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Updated: Nov 8, 2022 by Kris Jarrett

Make Your Own Art: 5 Simple Ideas!

Want to make your own art but don’t know where to start? I’m sharing five simple DIY art ideas!

Today I’m sharing ideas (that don’t cost much money!) for bringing art into your home. These are my five favorite ways to make your own art on the cheap! (psst…they’re all super simple) Let’s get to it… (post includes affiliate links – see my full disclosure statement {here})

1. Frame Agate Slices

After stenciling the walls as part of our budget bathroom makeover, I had a hard time finding art for over the toilet that was 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:

Frame agate slice coasters for simple do-it-yourself art! Post links to full step by step tutorial!

Be sure to get agate slices that are on the thinner side like mine because they’re much easier to frame. Simply add either glue dots like {these medium-sized ZOTS} or hot glue from a glue gun around the back rim of each slice and then mount 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 the details of my framed agate art {here}.

2. Use Feathers, Fronds, & Other Outdoor Finds

There are a lot 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:

Mantel with layered art including DIY feather art. Post includes ideas for other easy DIY art too!

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}.

Create your own DIY feather art - perfect for fall! Post includes other simple DIY art ideas too!

Another idea is to press and frame leaves or fronds like I did in our home office gallery wall:

Make your own art by simply framing pressed greenery!

You can get more of my gallery wall ideas {here}.

3. 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:

Dining room in neutrals with a statement-making plate wall - love!

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 to hang plates on the wall {here}, including the best hangers to use.

4. 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. Super simple and it’s easy to swap out art as new pieces are created!

Displaying your child's artwork by clipping it on to twine or ribbon

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:

Fireplace mantel decorated for spring - includes DIY cork bunny art!

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 cute art piece for me. She knows her mom well (I heart plaid!):

DIY plaid art made with painters tape, paint, and paint pens

It’s found a new home on our home office bookshelves (you can see more of our home office {here}):

Our home office built-in bookshelves

5. 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:

Spring fireplace mantel decorated with inexpensive printables (links to printables in post!)

You can find TONS of great inexpensive art printables {here}.

I hope you found a few new ideas to try from today’s post! I’ll see you back on the blog soon..

XO,

KJ Signature

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Categories: Decorating Ideas Tags: wall art

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Comments

  1. cassie bustamante says

    September 06, 2016 at 7:32 am

    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.

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      September 07, 2016 at 9:56 pm

      Such a cool idea! I love that you have chickens!!

      Reply
  2. Lisa | Shine Your Light says

    September 06, 2016 at 8:22 am

    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!

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      September 07, 2016 at 9:57 pm

      I’m very, very skilled at PIY! 🙂

      Reply
  3. Garden, Home and Party says

    September 06, 2016 at 9:24 am

    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

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      September 07, 2016 at 9:58 pm

      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!!

      Reply
  4. Jeanne says

    September 06, 2016 at 12:05 pm

    where did you find all the great frames though?

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      September 07, 2016 at 10:00 pm

      The frames are almost all from Target or Hobby Lobby – unfortunately they don’t carry any of the Target ones I have any more…

      Reply
  5. [email protected] Chronicles of Home says

    September 06, 2016 at 12:46 pm

    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!

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      September 07, 2016 at 10:01 pm

      Well, it’s true! You know how to rock it out with your DIYs AND in the kitchen! So glad you could join us!

      Reply
  6. Jennifer Griffin says

    September 06, 2016 at 12:51 pm

    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!!

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      September 07, 2016 at 10:02 pm

      Thanks Jennifer! Yes, she was so proud of that – it took her weeks and weeks to do!

      Reply
  7. Pam @ Simple Details says

    September 06, 2016 at 9:38 pm

    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!

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      September 07, 2016 at 10:04 pm

      Thank you so much Pam!

      Reply
  8. Lucinda says

    September 06, 2016 at 10:30 pm

    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.

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      September 07, 2016 at 10:04 pm

      I had no idea! Thank you Lucinda!

      Reply

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