Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Cheap and Easy...


We’re talking about artwork here people!!! ;)

For quite some time, only two things hung on the walls of our master bedroom…my favorite mirror and the jewelry organizer I made from an old paper towel holder and a frame.  I knew I needed to get a couple more things on the walls, but I didn’t have a huge budget to do so.  Thankfully, I was able to get creative and use a lot of things I already had on hand to fill our walls up a bit.

For my first piece, I headed to our basement and found some old stain and a piece of wood I purchased at Michael’s months ago.  Once the stain was dry, I got out my Crayola paint brushes and some white craft paint.  I wanted to stencil a line from our wedding song onto the wood for a simple, but meaningful project...but then I decided to get all craaaazy and just use my own handwriting.  It would add even more of a personal touch, and it’d force me to forget my perfectionist, OCD ways go out of my comfort zone.

I practiced the words a couple times on a piece of cardboard.


Then I threw caution to the wind and went for it.  The spacing isn’t perfect...and neither are the letters, but that’s okay.  I pretty much knew that was going to happen when I nixed the whole stencil thing.



For my second, third and forth pieces, I used some computer paper, craft paint, a foam brush and a couple stencils from a pack of Martha Stewart stencils {purchased from Michael’s the same day I bought the wood piece}.  I squeezed some white, gray, aqua and black paint onto my cardboard that I wrote on earlier...dipped my brush into a couple colors...and dabbed the colors onto the computer paper.  The patterns I used from Martha were smaller in scale than the piece of paper I was using {most were supposed to be used as borders on things}, so I just repeated the pattern over and over until the whole page was covered.  As the paint dried, the pages slightly rippled.  I expected this to happen since I was painting on, well, computer paper.  I was hoping it wouldn’t be a big deal and that they’d flatten out when I framed them in my 50% off Michael's frames.  Thankfully, they did. 

Here are my ummm, “masterpieces”. Ha!





And here is how everything looks hung in our room.  It might not be the most perfect or permanent art, but it works for now {and for our budget}.  




Anyone else get their Picasso on lately?

53 comments:

  1. Way to get crafty, Gabbi!
    All of your art pieces look great & I actually love the handwritten piece; really sentimental & sweet.

    P.S. Love the color scheme of your bedroom.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes! I love some good cheap art. Some works some doesn't...but nothing is forever, so sometimes it works great in the meantime! I LOVE your wooden song art. Very sweet & personal. What's better than that?! Here is a post about all things cheap art! http://refreshandrepurpose.blogspot.com/2012/10/bam.html
    And I'm in the beginning of a giant cheap art project! It's a lot harder than I thought it was going to be...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much! I can't believe how much art you got for such a great price...wonderful job! :)

      Delete
  3. Gabbi - I really love your bedroom! You've worked so hard on it, I hope you love this space! It looks like a great place to unwind after long days. I've been trying to figure out what to do in my bedroom for many, many months. I'm jealous of how well this room has come together!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Kate!! We really do love the space. We have a few more things to get done in there, but it's definitely a space we love to relax in after a long day. Good luck getting your bedroom together...I have total faith you'll create something amazing! :)

      Delete
  4. Your bedroom is lovely! The artwork looks great! I got my Picasso on this weekend and attempted some crayon art - also cheap and easy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Diana!! Your artwork is awesome...I might have to do the same thing now! ;)

      Delete
  5. They came out great!! I really like the wood (what was your wedding song by the way?) and the quatrefoil painting in the middle.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Brandi! Our wedding song was Your Guardian Angel by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. I know it's not the most traditional thing, but it was totally us. Our ceremony was filled with non-traditional music too...I couldn't have loved it any more!

      Delete
  6. Very pretty room you have. The artwork looks good! The best part is you made it yourself. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I really love that lyric art!! It looks fabulous! It has inspired me to consider that for some more art in our master too! I love your bedroom!

    ReplyDelete
  8. These look great! I love me some fun cheap art! Everything about your bedroom is absolutely gorgeous! :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. The lyric art is AMAZING! I really love it that you are working with what you have and within your budget to create a space "for now." It is inspirational- and beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I just had a very brilliant idea - Make another "I will never let you fall.." sign. And have a giveaway. And rig it so I win. Genius, right?

    Seriously, I love it. The whole room is beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Totally genius! Except for one small thing...I highly doubt anyone would want that as a giveaway. Althoughhhh, that would make you the only person to enter it and you'd win! You are brilliant!

      But thank you. And on a very serious note, I will totally make you one if you really want it. Just say the word! :)

      Delete
  11. i LOVE the sign!!! the way that you wrote the typeface and the color of the board is amazing. plus it looks incredible in your *dreamy* bedroom. i seriously love everything about that room....most especially that bench you made. I may or may not have had a dream about it at one point ;).

