Art Roundup

I just noticed that I've DIY-ed nearly all of the art that's hanging around this place. (I use the term "art" very, very loosely.) I'm still too wishy-washy to commit to some big investment pieces yet... buy one day, sick of it a week later. It's a vicious cycle. I'm choosing mostly art I made - albeit temporary - until I find the ones that speak to me.

So I'm dedicating this post and walking around the house, shooting some photos of the cheap art I have on the walls. And if you want to know how to make your own cheap art, I'll tell you a little more about them. Here we go!

Office

Here's a big poster print I recently purchased from an artist on fab.com for $20 (minus $10 with coupon) and mounted on foam core from Dollar Tree. Not fun fact: I had a little mutual-fault fender bender in the parking lot, so technically that foam core actually cost me more than $1...

Shadow box, Ikea frame. I threw a bunch of fun mementos (and continuously adding) into the frame. So far, a NYC marathon bib, IU vs. Ohio State football tickets, a piece of quartz from the Colorado Rockies, and string from a Mike's Pastry box in Boston. I couldn't bring myself to throw these things away. Proof that I'm a closet hoarder?

This is a Goodwill frame that I re-stained a darker color. The photos are postcard reproductions of antique flower seed packets. I got the postcards from a cute shop called Bayleaf in Boulder, CO. If you're there, you'll want to buy ALL the things! - the store is on Pearl Street.

Entry

Ah, my Chevron  paint chip art! I still love this. It's sitting on a picture ledge in the entry way. For the price of free, you can't beat it.

Here's my very first DIY project: a knock-off of a Crate and Barrel art print. Since Ben & I are all about numbers, this was really fun - it's actually a set of two, but I can't remember where the second one is...! If you look closely, you'll find some hidden numbers that are personal to us (nope, I didn't hide my social security number in it)-- zip codes, addresses, phone numbers.

Mantel
At left is the faux-zinc letter I made out of a recycled cereal box and a little acrylic paint. Next to it is a framed piece of fabric. (Fun fact: the fabric was cut off of my mom-in-law's tunic top that she got in Spain.) It's really pretty fabric!

Another little Goodwill find project. This was a frame that I painted. The "8" tag was from the $1 section at Michaels last Fall.

Behind all of that is my crown masterpiece, the project that took forever and a half but was worth it: my DIY knock-off of the Pottery Barn Eagan mirror. Here it is, whole mantel and all.

Kitchen Drop Spot (...because it doesn't have a name)
Moving on, I have a few things on this little demilune table near the kitchen. At left: a free customizable printable from Wedding Chicks. Then, another Ikea shadow box inspired by Young House Love, filled with some keys and fun mementos. No, that's not a real ring - it's probably worth $3 if I'm lucky but was a part of our love story. :) Note: if you do this yourself, I suggest using Zots and not hot glue. The rock kept falling off! Vase is from Ikea, and the green bowl is from West Elm.

 Dining Nook
The items filling frames in the gallery wall were intended to be temporary, so here's the dining nook.
This, below, is a West Elm napkin glued to an Ikea frame back. I made the knot out of cord used for piping (sewing), from Hobby Lobby. If you do this, tie up the ends of the cord with tape, or else it'll fray. The cord is secured to the napkin with painter's tape (sshh! no one else EVER know!)

The full gallery wall, starting clockwise from 1 o'clock:
1) "B" Monogram printable, another free customizable printable from Wedding Chicks. Thrifted frame with a scrap fabric-covered mat.
2) Watercolor painting. Watercoloring is fun! I made this gradient painting in about 2 minutes. A close-up is below. This is an Ikea frame.
3) Ampersand on canvas. Painter's tape + grey paint.
4) Bloomington run map. I actually ran a route that traced heart shape around Bloomington. Don't recommend - who knows what seedy parts of town you'll end up in!
5) Ikea tree print. Black and white tree "scribble" art. You can't see it anyway, and unfortunately, it's no longer sold at stores.
6) Pre-made black and white nature print. Purchased at Garden Ridge circa 2008. A "1" on the exciting scale.

