Since I have been an occasional poster here, but a daily lurker for years, I have been picking up on tips on how to find artwork on a budget. I have been obsessed with Craigslist and local thrift shops- but haven't liked anything I have seen.

I have been throwing around the idea of home made art/paintings. When I search for inspiration photos of home made art, I find only contemporary looking pieces, and I am a traditional/transitional girl at heart. Are there shapes or simple ideas that would blend with traditional decor?

Do you have any ideas or inspirational pics? Thank you for your help!

If you are talking about home made art or paintings that you can buy, you might take a look at Ebay. There are a lot of things there..........landscapes, dogs, people, and other paintings that someone has made that would fit well in traditional decor. Or you can get yourself up early on Saturday morning, armed with addresses for garage and estate sales in your area. There are many things out there for the collector. You just have to be in the right place to snag them.

Red

- A lot of stationary or art supply stores sell really pretty greeting cards that can be framed.
- You could buy a sheet of fancy/artsy wrapping paper (they kind they sell by the sheet, not the roll) and frame it.
- You could even frame a piece of pretty fabric or wallpaper.
- On one wall of my house, I have a large wooden letter 'M' that I picked up at TJ Maxx for about $5 on clearance, then I found a frame that was a few inches bigger, removed the glass, and hung it so that it "frames" the letter. Between the frame and the letter, it cost less than $20.
- Or just take your camera out to the garden (your own or someone else's) and snap some colorful photos and have them enlarged and framed.

You can also buy old (as far back as 1830's) botanical or fern prints for cheap that are in great shape. Look on the internet or go to an antique shop and inquire about them. I think it is a good look, especially the fern and different egg prints.

....Jane

Something I saw recently I liked: Take an old window frame with partitions, paint it, cover a piece of cardboard with fabric and use this as the backing for the frame. Fill each square with a photo mounted on pretty paper or mat it and put glass in the whole frame.
So, imagine a window with 6 openings, green damask fabric as the backing, b & w photos on pinked paper in each partition and the frame painted black. Lovely!

Or cowrie shells mounted on paper and framed for a neat botanical look. So much nicer than a print yet easy enough to find a bag of shells.

Here's one where I ripped a page out of an old dictionary and printed a leaf print (google images) onto it:

Putting stuff up on the walls has always been a challenge for me. I have trouble with proportions on the wall. I like simple clean looks. My personal design asthetic for our current house is transitionsal.

I have never found a piece of artwork that call's to me unless it is in a museum. When I walk through galleries with my dh we never see anything that says buy us. I really like the idea of creating something myself. I also like to browse/buy on Etsy.

I'll second the idea for using calendars for cheap wall art. I did it in my guest room. I used square frames that were made for displaying record album covers. They sell them at Target. The best part about using old calendars is that it is quick and easy to change it out if you get bored with it. When your son grows older and needs something more sophisticated than bunnies on his wall you can switch it out to trucks or something he says he likes.

If you only need one, or maybe two matching frames for your art, project go to Goodwill, or another store like it in your area. They have oodles of framed art being sold for a couple bucks. Sometimes there is even nice matting in them. The art is usually crappy but you can remove it and use the nice frames. I found all the frames for holding my family photos on the wall by going to Goodwill.

Also, if you decide to paint your own oil paintings you can often find old oil painting at Goodwill to paint over. The ones at GW are usually some kid's high school art project and not anything collectible. Very famous artists are known to have painted used canvases and some very famous painting hung on museum walls have junk painted behind them.

Since you like Contemporary styling consider using print fabric stretched over a frame. This gives you a huge art piece for a wall. If you do not know how to do this an artist supply shop where they stretch canvas for oil painting can do your piece of printed cloth but there are plenty of step-by-step 'how tos' if you Google.

Don't limit yourself to the bargain bin at the fabric store either. Check Goodwill for XXL Hawaiian shirts, old prom dresses and the like, for vintage printed material with nice designs for wall art. I found a needlepoint throw pillow of Elvis's face done ala Andy Warhol style at GW. I was not going to use it as a pillow on my couch or bed :eeeew: but instead take the pillow apart and take that finely done needlepoint and frame it. Unfortunately it got ruined in the flood we had in early July.

I recently found 3 large antique prints on ebay, framed them this way and to frame all 3 it cost $60. Otherwise it would have been over $300.

Like newdawn says, the botanical and nature prints on ebay are great and often go for a song. The ones I got are from an old furniture catalogue. They are detailed black drawings of chair and sofa frames on heavy white cardstock. They look great and aren't something that you'd see anywhere else.

