DIY Art

Matthew and I love collecting original artwork.  Yes, it is convenient that I am an artist and that we have a lot of family members who are artists, but you don't have to be a trained artist or break the bank in order to decorate your walls.  Here, we'd like to give you fun ideas for affordable artwork.

After

1. Frame Children's Artwork

A few years ago my nephew, Jack, made this piece of art for me.  It's a 3" x 3" inch square made out of three different colors of duct tape.  I love it because of the bright colors and the fact that it looks like a modern abstract painting.  I'm lucky to have a nephew with such a good eye for design, but I think that all children's art has a wonderful experimental quality to it.  I've saved this piece in a special place for a while, and decided it was time to put it on display this weekend. 

  

Before

I bought a frame at Michael's for $14.99.  I went for a white one, because it has a contemporary feel to it.  The frame comes with a mat inside, which adds a professional polish to the artwork.

2. Collage Paint Chips

Recently there has been an explosion of paint chip DIY art projects on the internet.  Matthew and I love the piece above made by one of his friends by cutting paint chips the same size, arranging them and gluing them onto a canvas. It hangs in our living room today. The small, acrylic paintings to the right of the paint chip piece are by artist Leah Rosenberg.

We love this version of the paint chip DIY art project by Sherry and John at one of our favorite blogs, Young House Love.  The palette is very soothing and perfect for a bedroom. 

Rachelle Tolwin is an artist who makes art with paint chips.  These are witty plays on words.  Paint colors in the above piece are homespun, sheen river, chelsea and soft earth.  Check out more on her artwork at her website here.

3. Frame Hand Made Cards

In addition to her paint chip artwork, Rachelle Tolwin makes gouache paintings and hand made cards, which we carry in our store, next summer for $6 each.  These hand made cards are the perfect gift because in addition to getting a colorful, fun card, you also get an original piece of art by a professional artist at an affordable price.  Just as with the duct tape piece, look for a frame with a mat or cut your own mat and put it in a larger frame to give presence to a small piece of art.