StarterHouse

Cheap Art: Water Color

I love cheap art.  It's no secret around here!  It works out since we don't really have a decorating/art budget.  So my latest venture was to take a pack of cheap IKEA prints (I know, I know...do I ever shop anywhere else?  No.  The answer is no.) and kick them up a bit.  They were black and white prints with a baked goods theme--perfect for our kitchen.  I used my kids' water color set (the cheapo kind from Target or Wal-Mart that has 7 or 8 basic colors) and tried to make them look a little more than 'cheap IKEA prints'. 

I spent maybe ten minutes on the project and after they dried, I taped them to white copy paper and used some plain wood frames that I already had and that was it:

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I'd take a picture of the entire kitchen so that you could see how these fit in with everything...but I only have a few minutes of 'quiet time' (formerly known as 'nap time') so you'll just have to wait on that ;)  

So they won't have me winning any awards.....but they do brighten up the kitchen (which with the dark granite, backsplash and floors the space can use all the help it can get!).  They also make it a little less serious (I'm doing my best to stay away from the word 'whimsy'........ugh, if I hear that word one more time......;).
 

-k :)

The Best Part of New Shelves: Decorating!

I had fun pillaging through the house to find some things to 'display' on the new master bedroom shelves.  I toyed around with a few things, but landed on this:

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I had everything you see here (the little clock was originally purchased for the master bathroom shelves, so we'll see if it stays or goes) except for the fresh flowers.  Free decorating is the best!  Now this wall has a little more color.

I've heard several decorating 'experts' declare that the master bedroom should be for you and your mate, alone.  Meaning, no pictures of the kids, parents, siblings, etc.  I think it's kind of a nice rule of thumb.  We have the rest of the house for those photos, after all :)  It really helps when you need to escape from everything to have a place only for you with no distractions.  

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For fun, here's the breakdown of everything using the super cool 'snagit' tool that Joe clued me in to...it's so easy and fun! This was my first time using it, so keep that in mind LOL

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I'm sure I'll change things out periodically and I have a few ideas for what to 'do' below the shelves.  I'll be sure to post if it's anything exciting.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

-k :)

Cheap Art: Map

A while back I was perusing some things on etsy and landed in someone's store who was selling vintage local maps.  I thought it would be kind of cool to frame one from downtown Washington, D.C., since that's where Joe and I met.  I never got around to buying one and kind of forgot about it.  Well, two nights ago I was on a sanity break after Joe came home from work and I headed over to the bookstore for some quiet time.  I passed by the map section and remembered the idea!  I bought a D.C. map for $2.99 and figured I could try to fit it in an extra Ribba IKEA frame that was sitting at home empty:

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I think it'll work!

And we met in Dupont Circle, had our first date there and many more after that (our company was located there), so it is centered almost exactly around Dupont.  (My close up shot didn't turn out, but it's at the center of the spider web of arteries in the map in the shot above.)

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I was thinking we'd hang it above this table where we have our baskets for keys and odds and ends...but it's a little washed out.  It could also look nice in our bedroom against the blue walls.  We'll see...Townes, of course, had to climb up and get in the picture (the little ham!) and it didn't take long for him to find daddy's screw driver.  And Kate didn't want to be left out, so she busted in, too ;)  Sorry it's so blurry...

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They literally come running when they hear the little 'beep boop beep' of my camera turning on ;)  Then they ask to see themselves in the LCD screen.  What have we created?!

-k :)

Cheap Art: Napkins

Anyone sick of hearing about our bathrooms?  Me too...the sinks arrived today (they look great--yay!), so things are still progressing.   Just thought I'd post about something else for a change ;) 

Let's talk about inexpensive art.  Okay, CHEAP art.  After Joe and I got together and we starting decorating our own place, I was shocked to learn how much home goods actually cost...I guess since I'd usually depended on hand-me-downs to 'decorate', I had never paid any attention to the cost of curtains or end tables, etc. 

This was especially true when it came to art.  I mean, I knew original paintings were pricey (understandably), but prints and photos, etc.?  Over the years I've slowly learned that it doesn't really have to be that way.  Almost anything can be used as art: a special rock in a frame, your child's coming home from the hospital outfit in a shadow box, a sheet of music that has meaning to you, a poem, a photograph, plates or even a napkin.

A while back I stopped into our local World Market.  The fabric for the place mats and napkins in their kitchen department just really jumped out at me.  Some of the prints looked like works of art. 

I started brainstorming how I could incorporate them into my home.  We rarely have dinner parties, so using them for their primary purpose didn't make sense.  But framing them might work.  So I bought a few that I loved and that fit my home's color scheme and brought them home to experiment. 

I had some frames that needed some "proper" art in the half bath on our main floor (I guess I can't stay away from bathrooms today.)  I fiddled around with the napkins until they looked just right in the frame opening.  I cut them to size, secured them in the frame, and voila!  Instant art.  CHEAP art...I mean, these babies were like $2.99 a pop!  (The frames were not that expensive--if I remember right I got them at Michaels using the 40% off coupons.)  Check them out:

 

So the next time you're out and about and see something that catches your eye--think about how you can use it on the wall or shelf as decoration!  You never know what you might find (especially in the clearance section!). 

-k :)