You can see the original room and the imitation of it at the link below.

On other shows of this ilk, they've taken digital photos of classical statuary (even garden ornaments with that general look), as well as park and city scenes.

One advantage of using your own digital photographs is that you can have them blown up to exactly the size you need to fit ready-made frames and mats, or old frames that you have around or find at yard sales. (It always annoys me when people say, "The frame alone is worth that much," but if you like the frame and don't like the picture, it is certainly OK to replace the picture.)

I picked up 3 wonderful pieces of art! And I agree with Budge- it is the framing that is going to cost me the money.

Stationery and card shops often have lovely letterpress cards and handmade things for what seems expensive for a card, but is cheap for an image to frame.

As suggested, you can use your own printer to blow up images of family pictures in black and white. They look great in plain black frames with big white mats...Ben Franklin is my favorite source for those things. I made a group of three...one old photograph of my father as a little child, one of me (looking uncharacteristically angelic in a choir robe) and one of my Goddaughter...all blown up to 8 X 10, and framed in stock black 14 X 18 frames with stock white mats.

I think the key, particularly with modest sized images, is to give them lots of room with wide mats. Lots more style-bang for the buck.

barb that is a brilliant idea. I'm surprised they sold them for such a small amount. I used to work for a local school system and they decorated the halways of the administration building with new art work each school year that students had done. There was some amazing work.

Jan

Diana

I saw something amazing just yesterday-- framed artist palettes going for a couple (or more) hundred a piece. Not clean palettes-- colorful, textureful, well-used palettes. They were gorgeous and I will definitely be using this idea myself.

I heartily endorse the idea of creating your art on canvas. If you use a thick museum mount canvas you can hang it right on the wall without a frame. Even if you decide to frame it just a frame is a lot cheaper than a frame, glass, and a mat. A tip I learned the hard way - make sure the canvas is a standard size and you can find a frame for it before making your art work.

You could also make silhouette pictures of your children and mat them in simple frames. If you want them big you can project their silhouette on the wall and trace it. If you want small ones, photograph them against a plain light colored background Print out the photo on your printer and use the print as a pattern to cut the silhouette out of black construction paper.

Here is a collage I created on a 24" square museum mount canvas. I scanned the bird from an old Audobon print book, blew it up in Photoshop and printed out in sections to get it as large as I wanted it. The rest of the collage is textured art paper, paint, a stencil, and words written by hand or printed. Sorry about the flash glare.

Maybe a bit too on the modern side, but they were lovely.

One was taking the decorative square corner pieces usually used in door casings..(square ones) paint alot or a few of them several different colors and adhere to a backing..thin wood, etc painted the same color as your wall.

The other idea I loved and would work well with taking your own photos.

It said blow them up to at least 8X10. Get a board the same size (probably want something alot thicker than cardstock, something with substance. I'm thinking you could get it at hobby lobby or michael's pretty cheap)

Once you adhere your picture, you simply cut it into 4 pieces using a razor knife. Asymetrical...it was very neat looking. You could then frame it, or if thick enough mount it right on the wall. I wish I had a scanner here and I'd scan photos for ya!

Another more modern idea was like the first, but instead of the more expensive door casing pieces, you purchase the outlet covers in plastic...the ones that look like a rectangle, no outlet holes, paint them different colors adhere to board painted the same color of your wall in your grid or pattern of choice!

Great ideas so far

I am going to go back through and re-read each idea and write them all down. I really like the framed fabric or card stock paper idea, it sounds like a good starting point for me. After I build some confidence, I would like to move on to some more ideas.

artlover13060: that bird painting is phenomenal. I would love to be able to do that!

Thank you so much, you ladies are all so amazing!

My SIL bought a couple of large textured pictures and painted over them in big stripes. You can see the texture underneath but the stripes fool your eye so it doesn't look floral, it looks like a great textured painting.

http://i25.tinypic.com/5u20si.jpg

Don't forget to check your local Craigslist too.

Do you have little ones? When my daughter was a toddler I gave her two colors of tempura paint and a very good quality nice sheet of watercolor paper and told her to make us a pretty painting. She did, and I matted it and framed it and we had it hung up in the hall for years as "modern art." It looked cool and it made her feel important.

