Thursday, January 6, 2011

Creativity Overflows

I'm sure that I am not the only parent who struggles with what to do with the abundance of art produced by their fantastically creative child(ren). I'm also probably not the only person out there with an odd corner of their home that poses a decorating conundrum.
After 4 years of living in our house, I finally solved both problems with one project.

Total cost:
About $20

Materials:
A variety of frames from the thrift store: $9
Valspar flat black spray paint: $4
Picture framing hardware, tiny eye screws, wire, and tiny paper clips: $7

How to:
I striped the frames of all the cheesy artwork, glass, and any backings, then wiped them down with a paper towel. I probably should have primed these, but I didn't. I just sprayed them all flat black with a few coats. Once they were dry, I laid them out on the floor to arrange them. (I think I need one or two more, really for the top right.) Once I had them the way I wanted them, I added hangers to the frames. Then, I attached the eye screws to the back of the frames near the top and strung the wire between them. I only did one wire, but the thought has occurred to me that you could add more wires to one of them to create a grid for little teeny bits of art. Anyway, once I got them all assembled, they went on the wall. I let T pick the art she wanted to display and voila - an ever changing display of her favorite art.



This is the "architectural detail" in my living room. I've learned that at one time it was a planter and the now bench part extended all the way to the window. Someone down the line covered the planter to make the bench and cut into it to create a nook - which now makes a lovely corner for our piano.