Click on the image and print or right click, copy image and paste in Word to resize.
March 3, 2011
February 25, 2011
Cheap and Easy Art: Pressed Leaves
This winter I picked up a bunch of half-decomposed leaves in the wooded area behind my house.
The fleshy part of the leaf breaks down first, leaving behind just the heartier veins and stems.
I thought they were pretty so I spent some time (when I was supposed to be running) digging through soggy leaves, sticks and crawly things until I found some that I liked.
When I got home I pressed them between layers of newspaper and books for a week. Once they were dry, I glued them to cardstock and framed them with my go-to cheap Ikea frames.
February 4, 2011
Love Collage
In my craft room I have a bunch of bookshelves (that are about 10 trips to Powell’s City of Books too full). In the summer the plants from my classroom sit on top of them but all winter they’ve been bare. I bought a bunch of frames last time I was at Ikea to make a rotating gallery of sorts. For the first “installment” I made a collage out of National Geographic magazines. Note: Do not yank pages out of the classroom magazines in front of 35 6th graders as they will loudly chide you for doing what you have repeatedly told them not to do.
I tore out a stack of pages that fit in with the color scheme that I was going for. Ok, I really just tore out the pages with the prettiest pictures.
Then I tore some pages with just text into strips for the background. I used my Cricut to cut out the deer, tree and letters and then I free handed the hearts, clouds, leaves, etc.
I laid everything out and then glued it on.
I popped it into the frame and that’s it. Easy.
The picture on the left is just scrapbook paper. The print in the middle is from the in flight magazine from Vueling. I snagged it on the flight from Barcelona to Granada. It is full of beautiful photographs and illustrations. Aren’t these guys cute?
February 1, 2011
Printable Valentines Days Subway Art
Subway art is everywhere in Blogland right now. I made my own Valentine’s Day version using picnik.com. There is a printable below if you would like to add it to your own Valentine’s Day décor.
Click on the image and print it out or save it and open it in Word to change the size.
The Mother Huddle has a good tutorial here if you want to make a different version.
January 27, 2011
Cheap and Easy Art: Door Pictures
Over the years we have acquired a collection of pictures of doors from all over the world.
Not only are they beautiful but they are a daily reminder of all of the places we’ve been and experiences we’ve had.
Do you have pictures from your travels or a special place in your home town? Here is an easy and inexpensive way to display them.
I bought 5 Ribba frames from Ikea. They are only $10 and come with a mat. Then I chose my favorite doors and had prints made from Costco. I stuck the pictures in the frames and hung them in a staggered line.
The whole thing took about 5 minutes. Cheap and easy – that’s my kind of decorating!
August 4, 2010
Cheap and Easy Art: Lichen and Fern Photos
I have a little point and shoot camera that is on its last leg but it has a really good macro setting. It takes up close shots much better than my bigger, more expensive camera and so it often finds itself riding in a pocket when I’m venturing outside.
Last spring I took some shots while I was running in a wooded area behind our house. Yes, that was me with the camera shoved into my sports bra (TMI?). I had the pictures printed at Costco, which is ridiculously cheap and easy. If you have a Costco card and you’re not using their online photo service, you should be. I bought some IKEA frames that come with plain, white mats and voila, instant art.
The top two photos of are of young, curled up fern fronds otherwise known as fiddle heads. The bottom pictures are of lichen, a moss-like mix of fungus and a photosynthesizer like algae. It comes in a myriad of colors from neon green to light blues.