Bathroom
Lattitude printable by yours truly. The background is... herringbone!! Created in Photoshop, printed at home on cardstock, and placed in an odd-dimensioned Ikea Ribba frame.

Bedroom
This is another Ikea Ribba frame, this image is the inside of a VivoBarefoot shoe box. The inside of the box is so creative! (Sorry for the glare)

For about three years, I've been begging Ben to let me buy a new North Face jacket. Well, I finally got my wish in December and then noticed that the bag was perfect for us! I have yet to iron out the creases, but because the bag features a mountain (helloooo- we love Colorado!!), and "Never Stop Exploring" is such a great mantra, I had to be a weirdo and frame the bag. I framed a shoe box, so stranger things have happened around here.

Paint Chip Art

More free artwork? Check.

Um, I own an embarrassingly large collection of paint chips. 

I'm not  a decorator... or a designer... and I'm not a painter... I just have a serious problem with collecting paint chips. Sometimes I think I need some help with my home decor hoarding habits! (I kid.)

So I hung this black Ikea Ribba floating picture ledge a few days ago, but that poor ledge sat naked while I tried to figure out how to fill it... with stuff that I'd still like after a week's time. Then, I remembered my stack of paint chips. Light bulb moment!

Chevron's still "so hot right now," but lately, I'm really loving obsessing over herringbone. It's a super classic and traditional pattern, so I thought playing with the scale and color could give it a modern spin.

Then, there's ombre. It's color perfection.

Herringbone + ombre = LOVE.

I was inspired by some chevron paint chip and ombre masterpieces from my favorite blogs, and also from photos we've all seen floating around Pinterest.

Sources: (1) Pinterest (2) YoungHouseLove (3) A Beautiful Mess (4) Pinterest - Merry Pad

Working quickly so the a-ha! moment wouldn't fade, I whipped out a pair of scissors, my giant mass of paint chips, a glue stick, and cardstock. In the final product, you'll see that I cut each line of the herringbone pattern uniquely (read: I couldn't figure out how to cut each piece on the same angle every single time).  :) This was certainly a time consuming project, but well worth it for this little 5"x7" piece.

I chose about 3 consecutive paint chips with 5 shades on each card. Once I cut out the polygon shapes, I laid them out on the table so I could picture how they'd look and trimmed down the pieces that were too big. I got them just right - or approximately just right - I then summoned my inner 4 year old: I used a plain old glue stick to attach them to heavy card stock. Finally, I cut off the extra edges from the card stock and was left with a pretty 5"x7" art card.

Let's see it one more time....

A work in progress...

I love the way it combines the clean lines of herringbone plus the playful and fun color in the  gradient. I'm so proud of this perfect(ly free) addition to my picture ledge!

What do you think? Have you found any creative ways to use your paint chips? 

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Plate Walls

Loving... plate walls. This wall in what we call the Fireplace Room is looking pretty darn lonely, and while I'd love to put some great art on it, that wall can't compete too heavily with the fireplace and mantle. Could the plate wall idea actually work?

Below, I've posted a couple of inspiration photos which I've pinned here.

My #1 all-time fave? I'm drooling over nearly everything in Joi's house. At first, it was their cane chairs, and now it's this fun and colorful plate wall. And look at those grey walls! The grey makes the yellow, turquoise, blue, and pink just pop.

Source - Nuestra Vida Dulce

Some of the other finalists.....

Source - Angela Hardison

Source - View Along the Way

Source - Flickr

Source - Sunset

Source - Design Sponge

You know, this wall (below) might just be cool after all.

That canvas art has since been sold off, leaving a different kind of empty "canvas" waiting to be filled!

Meanwhile, I'm on the search for plates from thrift stores and local shops like Relish and Elements in Bloomington. Check out what I've found so far - total camera phone picture.

How about you? Have you found any sources for good and fun plates? Do you have or want to have a plate wall?