Crafting for Charity: How to Create Wood Shim Wall Art

Hey there! We’re Monica and Jess- the BFF blogging duo from East Coast Creative.

We are so excited to be a part of Homes.com’s Crafting for Charity because A- we love all things crafty and B- we’re playing for a charity we’re passionate about: Worthwhile Wear.

Let’s get on with the project shall we?

I (Monica) have had this project in my mind for a few months now. It was inspired by a printed pattern I had seen in the window of a shop. I couldn’t remember exactly where I saw it, but I was pretty sure it was a cool shop we had passed when we were in London in November. Great story right? Crafty DIY project inspired by a European city… Then, two weeks ago it hit me… It was JCrew at our local mall! I just about died laughing when I put it all together! Well, JCrew or London, I sure am glad it inspired me…

For under $20 we created DIY Wood Shim Wall Art

I wanted something with BOLD color, and a modern feel, that married well with a bit of industrial flare!

How’s that for a before and after? Who knew our dumpy oak piano could be such a show stopper?

Here’s a peek at the details- the DIY light isn’t my entry, but man I love how it works with the Wood Shim Art!


Even though it looks pretty complex, the process was super simple and the longest part of the process was waiting for the paint to dry.

Here’s how we did it:

#1: Purchase Long Wood Shims

We bought 5 packs of these from Lowes for $3.84 each. They sell two sizes, so make sure you go with the longer of the two 11 7/8″ (yellow package).

#2: Cut the ends at a 45 degree angle. I used my miter saw and cut each piece- I started with one at a time, then did a little math in my head, noticed it would take an eternity, and then started cutting five at a time. Worked like a charm!

#3: Paint Your Shims. I created a little spray paint zone in my basement and used all my leftover spray paint colors. When you’re painting, just make sure that you put half with the angle to the left and half with the angle to the right or you’ll be stuck with one sided arrows!

After they had dried I was left with this awesome assortment of color!! I used about 13 different colors, but I also think doing the whole project in various shades of one color could look pretty epic too!

#4: Make (or use) a Plumb Line Once we decided where we wanted our center point, we needed to get a straight vertical line to follow.

We took a nail, some bakers twine, and a socket to DIY a little old plumbline. Nail it in and voila!

#5: String Line your Vertical I love my string line… seriously, I use it all the time! We put it at our top and bottom marks (created using our plumb line) and then snapped that baby to give us a guide line.

#6: Determine your Pattern. This step saved us major time. Use the floor to get your layout right and then installing it on the wall is a breeze. We wanted our pattern random and we wanted varying lengths and heights.

#7: Glue it on the Wall Rather than using 300 tiny nails (that could very easily splinter the shims) we opted for Gorilla Wood Glue. It was simple to use, will hold securely, and won’t damage my walls completely (the way liquid nails would).

Following our pattern, Jess glued and I placed the arrows. Shims are very imperfect, so I had to be okay with tiny gaps and just kept using the center line to keep things straight.

Even before it was finished, we knew we were obsessed with it!

We finished it off with some fun accessories and the coolest light fixture ever, and called it a day.

There were a lot of DIY elements around our Crafting for Charity project, so to find out details about other projects, you can check ’em out here.

And now for the really important stuff! We’re blogging for a charity that we love and are so proud to support. Worthwhile Wear was founded by our close friends Dan & Steph and they’ve committed their time and talents to make it their life’s work.

Jess and I both have daughters and we couldn’t imagine any of them having to endure human trafficking. We love Worthwhile Wear’s mission…

Worthwhile Wear exists to rescue and restore girls from forced prostitution, and more importantly help prevent girls from ever entering it. We target highly trafficked areas both internationally and domestically, and offer women the opportunity to overcome two primary factors which are at the root of sex trafficking; poverty and lack of education. This solution is offered through vocational training centers which teach women how to make wears, such as jewelry, handbags, and clothing, which are sold to provide them employment. Additionally, the women are offered free education, a safe place to stay, and restorative programs geared toward encouraging personal growth and re-establishing self-worth.

We had the honor of working on the planning committee and doing all the decor and design for Worthwhile Wear’s launch in 2012. The following images and statistics were used as artwork at the launch benefit, A Worthwhile Evening.



Those beautiful faces are not stock images. They’re from Dan’s last trip to India a few months back. The work Worthwhile Wear is doing is critical and we hope you’ll check out their site and follow along with them on Facebook.

A HUGE Thank You to Homes.com for sponsoring this awesome contest and for spreading the word about amazing charities like Worthwhile Wear. For more information about our projects, check us out.