Who Said Artwork Had To Be Expensive?

Kayla's 1st Oil on Canvas.  Age 2

I can't believe she turns 6 soon.
Wow how time flies! But these are still up on our wall.
They were meant to be a temporary solution to bare walls, 
but now I just love them because they tell a story.

I had seen this large canvas on sale for $19!
  I had some Oil paints I was dying to try out, 
however my 2 year old, at the time, also wanted to help paint.  So I let her.....
and this is what we came up with.

She helped me with the large painting too.

A few books by the Art to tie in the colours.

Pretty Sticks

Looking for a new idea?

I had these left over temporary tattoos, 

yet I was wondering what I could do with them.

I made one little pretty stick......

However, I thought this box frame could use an update.

I made a bunch more and decided to make an art work out of these driftwood pieces.

A New look for the photo wall.

Homemade Doily Cushion

Homemade doily cushion

For a while now I have been admiring these

 lovely screen printed doily cushions

 at the shop around the corner.

They are so fun and bright and made by Lumiere Art & Co

I love their stuff,

 but I can't go buying everything I see and like.

So as usual...

 I wanted to make my own version

 as a cheap alternative to brighten up a chair I have in mind.

 I have a collection of doilies that I find at Opp shops for around $1 each.

So I selected the finest one I had.

Then I mixed up a bit of blue dye left over from another project.

The doily soaked up the dye perfectly and the colour turned out better than I had thought.

I made a cushion cover out of white linen I already had.

Then I stitched the doily carefully around the edge.

Oh my gosh..

It turned out so well.

I think I like mine better than the one I wanted to buy.

I love that there is real texture to it and it looks so delicate.

I know I blog about cushions a bit, 

but they are the easiest and cheapest way to create

a new look or feel in your home.

So there...

a current look 

and room update for 

$ 0

All made with things I already had.

Vintage Tricycle Love

I found this really old metal Tricycle on the side of the road.
I salvaged it because I thought it might look lovely in a kids room.  However...

To my surprise, my kids have not gotten off it since I found it!
It tops all of the other things they have to ride on.  And now the kids want me to fix up the other one I have as decoration.
Who knew?

Some times Free things
are the Best things!

Stick Bird Houses

A Client of mine recently saw a lovely bird house wall hanging made of sticks.

She said it cost $150 and there was no way she was going to pay that much.

She asked if I could try to make something similar and this is what I came up with.

Cute little birds from Nordic Living

Harriet's Room Make Over

Before

After

Time:    3 hours

Cost of Materials:  Less than $15 

This room was about adding personality and arranging all the special things Harriet's mother had bought for her before she was born.

The chair was behind the door so we moved it to be an inviting point in the corner of the room.

We also moved the large dresser to the side of the room 

to help balance the room out.

We made some liberty fabric hoops to put on the wall and added lots of girly touches.

Room Inspiration
one of Harriets pretty little dresses.

We found some lovely tapestry done by Harriet's Grandma.

 Instead of leaving it in the garage, we gave it new life with special significance by framing it in this grey frame we also found in the garage.

 * TIP   I think it is so special to include as much of your loved ones in your home as possible. 

Remember, you don't just have to frame photos of them.

Before

Katie loved this wrapping paper from her baby shower, so she kept it.  I thought it was special so I made Harriet a little box to keep her things in.

After
This special box looks so sweet on the dresser.

T-shirt to Artwork

My Son Zach is nearly 5

 and it is time to say goodbye to a lot of his clothes

 that are just too small.

I have been looking for a cute cushion idea for some time,

 and as soon as I saw the back of one of his favourite little t-shirts,

 I knew it could make the perfect boyish throw cushion for his bed.

Before

After

Cost: $0

New Cushion for Zach's room

My other favourite T-shirt that was too small looks great in this frame.

I used to live in New Jersey so this one had special meaning to me.

After

Cost: $0

(Had the frame already)

New Artwork for Zach's room.

Old T-shirt that is too small,

but still too cute.