15 Surprisingly Cool Projects Made With Paint Samples

If you've painted any part of your home recently, you might still have some paint sample chips around. Here are 15 surprisingly cool projects you can make with paint chip samples.

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Paint Sample Owl Art

Choose a color scheme and gather a bunch of paint samples. Cut them in circles (or use a circle paper punch) and lay them out to create an owl design. It will take a couple hours, but you’ll have a great piece of art to hang in your child’s bedroom or play area. Get instructions for the project here.

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Paint Sample Calendar

Stay organized with a paint sample calendar. Find a frame at a craft or dollar store and pick your paint sample colors for each day of the week. You’ll need some poster board and glue, along with a marker. For complete how-to of this paint sample art, visit Chicisms.

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Paint Sample Flower

These paint sample flowers would look great on top of a wrapped gift. If you’re doing this project with your kids, make sure they are able to use scissors safely. For a video tutorial, click here.

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Paint Sample Chandelier or Mobile

Use a hole punch to cut circles out of paint samples and attach them to a drab light fixture or use them to make a mobile. For more ideas, visit Jet Point.

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Paint Sample Art: Ombre Wreath

With 60 paint samples, a wire wreath frame, scissors and a hot-glue gun you can create an ombre wreath for every season. See how it’s done here.

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Sunset Paint Sample Art

This creative DIYer used paint samples to create some sunset artwork that would look great on a gallery wall. You’ll need some canvas, a circle punch, Mod Podge and a utility knife. To see photos of the project, visit Simply Real Style.

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Birthday Card

Create a birthday card with some paint samples. Just use a hole punch to cut out the balloons from paint samples and attach them to a piece of cardstock, then add a personalized message.

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Paint Sample Art: Christmas Garland

This paint sample garland is an inexpensive way to decorate your home for the holidays. You just need the paint samples, scissors, some string and glue to complete this project. For instructions, click here.

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Paint Sample Beads

Who knew you could make beads with paint samples? Use a variety of colors to make beads for a decorating project or use the paper beads to make jewelry. Watch the tutorial here.

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Paint Sample Art: Valentine

Use shades of red and pink to create this easy DIY gift. Cut the paint samples to size, then glue them to a piece of cardboard or cardstock. Click here for instructions.

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Paint Sample Art: Spring Decorations

Get ready for spring with this fun DIY project. Next time you’re in the paint aisle, pick up some orange and green paint samples. Cut the orange samples into the shape of carrots and use the green samples for the carrot tops. You can then attach them to a string and use as garland.

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Mosaic Paint Sample Art

Use some paint sample mosaic art to brighten up a dorm room or apartment. Choose some paint samples that will coordinate with the decor in the room or that will provide a pop of color, cut them to the size of your choice and then glue them to poster board in a random or predetermined design. You can then find an inexpensive frame and hang the art on your wall.

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Paint Sample Bookmarks

Use your favorite colors of paint samples to create some bookmarks. You can even have your child decorate them with stencils or stickers for a one-of-a-kind look. For ideas, visit Bella Carta.

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Paint Sample Flashcards

Help your kids study their vocabulary words with some paint sample flashcards. The woman behind the blog TheRoomMom has some interesting ideas for using samples in the classroom to help students with their English lessons.

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Paint Sample Stripe Art

This DIYer took shades of gray paint samples, cut them into long, thin strips and attached them to a poster board and then placed them in a frame. They would look great in an entryway, bedroom or hallway. Click here to learn how she did it.

Rachel Brougham
Rachel Brougham spent years working in newsrooms, for television and newspapers, and has won several awards for her writing. In 2015, she left her full-time job as a newspaper editor to focus on freelance writing and editing. She has been a Family Handyman contributor since 2017.
In 2019, Rachel lived through a major remodeling project on her home, and she uses that experience to inform her Family Handyman content. She's also an avid gardener (both native plants and vegetables), enjoys keeping up with decor trends and spends a lot of time traveling, cooking and hanging out with her family and their giant dog.