Thinkin' Spring!: ①Penny backsplash①

Random penny pattern back splash
BEFORE and AFTER photos below.

I began the project with $75 in pennies, which I washed in hot water and soap before gluing them, one-by-one, to my old, Formica kitchen back splash. Due to a design change, I used an additional $7 of pennies. I also used 3 tubes of Liquid Nails. And a large bottle of Goo Gone. I am SO happy with the results for @round $100!!!
I originally started back in July, but the project really bothered my 85-yr-old dad who quietly and patiently suffered with Alzheimer's. He had been a Master Carpenter his entire life. The second time he asked me "What the hell are you doing?", I knew to put the pennies away! :-) He had come to spend the month of July with us.........a sort of 'summer vacation' from my sister's house, where he lived. He passed away last September, but I'm sure he would have stood quietly nodding while staring at all those pennies. :-) :-)
So after only being able to finish 5 rows, I resumed gluing again at Thanksgiving. I used the time in between to design and draw up plans (many, many times) for an under-cabinet spice rack. The actual GLUING PROCESS took me 2-1/2 months. Eleven weeks of free therapy! I chose to glue the pennies RANDOMLY, with the exception of the shiny, 2-row 'ribbon' near the top. For that, I used all shiny pennies, all heads up, all perfectly straight. I used darker pennies on the row above and below the ribbon to make it pop more. Otherwise, I just picked up a penny, squeezed a dot of glue on it, and stuck it to the wall.
I would only install 2-3 rows at a time, allowing the glue to set for an hour or so before adding the weight of more pennies. This AND the fact I only worked on it on the weekends, is why it took me so long to finish. A lesson in patience, as well.
I used painter's tape to hold the pennies in place while drying. And the flat-side of a meat mallet to gently, yet firmly press the pennies down against the wall. And a plastic coffee stirrer to swipe off excess glue afterwards. And a cloths pin to keep constant pressure on the end of the tube of glue, because a slow, steady stream makes the gluing process go a bit faster. PickUpPenny-SwipeGlue-Stick-PickUpPenny-SwipeGlue-Stick.
This project DOES get sticky. I used my right thumb to apply pressure to the pennies and wound up cleaning a black thumb every time. (Thus, the bottle of Goo Gone to help remove) After sticking 30 or so pennies in a row, use you thumb to push each one down. When finished with the row, check to be sure the pennies are 'sitting' correctly and then use the flat side of a meat mallet - or whatever you can find - to press the pennies down, small sections at a time. I would push in and DOWN, which is another good reason to let rows dry in between gluings
Originally, I was going to leave the "scalloped" edge of the back splash so I wouldn't need to cut pennies, and no need to involve The Husband. But it looked very unfinished and two of my co-workers thought it would look "SO MUCH better" filled in, so after explaining my reasons for using penny halves and providing design plans (just kidding ... sorta) the project now looks finished. I really do think my dad would have liked it!!
I am not planning on putting any type of finish on the pennies -- at this time. So far, I've sprayed Goo Gone on a rag and wiped them down. Got off the excess glue as well as shined them up a bit! Which is the look I was going for. I did a lot of research: Google web and Google images, Pinterest, houzz. Hope this encourages you to finally get started. It's not hard. Just very tedious. And a bit boring. But well worth the time and planning.