Round Up of Inexpensive Wall Art

 Finding great looking things to hang on the walls without spending a fortune can be a challenge.

But NOT having great looking things to hang on the walls would be just SAD!






When we travel, I love to shop in all the fancy art galleries we see.
I should clarify the word "SHOP" and change it to "LOOK".
Oh, how I would love to rationalize spending thousands of dollars on unique pieces of art!
Alas, I just can't do it!
My thrifty alter ego reminds me that there are other ways to have pretty things on the wall.

I decided to do a post about the many ways and many places you to find great "art" for you walls.
Since I have been doing this for more years than I want to tell you....I will take you on a "art walk" around Sweetwater as well as share some great ideas from some other thrifty folks.

First though.....about frames and framing.
One of the best sources for frames is the thrift store. 
Look past the questionable "ART" in the frame and imagine it with your own.
A little spray paint or touch up with a sharpie can make a battered frame look new.
If you don't have access to a mat cutter, look for standard sized frames.

One great source for art is those vacation photos you take.
This is an enlargement of the view from our hotel on our trip to Hong Kong.  I used a photo effect program for my iPad called Waterlogue to create the watercolor effect. 

Look for coffee table sized art books at the thrift store.  You won't feel bad tearing out a page that has a fabulous image.  Adding an oversized mat allows the image to look larger than it actually is.

Note cards or greeting cards with a theme can make a nice tryptic. I have to confess that since I wanted the images from the purchased cards to be bigger, I scanned and printed them larger.  It probably doesn't exactly follow copyright law...but I did buy them and didn't make them that much bigger.

Wrapping paper come in many beautiful patterns.  A lot of boutiques sell single poster sized sheets of paper.  This chocolate themed paper will be perfect as subtle valentine decor...althought the "real" thing might be tastier.

Framing a tea towel is a similar way to have a large image on the wall.  Keep an eye open for these when you are boutique shopping. Here are two different towels switched out for the season with new mats in the same frame.

Those of you who are frequent readers know my obsession with fabric.  Using a fabulous print as a wrap around a frame is a simple way to create large interesting pieces of art.

I did a little looking for some other sources for interesting and inexpensive art.

Check out  https://www.posterhaste.com  
There are really wonderful options for personalized art here.

Mr. S got this print as a gift from the Sweetwater Daughter.

She ordered it from this site.
https://grafomap.com 

You just type in the place and a cool looking graphic is generated.


I think I might do one for our current location in blue.

Here are a couple of other people's blog posts about "cheap" art!

www.apartmenttherapy.com/cheap-art-frame-ideas

https://www.pinterest.com/favillephoto/unique-things-to-frame 

So....anyway....that is my roundup of ways to have "luxury" art on a budget.
What are your suggestions?
I would love to hear from you!