Unconventional Art

Design by Mundania Horvath

Some people find it intimidating to choose art. Whether it's because they mistakenly believe that they don't understand enough about art to make a decision, or they can't afford the art they really want, a lot of people have a lot of blank walls. And blank walls are SO DEPRESSING. Especially when there's no need for it! Art doesn't have to be expensive or a long-term commitment. All it takes is thinking outside the box. In the words of the infamous Andy Warhol, "Art is anything you can get away with."

Here are some ideas:

(1) Frame a piece of gift wrap you love. I picked up this sheet of gift wrap (by Rifle Paper Co.) to wrap a friend's birthday gift and only used half of the sheet. It was so pretty, it was perfect to frame! And the grand total? $3.95. 

(2) Frame a piece of fabric you love. In this case, I used a graphic dishtowel from Crate & Barrel that I picked up for around $10 a few years ago. You could also frame a piece of fabric with meaning, like your grandmother's tea towel or one of your child's first outfits.

(3) Frame a postcard. I used a cute 'hello' postcard from Etsy shop A Hue of Duck Egg Blue that I bought in a set of 5 for $5 a few years ago. You could also display interesting postcards you've picked up on vacation. My postcard was slightly smaller than the matte on my inexpensive Ikea Ribba frame, so I taped the postcard to a piece of gift wrap from #1 and centered it in the frame. Easy and cute!

(4) Frame a note card. Here, I just opened up a blank note card from a set I already owned, taped it to the matte, and DONE! I bought this set of 12 cards for $5 or $6 at HomeSense a few years ago.

(5) Frame a piece of art you made yourself. To be honest, I don't LOVE the way this one turned out - but it gives you the idea. I made a bunch of lip prints on cardstock using one of my favourite lipsticks (MAC's Lady Danger). Then, because I found it was looking a little bare, I used a gold paint pen to fill it in with random little bows. Be creative. Mess around. Have fun. What's the worst that could happen?

Ignore the hair spray - I didn't end up using it.

Art is personal. And it should always be fun. Display what you love. There are no rules.