MY FIVE FAVORITES: DIY ARTWORK

My blog friends Pam of Simple Details, Lisa of Shine Your Light, Kris of Driven by Decor and I are back today (and the first Tuesday of every month) for this month's feature of My Favorite Five.  Today we're sharing our favorite kinds of artwork!  

This month we're happy to welcome our guest host Jennifer from The Chronicles of Home.  Jen has been a friend for years and I enjoy following her projects on her blog as well as on Instagram.  Let me tell you, this girl can do it all.  Like, she builds FURNITURE and things from scratch!!  And, I'm dying to pull up a chair at her table some day to sample all of the wonderful recipes she creates.  I'm swooning over the guest room she recently completed in her home she's been renovating a little at a time.  Can't you see why I love her style so much?  Be sure to visit The Chronicles of Home today, I think you'll love it there as much as I do!

*Affiliate links used in this post.

Most of the artwork in my home has been a DIY project, so I'm specifically sharing my favorite DIY artwork projects today. 

BOTANICAL ART

It's no secret as I've mentioned it many times, but the botanical wall in my breakfast nook is probably my favorite wall in the house.  With inexpensive frames, pages from this book, and posterboard, I got a classic, huge statement wall for less than $100.  (I'm not sure why, but that book seems to always be a different price on Amazon.  I paid around $35 for it when I bought it.)

KIDS' ART

If you have children or grandchildren, or have a friend with kids,  you could have an abundance of artwork!  Choosing some of their best work and putting it in a frame makes it meaningful and helps them feel special to have their work on display.  If it's not a good fit to display front and center in your home, load up the walls of their room with their own work.  Even giving them a canvas and brush with paint colors you have chosen to complement the room can encourage creativity and produce a unique masterpiece!

Girl's Bold, Colorful Bedroom

This is not the best photo, but I've framed some of my kids' artwork in the laundry room as well.  My son did the big flower in elementary school and the larger one was done by my daughter when she was probably in kindergarten Sunday School.  "God knows everything about me. Psalm 139:3"   :)

This was a more recent school art project she brought home for me... think she knows what colors I like?  ;)

PHOTO ART

Of course, photographs are a great source for artwork.  Not only photos of family and friends, but everyday things that you find beautiful and places you've been are great candidates for artwork in your home.

We visited London two years ago, and loved feeding the swans on the Thames River right outside of Windsor Castle.  I enlarged one of those photos and it hangs on the gallery wall in our bedroom, such a good reminder of a once-in-a-lifetime trip!

We enlarged a photo of my daughter and made it into a hanging fabric piece of artwork over her bed.

My laundry room has a gallery wall full of all of my favorite faces...

We visited a local small airport and took photos of a plane that my son liked to make this large black and white artwork for his room, at a price of less than $20!

Here's another photography idea that I wanted to mention.  When putting together my son's gallery wall, we collected some of his favorite things (personalized Louisville Slugger, Lego guys, Jeff Gordon race car). I photographed them, and then had them enlarged and printed.  Popped in a frame they're a sweet reminder of some of his special things.  Thanks to Boxy Colonial for inspiring me with this great idea!

Kind of along the same lines, these oversized silhouettes were a fun project.  A friend shared that she tried this project after seeing it here, but wrapped the board in a fun patterned fabric rather than the ribbon stripes that I used.  Smart idea!

 These are large pieces that cover a lot of wall space for a fairly small price.

MEANINGFUL ART

Special mementos and keepsakes make great art if you can find a way to display them on your walls.  I have plaster casts of both children's handprints from when they were babies, and by adding a hook to the back and hanging them with ribbon, they're a sweet reminder of when they were that tiny. 

Enamel Sign

Special notes can also be keepers to frame.  We found this in my son's pocket when he was about 9 and attending his first large camp out of town with my husband.  He wrote it out and kept it with him incase he got lost (and was unable to speak, apparently ;) we got a chuckle out of that one.  Firstborn.).

It now hangs on his gallery wall in his room, along with a hammer from a family friend, who gave it to him when he turned 13, reminding him to "work hard."

PAINTED CANVAS

Lastly, one of the easiest and most economical pieces of DIY artwork is a painted canvas! Inspired by an Audrey Hepburn quote, I painted this over an old thrifted canvas as a reminder to my daughter as she enters the teen years that a happy countenance makes the prettiest face.

I painted this abstract canvas with .50 craft paints last year, and recently showed you how I bulked it up a bit by framing it out.

My talented and creative sister painted this landscape of one of our favorite spots in the mountains for my birthday one year from a photograph we had given her.  I adore it in the ornate gold frame.  Painted canvases can take on a completely different look if they are framed or unframed.

Disco Ball  ||  Pillow  ||  Marquee Letter

Do you have any DIY artwork in your home?  Be sure to head over to Simple Details, Shine Your Light, Driven by Decor, and The Chronicles of Home to check out their favorite kinds of artwork- I know you'll find lots of good inspiration!

Missed any previous My 5 Favorites posts? Catch up here!

My 5 Favorite Paint Colors
My 5 Favorite Quick and Easy Holiday Decorating Ideas

My 5 Favorite Tips for Organizing Your Home

My 5 Favorite Home Decor Accessories
My 5 Favorite Ways to Decorate for Spring
My 5 Favorite Pillows
My 5 Favorite Ways to Decorate an Outdoor Space
My 5 Favorite Fabrics
My 5 Favorite DIY Projects
My 5 Favorite Ways to Use Mixed Metals