Artfully Affordable!

Well it is Saturday morning and I am wide awake and ready for my day!  Well I am steady working to update my project binder with all my home project goals for this year.  In reflecting on my projects that I want to get done I thought about a neat project that I just recently completed that I wanted to share with you all.  It is a affordable way to have artwork in your home.

I use to work in a frame shop, which was a wonderful experience.  I was able to frame so many beautiful (and expensive) pieces of art work while there.  In learning that skill of being a art framer I also learned some creative short cuts to give the illusion of having matted, framed art but not at the cost.

I had several random frames around my house. I wanted to do something creative with them.   I figured doing a collage of black and white Paris prints would be a neat idea.  Paris is my all time favorite city and I have been blessed to be able to visit that wonderful city on three different occasions. So this collage was a perfect addition to my home to remind me of my wonderful travels to such a amazing city.

Now of course I wanted to do this project in a affordable manner.  To take prints to a frame shop and have framed is very expensive.  A look like this could cost you over $1000.00 to have custom framed.  Well this entire project cost me $26.00.

STEP ONE:  I painted all of my frames white to give a uniformed look.

STEP TWO:  I purchased this calendar which contained black and white prints of Paris.  Calendars are a great budget friendly alternative to artwork.  The paper in which calendars are printed on are of good quality and the photos in calendars are usually great quality also.  Makes for a great alternative for affordable artwork!

I also purchased two full sheets of mat board from the framing department at my local craft store AC Moore.  Michael’s Arts n Crafts also sells full sheets of mat board.  This cost $8.00 per sheet.  It is large and I only needed two sheets to do this entire project. I could have gotten away with only using one sheet, but I had a large print of the eiffel tower that I was including in my collage and needed one sheet to accommodate the size of that huge frame.   The color mat board I used was called “Granite” by Bainbridge.

STEP THREE:  I then cut out a piece of the mat board the size of each frame.  I then cut the pictures from the calendar the size that I wanted for each frame and using two sided tape adhered the picture on top of the mat board.  This gives the illusion that that mat board is cut to fit the photo, when actually the photo is just sitting on top.    Then just put your glass in your frame along with your matted artwork and your done!

TIP:  When cutting your picture out of your calendar, remember you do not have to use the entire picture.  Cut the picture down to fit your mat board appropriately.  Decide which portions of the print you want to capture.  Also, on the back of your calendar are typically small thumbprint of the pictures inside the calendar.  You can also frame these in your smaller frames.  I did :).

This is also such a great project to do if you find several random frames from estate or yard sales.  I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial on how to make your own inexpensive art collage.  If you decide to try it, please take pictures and share with me via my email at: athomewithnikki@gmail.com.  I would love to see!  Have a wonderful day my friend.  Nikki