The Stuff I Live For

Hilarious Word-Art Items December 29, 2007

LOVE THESE!!! Found them all on etsy. If you’ve never visited etsy, it’s a site made up entirely of sellers of (mostly) fabulous, handmade stuff.

More Framed Collage Decorating Ideas December 5, 2007

Speaking of collages… these are in my family room. They wouldn't have as much impact or get noticed much if they stood alone, but together, these three frames are a lot of fun.

The shadowbox frame on the bottom left is from Pottery Barn and probably cost twice as much as the one of equal quality above it, which is from Joann-Fabrics. In the Pottery Barn frame, I put together a collage of my husband's old ticket stubs and such, many dating back to his high school days. The frame above it contains old matchbooks which I purchased on ebay for not more than $10. Also from ebay, and at about the same price tag, are the old skeleton keys on the right. I used upholstery tacks to hang them at equal distance from eachother and simply hung the frame around them, without the glass or frame backing.

I'd like to add a collage of old postcards or coasters sometime. This is an easy, unique decorating project anyone could do with a collection. Try: stamps, baseball cards, soda bottle lables, bottle caps…

Make a Framed Fabric Collage December 4, 2007

I needed something on my very bare dining room wall so started shopping around online for some artwork. Too pricey! I love buying stuff for my home, but my preference would be to buy a few smaller-ticketed items rather than one piece of art. I have tons of fabric scraps around the house and decided to frame some for a collage. I bought eight frames in different colors and sizes and put this together. I just love it.

For the holidays, I've changed out the prints with Christmas fabric. You could also try holiday scrapbooking paper or wrapping paper, but I chose fabric because I had it and wanted to avoid the glare paper might show. To make changing them back easy, I simply put my everyday fabrics behind the holiday ones. I’ll keep the holiday prints in back of the everyday prints when I switch back, too, for an easy update next Christmas.

Finally, add some greenery for a final decorating touch. It should stay in good shape for a couple of weeks and when the needles start to fall too much, I'll clip new pieces from the back of our Christmas tree.