This DIY Art Piece Will Be the Perfect Addition to Your Gallery Wall

If you have a  gallery wall or are trying to plan one, it can feel like you’re always looking for the next unique piece of art. If you have enough prints, paintings, and photographs, and want to add something a little more original, you might want to look into creating matchbook frame art. 

TikTok creators @twotastebuddiez recently posted a video showing how to do it, and it’s perfect if you have a matchbook collection you’ve been itching to display. While it can take a while to collect enough matchbooks to set up and display, the results can be gorgeous. It’s a great way to add depth and texture to your space, as well as show off your personality. Plus, you can definitely be sure that no one else will have your exact art piece. 

To get the look on your own, the first thing you need to do is get your hands on some matchbooks. As @twotastebuddiez points out, you can get them from bars and restaurants, either by asking the hostess or checking to see if they have them stocked near the bar. If you don’t already have a collection started, give yourself at least a few months to get your materials (they’re often available at thrift stores and flea markets, too!). 

After that, it’s pretty easy. Grab some shadow boxes from Michaels (or your favorite craft store) in whatever size works for you, plus some glue dots, and arrange your matchbooks and matches inside. The creator chose to go by color, but you can set them up in other ways too — by warm and cool colors, by the areas where you got the matchbooks, or any other formation you want. As pointed out in the video, if you’re going to keep the matchbooks open to display the matches, you need to use a glue gun to keep them in place. 

It’s best to set aside a couple hours to set up each frame, as you might want to change things around to see what looks best. Once it’s all done, you’ll have your own completely original art piece!