Here we are in 2016! I hope everyone has gotten off to a great start in the first few days of the New Year! I enjoyed the holiday break visiting with family and friends, eating way too much, and remaining 95% unplugged from technology for the entirety of our Christmas vacation! The week prior to Christmas I was having some technical difficulties with the blog photos…any of you who view with your phones may have noticed that the photos were upside down or sideways! I was planning on trying to figure out what was up with this technological glitch but honestly decided not to fret about it during the holiday! I’m testing something new this morning and hope it works but if not, I promise to get to the bottom of this with much needed help from my friend who knows more about computers than I do! But until then, I will keep moving forward with some DIY fun! I don’t know about you, but when the holidays are over and all the decorations come down…my house seems a bit barren! But I have mixed feelings about seeing everything go…while it’s sad to think of packing up all the festivity, the Christmas tree’s finest moments had withered and gone and I was feeling anxious for something fresh again. I’d been thinking a little ahead over the break and I knew I wanted to make some kind of “artwork” to set on the cabinet in my living room after the holiday decor was gone. It’s funny how ideas come to you sometimes isn’t it? But while I was working on some Giggle mini magnet boards I found my inspiration. I often come across interesting things inside the frames I purchase…and behind a framed 1943 teaching certificate was a simple piece of fabric turned backwards to fill the space between the paper and the backing. When I flipped the fabric over I absolutely fell in love! The pattern was so fun and graphic I decided to keep it in that small frame and use it in my home somewhere. So that silly little scrap of vintage fabric inspired my DIY artwork for the empty space in my living room!
refresh a room with fabric…
once i saw that wonderful little swatch of fabric within the tiny frame i knew it would be so lovely to replicate on a larger scale! not only is it an inexpensive way to create graphic artwork, you can recycle the fabric later for another project! at a local resale shop i discovered a large, gilded frame that was desperate for a bit of TLC. with my husband’s help we tightened up the corners and removed a wooden backing that once held in a mirror…the rest of the imperfections are part of its vintage charm!
i found some fabric that i loved and bought enough to fill the opening of the frame…
and simply stretched it over the opening, cut it to size, and attached it with push pins! SO EASY!
now i have a large and unique piece of graphic art for my living room!
there’s so many fabrics to choose from…and a yard will most likely fill most frames so you could even splurge a little! i love the way the soft gray looks in my home right now…but come spring i may want to swap it out for something more colorful!
and a touch of some fresh flowers always helps to liven up a room after the tree comes down!
the pattern within the frame adds something to an otherwise empty space…and balances the other patterns in my room!
so if you need to fill some barren spaces now that the holidays are over…frame up some textiles! an old tablecloth with a pattern you love or even a quilt…get creative and give your home