I'll second the idea of your taking an art class. That way you'll have fun and have the skills yourself to make what you want now and in the future, and for gifts, too. Then find frames at garage sales. An even more cost-effective way to tackle this is get a good "how to paint ___fill in the blank____" book from Michaels, or online (amazon.com often has fabulous deals on used books for $2-$3 or from your library (free) and practice your painting on cardboard boxes. You may amaze yourself at what you can learn to do. Flowers and plants are pretty easy, IME. It's pretty hard to make a mistake on them. Of course, you can also cut up those cheap books you find on amazon and frame their pretty pictures.

- Antique Plates! They look great on walls, can be found for $5-25 on eBay, and don't even need frames.

- Uchikake - (Japanese wedding kimono) They're gorgeous! and can fill a whole tall wall with something beautiful and unique for under $200. Can't beat that at Kirkland's...

justgotabme: Your grandson is absolutely adorable!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assemblage_(art)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collage

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decoupage

Once, in a creative moment, I hot-glued string on a board in a freehand floral pattern, painted it, and embellished with metallic paint. First customer to see it bot it. Surprised me but it was a "one-of-a-kind" piece of "art".

There are various animals who paint "masterpieces" which actually sell. Must be something any animal (including humans) can learn.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20080407/animal-artists/

http://www.elephant-paintings.com/index.php?act=viewCat&catId=2

There are many good ideas suggested above. I buy most of my art at yard sales. It's hit and miss but I watch for it constantly and find it occasionally.

I also made monograms in three frames--my first initial, dh's first initial, and the word AND spelled out in different fonts. They will go above our bed. I got the idea here:

http://www.younghouselove.com/2008/02/bed-letters/

I am going to search today for more $1 pictures to add to my grouping!

Also, I like the look of fabric stretched over a frame. You can take an old picture out of a frame, paint the frame, and use some cool fabric instead. Use a hobby lobby coupon or Joann for 1/4 or 1/2 yard of something and get a frame!

Good luck!

http://tinydecorblog.com/blog/2008/06/05/art-trend-embroidery-hoops-and-bold-fabrics/

but I still vote for haunting the thrift shops. In 4 visits I found all my pieces I listed above. Some black spray paint...and voila! Instant art!

Some more ideas:

http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/2007/10/how-to-make-fabric-panel-wall-art.html

http://www.lovelucy.net/love_lucy/2009/05/flea-market-art-thrift-store-art-love.html

In most cases that's copyright infringement.

Photographs or framed calender art could work well if you don't draw/paint much.

If you are not quite comfortable with your own artistic ability you could try browsing through a site like imagekind.com where you can get prints. Prints should be relatively inexpensive and if you wait for a frame sale (not the custom frames, just the regular ones) at Michaels or some other craft store you can frame it economically too.

Please don't copy someones art work and paste it up on your wall; I'm a hobby artist and that is really just wrong.

Good luck.

It's about the principle. If someone takes the time and effort and has the talent to create something you think would look good hanging on your wall it's justifiable for them to be compensated for it so that they can keep doing it. Just because you won't get caught doesn't mean it's not wrong.

Moral and legal issues aside, the resolution of most things you'll find online are inadequate to make a decent reproduction much larger than a post card.

Print it out on your dinky inkjet printer and chances are the colors will start fading within a couple of months which will make it look even worse. You'll wind up with something that isn't even worth the frame it's in.

If you don't want to buy originals there are affordable prints you can get in many places. Online there are sites such as Zazzle where you can get high quality UV resistant prints and DeviantArt where you can even get the prints on canvas. Both sites offer framing as well and the prices are very reasonable and there is a wide range of high quality work.

The reason I wrote that is because in all honesty I get so angry sometimes. Why do you feel the need to focus on another's comment and pick it apart? There is no reason to hurt anothers feelings or belittle someones suggestions just because you don't feel it's morally appropriate. If you have a suggestion in regards to the topic GREAT, but if not, don't post anything and leave the others alone. You may want to write back that that wasn't your intent, it doesn't matter because it was certainly the perception.

In a great many cases, it's not the creator who did post it. I'm a writer and I guarantee you can find any of my books on any torrent site, but I assure you I'm not so altruistic as to have posted them there. :)

I also used fabric that I framed in a frame I already had. The curtains in my dining room are a reversible fabric, so I used a piece of leftover material from the reversed side. Looks great.

Also, I wonder if I missed this idea above, but what about just some fantastic old frames with nothing in them, grouped together. Sometimes the frames are really as exciting as what is is in them. You can find these inexpensively at consignment stores, thrift stores, garage sales, etc.

