With many countries still being in lockdown, some of us resort to various DIY projects to pass time or give meaning to our lives. If you're looking for a new crafting project or just like looking at cool things, this post might be just for you!
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Kelly Graham of Camias Jewelry Designs recently shared the final result of a 5-year project. After Kat Von D shared her impressive floor made out of 28,928 pennies, Kelly was encouraged to share the pictures of her own floor that she made in 2015.
"I made my own penny floor in my foyer room," Graham said in a post that's gone viral. Kelly used 7,500 pennies in total to finish the mosaic and with some sealant, it's held up pretty nicely over the past 5 years.
Bored Panda reached out to Kelly for additional comments and she kindly replied with some extra info. "I’m a jeweler and decided to branch out on my own via online only back in 2002," the woman introduced herself. "I’ve been running a website since, making my own designs, maintaining my photos and site, basically a complete one-person show who does it all," she added.
After Kelly shared her post again, it went viral with 57K likes and 245K shares
"Before jewelry, I was a machinist and I think that really developed my eye for spatial reasoning," Graham told us. She also went into detail on how her penny floor project happened:
"I sat down at this penny floor project, inspired to make one, but it had to be nothing anyone had seen before. While I admired penny floors, mine had to be striking. I didn’t have any pattern before hand. I did it as I went along and that’s why you’ll notice a few pattern changes during the process. It took me 3 weeks to complete so ample time for me to change my mind (and I did often). The process was me having no idea what I was doing so I YouTube some basic tutorials. I began by separating old and new pennies into distinct piles and the medium ones would designate the filler between the mosaic lines. I used about 7500 pennies to complete this 6x6 ft area. Once I sat down to do it, I rather enjoyed myself immensely. It was a cathartic experience I needed in my life and maybe that’s why the design worked like it did. The inner muse spoke and I listened."
"I never wanted to give up," the artist said, "if anything, I was completely dedicated and motivated to finish". When asked how did the people respond to her creation, Kelly reported that the response was overwhelmingly positive and people praised her for the idea.
The penny floor was finished 5 years ago but still stands just as perfect. Kelly explained how she achieved that:
"The process of making the floor was sorting the pennies, then I caulked each one on the back for a nice adhesion to the existing tile. After I put the last penny down, I waited a few days for the caulking to solidify and then I grouted. I waited a full week for the grout to harden and set and finally poured a resin coating on top. There is no penny odor, the floor isn’t slippery, and it’s 5 years later and it still looks good!"
"6 years ago, this was my first attempt at working with pennies I had collected before I went on to do the penny floor a year later"
This is how the floor looks 5 years later
Here's how people reacted to Kelly's project
