Fabulous Art for Fabulous Friday

With the holidays rapidly approaching, the thoughts of coming houseguests may cause many a thoughtful eye to be cast around our homes. Exactly how would this house look through the eyes of a guest? Of course with gifts to purchase/create noone really wants to spend very much, if any, of their financial resources on eye candy for the house. Today's post provides a great example of quality art---for less.

Using frames, patterned scrapbook paper, extra stamps from a stamp collector's stash, a butterfly from a bug collection, foreign currency sent in the mail as a sample for collectors, and repositionable adhesive already on hand (yes, all of it), 14-year-old Mustard Seed was able to create quick and easy art for a rapid-redo done on her bedroom one afternoon. Yes, that is correct, one afternoon.

Here's how:

• Take back off of frame and remove backing
• Select scrapbook paper in pattern of choice
• Trace around back of frame onto scrapbook paper and cut out
• Using repositionable adhesive, attach objects of choice in desired position
• Place in frame
• Replace back of frame
• Hang or display where desired

This project is super easy, super fast, and super, duper fun!  Even the littlest members of the family can be artists with this project.  Black and white or sepia copies of favorite photos would be spectacular displayed in this manner.  One of my favorite things about this project is the repositionable adhesive that allows for the rearranging of objects while deciding on a final placement.  Love it, love it, love it.

Don't need new art for the home?  Go ahead and scrounge through your collections anyway.  There is gift potential galore here!  Some of our favorite ideas for variations are included below.

• Memories: Using copies of photos, receipts, recipes, ticket stubs, letters, buttons,  and other momentoes, create a memory in art. 
• Fabric collage: Instead of scrapbook paper, gather random pieces of fabric and trim, arrange into an eye-pleasing collage.  Buttons could be attached here and there using glue dots or hot glue.  Photos of your favorite seamstress and/or scraps of journalling containing your favorite memories of the person pictured would create a personalized memory and/or gift.
• Vintage pictures arranged collage style
• Silhouette layered on top of scrapbook paper or fabric.  Silhouette could be crafted from paper/fabric that is either plain or in a coordinating pattern.
• Hand-crafted serving tray: After creating art, attach handles to each end of picture frame to create a personalized serving tray that would be perfect for serving holiday treats or look lovely on a ladies' dressing table.