Kksmommy thanks for bringing it back to life.

Purrus, that is a fun link you provided. In that link there is a video section, showing framed art of all sorts of things, keys, butterflies, photos, maps, articles. All hung together in the same arrangement. They used frames all the same color.

I bought some shadow box frames and framed my Mother's Baby rings. And my Grandmother's glasses. And my Father's necklace. And placed them with a colage of old family photos. I also framed a very large leaf from one of our camping trips. Another shadow box frame is full of a memorable trip with a souvenir, and postcard. I have collected things from our wedding trip, photos, key chain, Two doves with our wedding date on it. Evenentually I will get it all put together.

You can make framed art without being able to paint or draw, be imaginative and think out of the box. Frame things that mean something to you.

Thank you for all the great ideas, and pictures and links everyone.

The good news is that for every ONE downer, there are 20 more wonderful, helpful, positive, talented people.

But hey fine to have an opinion, fine to politely point out "issues" that perhaps the OP or whoever, had maybe not considered...but please why cant you just consider how your message will be construed and that getting your 02 in, may be more harmful than helpful.

Back to the topic of the post: Another source of interesting (and sometimes even valuable/collectible etc) art pieces is www.shopgoodwill.com

When you knowingly do something that's illegal, deprives someone of income and encourages others to do the same that's immoral in my opinion. Just because you won't get caught doesn't make it right.

And like I said, the results will usually be disappointing.

Craft shows, art fairs, thrift shops, prints instead of originals, CL and the links I provided are ways to get affordable art. If you want to make your own, try taking a class or learning on you're own. You'll soon realize why art costs what it does.

Imagine you wanted to redo your whole front yard. You spent a year agonizing over the paint colors for your home, trim and other architectural elements. You read information on hundreds of plants so you could pick the right ones, not just in terms of looks but maintenance and disease resistance for your property. Chose flowers that would give you good color throughout the whole season. Went through dozens of plans until you came up with what you thought was just perfect. Then finally, after a year of investing a lot of time you put in the hard work and money to get the look you wanted.

Then your next door neighbor decides they like it too. They have almost exactly the same house and remembered the painting company, landscaper and nursery you used because they saw the trucks outside.

They take the picture to the painter and the painter says, here's the receipt I can give you the exact same colors. They take the picture to the landscaper and they pull up your file and can order the exact same plants, hardscaping, etc.

Within a month your neighbor's front yard looks exactly like yours. Her friend across the street likes it too and asks for the info and next thing you know you went from having the best front yard in the neighborhood to just being one of three you can see from standing in the same spot.

What they did didn't take anything from you. They didn't touch your landscape. They didn't so much as take a single cutting from you. How would you feel having spent all that time and energy on something and they pretty much get it for free?

My comments are about the way some people in this forum think it's ok to belittle and berate other posters and/or their ideas. I personally have had my fill of it, and am going to start speaking up. Especially when someone questions my moral integrity. Like the old saying goes, if you can't say something nice, don't say it at all. It's not your place to question anyone elses intentions.

I really want a large mat and small print area -- I think that really draws the viewer into the art -- but am not sure of good proporations. Is a 4x4 window in this case too small? Should I just stick with a single white mat, or go with a double mat with perhaps a slim black reveal?

Reason I ask is I'll never get the white stock and white mat in the same exact color, so aiming to get as close as possible and having a black reveal between the two might help with that.

I also will use this tacked onto a frame for a canvas when I do a large one soon!

I decided to start easy by framing some of my kids art work from school. I hope to get a picture up for you to see tomorrow (if I can figure it out!). Plus, I am in the process of framing various sizes of photos that we have taken, and I plan on putting them up in a collage. I agree that the framing seems to be the most expensive part (and I am doing the matting/framing myself).

Have fun with your one-of-a-kind masterpieces!

I travel a lot and have thousands of photos and like many other digital camera owners, seldom actually print any out. Such a waste as I've been to some pretty incredible places.

I selected a number of my favorite photos, converted them to 8"x10" black and whites, uploaded the files to MPix for printing and went shopping for identical simple matted black frames. What an eye opening experience. I had no idea how expensive frames could be. I stumbled into Michael's one day when they were having a 40% off frame sale. Found exactly what I wanted, bought seven of them and headed home.

Here are the results ...

Six of the seven framed prints.

The seventh print is on a small section of the hall between two bedroom doors.

Total cost: $65

Jodi-