Home Decor
6 Unusual Things You Can Turn Into Artwork
Over the years, I’ve made a variety of inexpensive artwork for my home. For some of it I used things that might be considered unconventional, but I liked them so much that most of them have travelled with me to my various residences and are still hanging on my walls or adorning a shelf.
Here are 6 unusual things you can turn into artwork.
Sections of Wallpaper Border
Years ago, I cut out two sections out of an unused section of wallpaper border and put them into dollar store frames, adding a mat to the larger frame so that section of wallpaper would fit.
That’s all there was to it and I like them so much, they’re still hanging on my bathroom wall.
Family Treasures
I never met my paternal grandparents, so these two delicate French postcards from 1917, passed on to me by my dad’s sister, are precious to me. I loaned them to our local museum one year when they had a WWI display.
The museum photocopied the backs of each postcard, so people could see what Grandpa wrote. Afterward, I bought a scrapbook frame and, using a sheet of scrapbook paper patterned in sepia tones, for the backing, carefully framed everything.
Treasures like this needn’t be kept hidden away in a box in the back of a closet.
Family Artwork
I know people frame their kids’ artwork, so why not include pictures created by older family members? This drawing was created by my daughter-in-law and I love it for it’s simplicity and the sentiment it evokes. I actually copied it off of her Facebook page.
Old Postcards or Pictures
I have framed postcards of places I’ve been but I liked these two old photos that my mom had in her collection. They are of a trip she and one of her sisters took to the west coast of Canada in the 30’s or 40’s, I’m guessing. Film back then was only black and white but I guess Mom liked these two well enough to have them enlarged and colourized. I know, the colours aren’t very vivid, but these pictures are reminders of Mom and of a time gone by.
I framed them and hung them in my bedroom over my beside table.
Wall Stickers
Wall stickers can make great artwork, too. The frame is from Dollar Tree and I used a peel and stick paper as the background before adding the wall sticker.
Printed Plastic Bags
Years ago, I had the privilege of travelling to England with my husband during one of his business trips. We happened upon a themed pub honouring Sherlock Holmes. I bought a couple of souvenirs from there and carried them home in a plastic bag adorned with the famous profile.
I hesitated to throw the bag away, so instead I cut out the front of the bag and wrapped it around a flat canvas to make a poster. It could easily be added to a frame, too.
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