Inexpensive Wall Decorations

I looked around the other day and realized almost all the wall decor in my home was made by me. It occurred to me that I really enjoyed making these and I really enjoy that my wall decorations are a unique expression of who I am.

With a few simple inexpensive and free items, you can quickly create some wall decor of your own.

..........put them together and what have you got? Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo ...........magic with just a few things found around the house.

These are two blank note cards that I purchased in Spain as a souvenir of Andalusia. They show typical Andalusian streets. As I remember, they were about $2.00 each.

I find that blank note cards have the prettiest pictures. After all, no one is going to buy them for the sentiment, so they have to put more in the design.

I purchased two frames in a discount store and two mats and voila!. A friend of mine once told me that you can frame anything and as long as you use a mat it looks great. It think she was right. The mat opening is 5 X 7 and the outer dimension of the frame is 9 X 11. These hang in my bathroom.

A word of caution here: I am able to hang these in the bathroom, as we don't shower in this one. In a room where you shower you need to be mindful that paper may, over time, mold, discolor and crinkle.

The frames and mats came to about $5.00. For a total of $9.00 I have two colorful pictures that bring back memories of my trip.

This mirror is simple to make. It is simply a low grade of plywwood board with a discount store mirror attached in the middle. The plywood is 33 X 24 inches. The mirror is 24 X 14 inches.

We attached the mirror to the plywood with L-shaped moulding. We also trimed the rough edges of the plywood with moulding. Then we painted the moulding a pale blue and the plywood off white.

When it was dry we attached shells with craft glue. We gathered the shells ourselves so the cost was $0. The mirror, molding and plywood cost about $10.

This mirror hangs in my entry way. Everyone remarks on it when they enter.

(I am showing it to you on a slant -- if I photograph it dead on, you see reflections of me and my camera.)

In Unexpected Frames

Someone I worked for once received this Christmas card from a company in Japan. I admired it, so he gave it to me.

I brought it home and I didn't know what to do with it. Several months later, a friend stopped by and said she just found these great frames for 50 cents at a bargain store. She said, "here take one". So I took one. l didn't know what to do with it either.

Then, I tried the Japanese Christmas card in the patterned frame. Do I dare; put a patterned picture in patterned frame? I liked it. It's different. It hangs on a narrow wall in my dining room.

The photo above is another blank card that I purchased. I had the velvet trimmed frame. I added the white mat to set it off.

Look in drawers of old saved greeting cards and stationery. Try the linen closet or tablecloth drawer for old doilies runners, etc. Look for souvenirs pictures and postcards.

Or, start the other way, look for old frames you have lying around empty and find a way to fill them.

This is an acrylic painting on canvas, I did as a child. I left the paints watery and then blotted them for a blurry effect. The canvas is only 3 X 5, so being small I figured it's forgivable if the technique is not top artist quality. It's just a splash of color in a $1.00 frame on a piece of black construction paper. The outer dimension of the frame is only 6 X 9 so it hangs on a small wall in one of my bathrooms.

I saw this 18 X 14 inch frame at a flea market for $5.00. It is metal and not antique; maybe vintage, but it had a nice look to it. I had to have a piece of glass cut for it at my local hardware store.

The doily is something I had in a chest at home. I don't remember where I got it -- it's from within the family. I never knew what to do with it. I

I found a scrap of black velveteen material and used fabric glue to glue it to a piece of cardboard. I layed the doily on top and poof! magic!

This is the menu and bill from my parents' wedding reception. They dug these out for their 50th wedding anniversary and stuck them in this inexpensive plastic frame. It was standing on the coffee table for all our guests to see.

After they left it in the living room on a side table. It has always caused much interest.

Dinner for 84 -- $179.00????? Let's see, hmmm dinner included a cocktail -celery, olives, fruit cup, chicken soup, roast half spring chicken, carrots and peas, potatoes, hearts of lettuce with French dressing; ice cream, cookies and coffee. The dinners came to $130.50 -- the rest was liquor and mixers.

Look around your house for old keepsakes and items of interest.

I made this about 20 years ago and it's a little worse for wear, but I kind of like that aged look on my decorating items.

This was an ornate 5-3/4 inch by 7-1/4 inch frame that I picked up for a few dollars in job lot store. I bought it because I liked it and the price was right.

Queen Anne's Lace grows wild along the roads in many areas.

Then, it came to me, I covered the back cardboard insert with a scrap of black velveteen that I had and I layed a Queen Anne's Lace in the frame. And put the frame back together.

Probably if I take this apart to clean the Queen Anne's Lace with disintegrate. I believe the tightness of glass and the fibers of the velvet are holding it in place.

This is kind of a combination between cards and pressed flowers. Someone gave me hand made note cards. The individual who made them pressed flowers on the cover of each note.

I purchased the fancy frames in Caldor, which was a discount store that we had on the east coast. It was somewhat like a K-Mart or Walmart. The point is, the frames weren't expensive. Each frame is 4 inches by 5 inches.

The frames are so ornate that the simple pressed flowers go well inside. They look nice stacked one above the other on a narrow wall or post.