"Recycled" wall art

Sometimes my actions make absolutely no sense. I'll drop $150 on a dress I'll only wear a few times but I'll avoid purchasing a drink when I go out to eat because I'm too cheap to spend $2.50 on a soda.

But hey, I like to save my money when I can, and spend it when I feel like its worth it. Luckily, I also enjoy crafting, and re-using items whenever possible, so my frugalness does come in handy sometimes. So back when my roommate was moving and getting rid of some cool picture frames and a random art book she had- I grabbed 'em up in the thought I could do something pretty fun with them.
Photo frames: $0. 
Art book used to fill photo frames: $0. 
Creating something for nothing: priceless.

When I started the project I didn't know exactly what I was going to do. So I started with flipping through the book and cutting out paintings that caught my eye. Then I decided that instead of making each photo frame a random collection of pictures I'd group them together by color scheme. Ultimately I decided on green, yellow, red, neutral, and blue. Then came the hard part of deciding which paintings to use, and what part of them to use.

After about an evenings worth of work, I had finished my 5 frames- each with 5 paintings.

I love how the frame looked completely different depending on which direction you hung it.

In California I hung these on my eat-in kitchen wall. But in Chicago, I had a better idea for them. My bedroom has a lot of color already, but everything is green. So I figured they would provide a much needed splash of other color.

They look small in this photo, but in person the picture frames are perfect for me; 
they're clean looking and provide a pop of color without overpowering the wall. 
(My earring/necklace holder also provides an additional decorative touch.)

To avoid the monotony of having 5 frames of the same shape/size next to each other, I decided to rotate the middle frame 90 degrees. I just love the way doing something as simple as flipping a frame can make such a big difference.

I love each frame on it's own, but together I think it takes the project to a whole 'nother level.

I decided to put the red frame in the middle for a few reasons. Primarily, it was the darkest of the bunch, and centering it "grounded" the other frames. (When I put the red frame on the left or right side it made the whole thing look off-balance.) Also, I wanted to have the middle frame positioned horizontally. And luckily for me the red frame was the only one that could be rotated as it was the most abstract and none of its 5 pictures had to be in a certain orientation. (All the other frames all had at least one photo such that they could not be flipped.)

 

 
Click on the photos to enlarge them if you'd like a bigger view.

As you probably could tell my from folded book art, I hate bare walls. And being the frugal one I am, I love coming up with cheap ways to surround myself with unique, handmade art. Seeing that this project cost me a whopping zero dollars, I'd say it was a success!

Yours in getting down with your inner-artsy self,
Jacqueline

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