DIY Sunday, Part Deux

DIY Wall Art

While doing some research for another post, I came across this post on a cool blog called This Young House, in which the authors created some wall art with a color copier and some attitude. It made me think of some of the wall art in my own home, so I thought I'd share with y'all.

I have a teeny apartment (though Houston-teeny would seem giganto compared to New York-teeny) and I'm happy to say that almost all of the furniture is second-hand. The artwork is mostly re-purposed as well. Here's how I made some of it:

The Michelangelo Canvas

As a teenager, I was pretty dorky and I had a favorite T-shirt (as art it might seem kickass, but picture it on a teen's chest). One year at camp I tie-dyed it. As many of us do with our favorite tees, I hung onto it past the point of usefulness. I stopped wearing it when I developed a modicum of fashion sense, but it still cluttered up my closet. So I turned it into art.

Step 1: I found an old bulletin board that was about the same size as the T-shirt graphics.

Step 2: I cut out the artwork on the T-shirt to fit the bulletin board, with some overlap.

Step 3: I stapled/ tacked the tee to the bulletin board.

Here's the back of the bulletin board. As you can see, I was not too exacting in my cutting/tacking.

Voila! Art!

The French-Inspired Bulletin Boards

Similar to the Michelangelo canvas, the French-inspired bulletin boards transformed regular bulletin boards into something higher and finer (or at the very least, they were transformed into something purple). The project began when I saw some canvas-and-ribbon-covered bulletin boards for sale at ridiculous prices. They were justifying the prices with some reference to French chateaus. It was one of those, "Why would I buy that? - I could make it!" moments.

Step 1: I bought enough fabric to cover the two bulletin boards I'd had since high school (so, I guess, pre-step 1, I measured the bulleting boards).

Step 2: I covered the bulletin boards with the fabric and stapled/ tacked it down.

Step 3: I criss-crossed the covered bulletin board with the accent ribbon and tacked it down.

Step 4: I covered the whole thing with pictures and mementos, because that's what a

good bulletin board is for.

The Japanese Cartoon Wall

Next to my desk, I wanted some art that would help me write (never underestimate the benevolent muse that might be conjured by a happy work area). I found a couple of pictures in magazines that I liked, but since I'm trying to be an adult I decided they should be framed. I'm a cheap adult, however, so I picked these cheap box frames from Target which basically just cover the picture with lucite. They turned out unexpectedly cool. I used one Adrian Tomine cover from The New Yorker (I subsribe, but I spent about 4 bucks for a magazine without an address sticker). The other is a page from the magazine Giant Robot, an awesome magazine about Asian-American pop culture.

I hope this post has inspired you to see the artistic possibilities in old T-shirts, random fabric, and magazine pages. Go forth and re-use and re-purpose with joy!