DIY Art - Paper Products

Hello everyone, I am back again for week 3 of our DIY Art Series. This week we will talk about "paper products".   No, I am not referring to toilet paper or facial tissue. I'm talking about Scrapbook paper, wallpaper, file folders, any kind of paper that you think is beautiful. Because really, that's what it's all about isn't it - how you alone feel about your decor in your home? It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks, if you love it, then do it! 

This is going to be a bit of a long one folks because I have lots of pictures to show you and lots to talk about, so get the kids (husband, pets, etc.) into bed, grab a cup of tea and settle in for this one. 

Let's start with a couple of the items that I've used to create artwork for my walls.

 Scrapbook paper...

...and pretty file folders.

I know that there are so many other options out there.  Check out these ones.

Didn't I just say we weren't talking about toilet paper?  Well this is actually an amazing example from Made 2 Style of art using just that - toilet paper rolls! Wow, some people are just so talented!

Or how about using wallpaper to make art.

 

These were actually made by Sarah, one of my favourite bloggers at Thrifty Decor Chick using textured, paintable wallpaper.  What a great idea!

Now that we've had a look at some other options that are beautiful but take a bit more time, I will show you how I do it - quick and easy!

First you grab an old frame you have laying around like this one that was still packed in a box from our move 4 months ago.

 

I know, it doesn't look like much now, but once I add some beautiful scrapbook paper like the one above...voila!

 

A masterpiece...or at least something to put on the wall that goes with the room and doesn't cost a lot.

I made another one using a complimentary pattern.

Then I put them both up in my guest room and please once again ignore my builder beige walls and lack of furniture, curtains and lamps to complete the look, but you get the idea right?  Sorry, upon second viewing of this I probably shouldn't have put this picture up as the pictures just look like postage stamps, but oh well, we can't all be perfect.

Now, I have another little art project that I did using card stock and scrapbook paper.  You might remember another Nifty Little Craft where I did something similar.

This is a little display I did above my bedroom door.  The two frames on the outside are scrapbook paper and the one in the middle is made from cardstock and a butterfly punch.  I really like this because it pulls some of the colours from my bed to the other side of the room.

 

Finally we have a quick little project that I whipped up because I have been working on my paperwork and filing situation and came across these beautiful file folders, from the dollar store no less!  I have a couple of different patterns, one of which I showed you at the beginning of this post, but for the actual finished product, I let my 3 year old pick which one she wanted as it was for her playroom.

I put it in a nice white frame that I had, once again still packed in a box and here is how it looks in her playroom.  I think the colours work beautifully together and it's just so much fun!

See I told you...quick and easy, cause that's how I roll these days!  Are you going to make some paper art this week?

Until next time...Lisa

I'm linking up with:

DIY Wall Art - Printables

Welcome back to week 2 of the DIY Wall Art series.  Today's post will be about Printables.  Some of you may be very familiar with them and others may be thinking, "what the heck is a printable?"  Well, you have come to the perfect place whether you are a newby or an old pro to the wonderful world of printables.

Here is one of the printables I have in my house.  I LOVE (like I mean really LOVE) Subway Art.  Next to photography it is my absolute favourite kind of art.

I found this printable at Simple Scrapper. All you need to do is enter your email and you can download any of Jennifer's printables for free.

I adjusted the colour a little on mine before I printed it so that they were more muted and would coordinate better with my bathroom.  Then, I printed it out on a piece of white cardstock.  I picked up an inexpensive frame that came with a mat at Jysk for a couple of dollars and voila! instant art.

There are so many places in blogland to find free printables, they are available for everthing from household organization to art of all genres.  Some people are just so amazing and creative to be able to design these beautiful pieces for us aren't they?

Here is another shot of this piece hanging in my main bathroom.

Are you going to give printables a try in your house?

Until next time...Lisa

I linked up at the following link parties!

DIY Art - Stretched Fabric

Happy New Year!!!! I hope you all had a relaxed and enjoyable holiday. I took some time away from blogging over the holidays so that when I returned I could start 2013 off with some great new ideas for you.  

A new year means resolutions for many people. I however don't believe in resolutions because I feel like I am just setting myself up for failure.  What I do believe though is that a new year means a fresh start and time to try new things and if some of those things don't work out, that's ok.

Some of the things that I want to try this year is spending more time blogging, completing some projects that are on my "list" and trying to get my home and my life more organized.

I am going to be doing an ongoing series of posts for you throughout the month of January called "DIY Art".  I love getting inspired by pieces I see in shops and thinking of ways that I could make it myself.  It is a fun and inexpensive way to get creative.  There is tons of inspiration and many tutorials out there in Blogland as well and I'll share some of my favorites with you.

Today is going to be my first post on DIY Art and I am going to start with a piece that I made myself last summer.  It started out in the eating area of my kitchen in my old house and now resides proudly on the wall of my dining room in my new house.

Here's what I did.  I started by wandering the fabric stores which is one of my favourite activities, although I wouldn't recommend it with kids in tow (mine kept hiding under the racks like a big game of hide and seek, not really how I wanted to spend my time).  If any of you follow me on pinterest you will see that I love finding beautiful fabrics and sometimes I will find the fabric and buy a yard or two not even knowing what I will do with it, but it is just too pretty to not have it.

On one of my many trips I found this beautiful fabric and totally fell in love with it.  

Most of the fabrics I buy are on sale but this one wasn't and I think I paid $28 per yard for it, still not a bad price.  Since I knew that I wanted to use this at the time in my kitchen to fill a big blank wall, I wasn't sure how much I would need so I believe I bought a yard and a half.  Once I got it home I thought about ways that I could hang it, some of which you will see in other posts during this series.  For this piece though, I decided that buying a ready made canvas from an art supply/craft store would be the best option.  So, I waited until Michaels had a sale on canvases and purchased one that I felt would be the best fit for my fabric.  It is 36"x48" and I laid my fabric horizontally so that the two birds would be centered on it. 

Once I had the placement figured out, I started in the center of the first side and pulled the fabric around the frame of the canvas and using my trusty staple gun, I stapled it to the frame.

I continued by attaching the fabric in the center of the opposite side, pulling it taut as I went around the frame and then just continued stapling down the length of each side.  Once the sides were complete I did the same thing on the ends.

For the corners, I just did a gift wrap kind of fold and then stapled in place so it would look neat.  Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of that for you.  Sometimes it's hard to remember to stop and take pics when I get in a groove on a project, my bad!

Ready for the big reveal?!  Here it is hanging in my new dining room (please overlook the wall colour, or lack there of!)

Check out more on the DIY Art series next Tuesday when I show you how to make art from crafting obsessions.  What kind of DIY art have you made?  Leave a comment and share your stories.

Until next time...Lisa

I`m linking up at the following blogs: