, this is a dandy project. Just be aware that if you decide to exercise LOTS of photos like I did (28), you'll spend a couple of hours merely cutting the foam cadre board and adhering photos to it. So queue up a favorite show before you become started!

Supplies + Cost Breakdown

This is what you'll need to make a gallery wall photo collage:

8×8 photo prints
cream core board
agglutinative tape runner
exacto knife with a new, sharp blade
large ruler and large cutting mat
Command picture show hanging strips or photograph mounting putty

If you already own a big ruler, cutting mat, and exacto pocketknife, your cost will stay quite low for this project. My photos ended up beingness under $3.50 each including:

8×eight photograph prints from Costco ($ii each)
cream cadre squares (6 per $2 foam core board at Walmart, so $.30 each)
Command film hanging strips ($8 per pack of 16 sets of small strips at Walmart, and then $ane per photo)
tape runner agglutinative (Walmart)

The price would be slightly lower if you use photo mounting putty instead of motion picture hanging strips.

Ordering preprinted photo tiles online would be two to 3 times the price.

Cutting tips

Cutting the cream core boards into squares is the most time consuming part of this project. I probably spent almost ii hours cutting out 28 squares.

Y'all MUST have a new, sharp bract on your exacto knife to get really smooth cuts in your foam cadre lath. A wearisome blade volition exist very frustrating to work with and may chew upwardly your board, but a new sharp blade volition cut through very smoothly.

If the edges of your foam core boards look good, with no nicks or crunched corners, you lot tin can just cut each xx×xxx foam core board into vi 10 inch squares. However, my foam core board did have crunched corners and then I decided to cutting the outer i/four inch off my lath and then cut it into 9.75 inch squares instead.

It'southward easiest to brand your cuts across the board the curt fashion first, as shown in the photo beneath.

When yous are using a large ruler and cutting board, you will desire to line everything up, then lean frontward on the ruler with your entire forearm. This will help to stabilize the entire ruler so it doesn't slide effectually as you brand the long cuts.

Delight remember that You WILL mess up on a few of your cuts. That's ok, and you'll become better at it as y'all go along. Then purchase a few more boards than you recall you will need – they're cheap! Also, cream core board is pretty sturdy, just it'south non indestructable, then don't press down on information technology super hard. And once you've cut your squares, don't leave them out on the kitchen table where someone could knock them off – a fall will nick the edges.

A final note nigh cutting: Yeah, it IS possible to cut foam core lath if you don't have a big cutting mat and ruler…but it's really hard, and so I don't recommend it.

How to brand a DIY gallery wall

Larn how to mount photos on foam core board for an inexpensive DIY gallery wall.

Photo Prints 8x8 inches
Cream Cadre Boards ane per six prints
Tape Runner Adhesive
Exacto Pocketknife with a new blade
Big Ruler
Large Cutting Mat
Control Small Picture Hanging Strips or Photo Mounting Putty

Using an exacto knife with a very abrupt bract, cut the foam cadre boards into ten inch squares (you tin go 6 from each 20x30 inch foam core lath). Please note that if yous would like to trim the outer 1/4 inch off your cream core, similar I did, you volition demand to cut ix.75 inch squares.
Apply tape runner agglutinative to adhere each photo into the center of a foam core square. If you want to be exact, the easiest manner to do this is to lay the photo down on a cream cadre foursquare and get it centered. Then lift but the right side of the photograph, while property the left side in place, and used the tape runner to add a line of adhesive on the cream core square under the right side of the photograph. Printing the right side of the photo down, then elevator the left side and add together adhesive on the foam core foursquare on the left side. DO Non press difficult with the tape runner or y'all can dent the cream core lath.

Alternately, yous tin can just flip over the photo and place agglutinative around the edges on the dorsum side, then place the photograph in the middle of the foam core square.
Your photos are now ready to be hung on the wall. You can use whatever mounting production you lot prefer, such as Control picture hanging strips or photo mounting putty. To use picture hanging strips, press together the velcro sides of two strips. Remove the backing from one side, and place the strip downward on the back of the foam core board. I recommend using two sets of strips on each photograph lath.
Prep your wall by measuring and marker where the photograph collage will get. Place masking tape on the wall at the height yous desire the bottom row of photos to get. Make sure that line of masking tape is level. And so measure 9.75 inches up from the first line of masking tape to place your second line of tape (or 10 inches up if your squares are ten inches). Go along until you have marked all your rows of photos.
Mountain your start photograph on the wall past removing the remaining backing from the picture hanging strips and pressing the photo to the wall.
Continue mounting photos in the collage, using the width of the masking tape roll to decide how far apart each photo should go.
When all the photos in your collage accept been mounted, remove the masking tape.