Want to make your own art but don’t know where to start? I’m sharing five simple DIY art ideas!
Hi all! This month I’m sharing simple ideas for bringing art into in your home on the cheap with my five favorite ways to create your own art (psst…they’re all super simple!). Ready to see? (post includes affiliate links – see my full disclosure statement {here})
Frame Agate Slices
After stenciling the walls in our powder room, I had a hard time finding pieces of art to stack over the toilet that were simple and didn’t compete with the patterned walls. I ended up stumbling upon some beautiful agate slice coasters at a local home store (you can also find agate slices online {here}) and decided that they would be the perfect simple but elegant art for my space:
As long as you have thin slices like mine, framing them is as easy as adding either glue dots like {these medium-sized ZOTS} or hot glue from a glue gun around the back rim of each slice and then mounting them to card stock cut to fit your frame. For a step-by-step tutorial with pics of how to knock out this simple DIY, check out {this post}.
Use Feathers, Fronds, & Other Backyard Beauties
There are lots of natural elements that can make simple, beautiful art, including many that you might be able to find in your own backyard. One of my favorites is feathers – I created a piece of art for over our fireplace that’s made up of five feathers in an alternating pattern that I simply hot glued onto card stock and framed:
I found three of my feathers on walks and bought the other two at the Country Living Fair but if you’re looking for a good online source you can find lots of feather options {here}.
Another idea is to press and frame leaves or fronds like I did for our home office gallery wall:
Neither of these art projects could be more simple but they’re actually some of my favorite art pieces in our home.
Design a Plate Wall
Whether they’re cherished heirlooms or simply plates that you really love, think about hanging them as art like I did in our dining room:
For some reason creating this large plate wall totally intimidated me and I put it off for months but it actually ended up being super easy to do! You can read more about how I planned out my plate wall and what I hung my plates with {here}.
Let Your Little Ones Do the Work for You
There is no better art than something made by a little one that you love, right?! A fun, casual way to display art that your children or grandchildren or other little ones bring home is to use clothespins (mine are covered in striped washi tape) to clip artwork onto strung ribbon or twine. Simple and easy to swap out as new pieces are created!
My girls are both teens so we don’t get much artwork coming home from school anymore but they still love to be creative. My youngest daughter and I made some new spring art for our fireplace by cutting bunny shapes out of corkboard sheets and hot gluing faux flowers on them:
And every now and then I still get a little something home from school – last year she spent weeks of art club taping and painting to create this beautiful art piece for me. She knows her mom well (I heart plaid!):
It’s found a new home on our home office bookshelves (you can see more of our home office {here}):
Print it Yourself
OK, this isn’t really an idea for DIY art, it’s more like PIY art – print it yourself. If you’re lacking on time or creativity, there are TONS of fun art prints that you can download and print instantly for just a couple of dollars like this deer art printable and Let’s Stay Home art that I’ve used for art on our fireplace mantel:
You can find TONS of cute art printables {here}.
Hope you found a few fun new ideas to try from this My Five Favorites post! If you missed any of my past posts from our My Five Favorites series, you can catch up here:
XO,
cassie bustamante says
emmy and i have been collecting feathers from our yard to make some feather art! we also have some cool chicken feathers, but i want to keep that separate… make two. one that is our own chicken breeds, and another that is wild birds of our area.
Kris Jarrett says
Such a cool idea! I love that you have chickens!!
Lisa | Shine Your Light says
I think you just coined a new phrase – I am an excellent PIYer 🙂 …..mad printing skills over here! Your feathers were such a cool thing to frame…..and love your daughter’s plaid art she made you!
Kris Jarrett says
I’m very, very skilled at PIY! 🙂
Garden, Home and Party says
Kris,
There are some great ideas here. I love to create my own seasonal art work since I can be changed out after a couple of months with something different. Graphics Fairy (online) has a ton of vintage graphics free to download. I love the pieces you’ve created and your daughter’s plaid painting is wonderful. Like you, plaid is my favorite color! 🙂
xo,
Karen
Kris Jarrett says
Shoot – the Graphics Fairy would have been a great idea to include in my post (that’s where my octopus print is from!). And yes, plaid is the best!!
Jeanne says
where did you find all the great frames though?
Kris Jarrett says
The frames are almost all from Target or Hobby Lobby – unfortunately they don’t carry any of the Target ones I have any more…
[email protected] Chronicles of Home says
Martha Stewart on steroids…that made me laugh out loud, you are too funny! Thank you for saying such nice things though 🙂 I love love LOVE the framed agate slices, what a great idea! I have a few coasters but we don’t really use them that much, I would love to out them on display like that instead. Thanks so much for having me join you all this month!
Kris Jarrett says
Well, it’s true! You know how to rock it out with your DIYs AND in the kitchen! So glad you could join us!
Jennifer Griffin says
These are great, Kris! Those agate slices are so beautiful and would be such a great DIY, especially with agates possible picked up while traveling! And how fabulous is your daughter’s plaid painting? Wow!!
Kris Jarrett says
Thanks Jennifer! Yes, she was so proud of that – it took her weeks and weeks to do!
Pam @ Simple Details says
Oooh, I can’t even choose a fave! Love the simplicity of these DIYs and how they can transition for the seasons! I’d still be procrastinating if that plate wall were at my house! It was such a fabulous addition!
Kris Jarrett says
Thank you so much Pam!
Lucinda says
Your art is beautiful, but just would like to warn your readers that the collecting of most wild bird feathers in the USA is prohibited under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. It doesn’t matter how they were obtained. I doubt you would be prosecuted because the act was primarily intended to prevent the killing of birds for sale of their feathers. It also includes nests and eggs.
Kris Jarrett says
I had no idea! Thank you Lucinda!