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.

Gallery Wall Update - Third Edition

Why, hello friends! How have you been?

I'm still here. Here, but busy! Since I posted last, I finished my first 50-mile trail ultra marathon! (I'm proud. Firsts are awesome. It was really fun!) Also, we're getting a puppy next weekend -- he's a mini goldendoodle.

By the way, I made two new year's resolutions this year:

1) Shorter, but more frequent blog posts. I'm slowly realizing that each post doesn't have to be a dissertation. I've been posting about our personal, travel, and running adventures on bartleysrun.com. Go see! I do lots of little projects that don't necessarily need a ton of explanation, but are worth sharing, so I will shoot for more photos and less chatter!

2) Change out of my pajamas at least daily. As a remote worker in my 8-to-5 job, my uniform had started to become yoga pants and t-shirts. Or running clothes that I never showered and changed out of after an early-morning run. Don't judge! I've started following some "everyday fashion" blogs and will try to document some of my favorite outfits from time to time, just for fun.

Ah, but don't think nothing's changed around the house! You are about to see the new and improved gallery wall!!

This gallery wall has been through a lot. It's always been DIY, but I'm finding that I'm polishing and filling these frames with images I love and - most importantly - can live with for months. Remember the first go-around? I started with some close-ups of flowers in the neighborhood. Then, the second time, I blew up and printed out a bokeh image of downtown. But it just wasn't right... the colors, the lack of texture, the size of the prints -- all challenges.

I bought some burlap fabric and spray adhesive from Hobby Lobby, glued the fabric to the back of the frame backing, and then spray-adhesived some of my favorite instagram photos right on top of the burlap. Ta-da!

This (above) was the first try. Yikes. I had bought the fabric months earlier and finally got around to this project, but by that time the fabric was really wrinkled. I ironed it (which actually melted and strengthened the spray-adhesive bond) and it straightened right up! Her's the after, a close-up of a few more shots... just for fun.

Todd the Bunny:

Me, Ben, and our friend Tom in Utah last Summer:

A little zoomed out...

Sorry for the glare!

This is a seriously hard room to photograph! I'd love to learn how to use this schmancy camera...

Shadows - running with friends in Boulder, CO.

Ted Jones, the mini goldendoodle.

Texture! Flexibility with the smaller size of artwork! Subtle, but personal art! I'm in love with my gallery wall again. If history's taught us anything, there will be plenty more iterations of the gallery wall to come if when I get antsy.

Ps- I'm working on something new and big... furniture, and finishing out the ever-challenging Fireplace Room-- so many ideas, and so little time!

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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Gallery Wall Update

The most awesome part about cheap gallery wall art is that I can change it at any time without breaking the bank. The Spring flower theme wasn't cutting it for the Winter months... and since I put them in the frames, I've never felt like they fit in the room.

Here's my latest gallery wall update:

The picture is actually a night shot of downtown Bloomington, IN on the town square in front of the historic courthouse. I was standing in front of our family store and looking down the street. In focus, the area looks more like this, below. It's beautiful when it's all lit up for the Winter season.

Photo: Andrew Taber - Flickr

Photo: Jeff Hammon - Flickr 

The photo effect is so pretty! It's seriously fueled my desire to buy a big-girl camera and quit using my ol' digital one that's ages old... only a SLR (or someone with serious patience in Photoshop) can create this blurry-lighting effect, called bokeh.

If you squint, you might be able to tell that the little red dots on the bottom left are a car's brake lights. I took the original picture and split it up into six panels in Photoshop and sized them to 11.5" squares. Then, I took the photos over to my favorite Kinko's and had them print each page out on 12"x18" paper for $1.79 a piece. You can't beat that!

*I would recommend, however, if you take on this project, to lighten up your photos before you bring them to print. Or, make sure they lighten them in the store. The panels turned out a little too dark for me. It was too late by the time I realized it. It's still good. :)

And once again, this artwork has special significance to me and Ben -- this is our town!

And, here's how it fits into the rest of (that side of) the room. It was insanely bright on the day I photographed it, so excuse the glare. Let's call that more reason to get a fancypants camera, eh?

So, there you have it - new photos and new artwork. How easy was that?

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?