    ReplyDelete
  12. The sign turned out great and your bedroom is just beautiful!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I stumbled upon you blog by chance, and I love your decor! We are in the process of purchasing a house (under contract) and the curtains and paint color in your living room are EXACTLY what I was imagining for ours. Love the style!! What paint color is it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Autumn! I'm so glad you found me! :) Good luck with your buying process...I know it can put you through the ringer sometimes! We used Behr's Gentle Rain for our living room/dining room/hallway. We absolutely love the color! Hope that helps!

      Delete
  14. I am in love with everything you have done and am dying to know the paint color of all your accent pieces/walls. (the aqua color...)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much, Lindsey! :) Our master bedroom accent wall is Behr's Balmy Seas. I've also done quite a few other things in aqua...so do you have anything else in particular you are wondering about? Bedroom armoire, dresser turned console table, buffet, front door, inside of kitchen cabinets, master bath walls? {Clearly, I have a thing for aqua haha!!}

      Delete
  15. It is amazing how much one can do with so little. Congratulations!!1
    I am interested in knowing the other colour on your bedroom wall. Can you let me know? Thanks you!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! The grey on the walls in our master is Pebble Grey by Glidden and the green/blue is Balmy Seas by Behr. Hope that helps! :)

      Delete
  16. Jennifer SaldivarJuly 2, 2013 at 8:53 PM

    Love your bedroom!!! you did an amazing job!! Where did you get the decor?? Especially that bench?!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Jennifer! I really appreciate it. :) I actually got the bench from Craigslist and recovered it...you can see the post about it here.

      http://retroranchrenovation.blogspot.com/2012/08/move-over-west-elm.html

      The rest of the stuff is from all over...Craigslist, DIY, Overstock, Rugs USA, Target, Home Goods. If there is anything else specific you are wondering about, just let me know! :)

      Delete
  17. I absolutely loooove your bedroom! May I ask, where did you get the chairs, chevron pillows, and sunburst mirror? I pinned your room on Pinterest a while ago and I have been slowly trying to copy it- ha! Original huh? Thank you!!! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much, Jamie! Of course!! Our chairs are and chevron pillows are from Target. The pillows are from last year-ish, so I can't find them online...they might not be sold anymore. But you could definitely find a fabric and make very similar pillowcases. And the link to the chairs is here: http://www.target.com/p/hudson-upholstered-accent-chair-velvet-smoke/-/A-13831680#prodSlot=medium_1_2&term=grey+velvet+chair

      I found our mirror at Home Goods, but if you check out this post, you can see a couple mirrors that look just like it. http://retroranchrenovation.blogspot.com/2012/03/mirror-mirror-on-wall.html

      I hope that helps...if you have any more questions, don't hesitate! :)

      Delete
  18. You have done a great job redoing your home!! I love how the home is so open and bright, so different than before. I bet the former owners would not even recognize their old home. My one recommendation would be to raise all your curtains, this will make your ceilings appear taller and just add a little extra to your already beautiful space.
    PS... I think I'm going to have to copy your lyric art. I love it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much, Nancy! I know it's a "no-no" to hang your curtains the same height as your windows, especially with 8 foot ceilings, but I just didn't want to drill into our fragile plaster walls yet. At some point, we'll get around to hanging crown up in our house...and once that's done, I will feel confident about drilling into our walls since we won't have to move the curtains after that.

      Yes!! It's one of my favorite pieces! Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  19. I love what you have done with the entire house! Where did you get your curtains for the master bedroom??

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much! :) I purchased them online from ZGallerie.

      Delete
  20. I adore it all! We have to redo our hallway and I absolutely love yours! What and how did you get it like that?....

    ReplyDelete
  21. I love this room! I was wondering where you got the side table lamps and lamp shades from, as well as the curtains? I adore them both! Thanks in advance! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much! I actually purchased the nightstands from Craigslist and made them over. The lamps are from Target and the curtains are from ZGallerie. Hope that helps! :)

      Delete
  22. Love the room! What color and brand is the teal paint?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much! The teal color is Behr's Balmy Seas. I absolutely love it! Hope that helps! :)

      Delete
  23. I love the ceiling fan!!!! where did you get that??

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! It's from Lamps Plus...you can find it here: http://www.lampsplus.com/products/52-inch-casa-optima-white-flower-ceiling-fan__86646-32431-k9774.html

      Delete
  24. Do u remember the colors u used for the walls? They are exactly what I have been looking for! Gorgeous room!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I do! The gray is Glidden's Pebble Gray and the teal is Behr's Balmy Seas. Hope that helps! :)

      Delete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.