I love using mesh! It is one of my favorite embellishments. What I don't like is the price of $3.99 per yard! Here is how I fed my addiction for LOTS of mesh on a small budget

First of all you will need to gather a few supplies. I purchased a 180 ft roll of drywall tape at Walmart for $3.97. The plain spray paint was 94 cents per can, and I splurged on some Krylon metallic gold for $2.48. The total cost of my supplies was $11.64. This will make 60 yards of mesh at a cost of 19.4 cents per yard! The same amount of brand name Magic Mesh would cost you $239.40! You've just saved $227.76 and have a WHOLE LOT of mesh to play with! You will also need a pair of scissors and something to protect your work surface from the paint.

I started by taping some old newspapers to a table which was set up in the yard. I then rolled out three six foot sections of mesh.

Using a sweeping, side to side motion, I sprayed each piece of mesh

Let the mesh sit on the table for a few minutes to dry.

You can leave it on the table to let the paint smell air out awhile if you wish. I hung my on the clothesline since I wanted the tablespace to work on with more colors.

Here is my finished work.

REVISION NOTE as of 8/27/04 You will receive QUANTITY by making your own mesh, not QUALITY. The brand name Magic Mesh is a much higher and consistent quality. I noticed that some of my yellow paint was flaking off my mesh when I used it.

Since you have the spray paint out and the table protected, why not color coordinate some other embellishments to go with your mesh? You could do slide mounts, juice lids, bottle caps, cd's, anything metal or plastic, use your imagination!

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