I’m no artist, but I am creative. And cheap, haha! I’ve got some art tricks up my sleeve for DIYs and free art to print. Come take a look at five beautiful and simple FREE art ideas!
Stamping
Last week I decided to experiment with these thrift store frames I bought for $10 each. The frames had scuffs and nicks, so I painted them black.
The art was OK, but just not me. I painted the the matting and canvas white and the trim French Gray.
I keep seeing black and white plant silhouette prints and love them! I was nervous to freehand my own and also like the stamp effect so I decided to try sponges! Here is what I did. It is seriously so easy, it’s foolproof.
You know, this would be really pretty large-scale on a wall too!
Watch the one minute video:
Roller
I made these abstract black and white pieces with a sponge roller cut in half. That’s it! So simple, yet so striking.
Freepik.com
My reading nook is really coming along! I hope to finish it and style it so I can show you all of it. I added this moulding over the weekend! Check it out on Instagram.
I did four 8×10 gold frames on either side. I got them on Amazon for about $7 each and the gold color is so pretty — not too bronze or orange. I also like that the clips swivel so I can easily change out art. I’ve also got a sweet trick to hanging frames with string so it stays secure!
I found these and these pretty illustrations on freepik.com. They are free for personal use!
I put them on each page individually and printed them in grayscale. Then came the fun part of painting them! I didn’t paint them perfectly on purpose. I like the imperfect, artistic look much better.
Next, I found this gold string from Hobby Lobby. It was $1.50 with a 40 percent off coupon. Don’t forget you can find the coupon on their home page and they can scan your phone at the register!
I had upholstery nails already, but I wanted them to be gold so I spray painted them.
Then I couldn’t figure out how to ensure the duct tape would hold the rope. I thought about glue or Liquid Nails, but then I had the idea to use a nail to hold the frame and make the upholstery nail and string purely decorative!
So you have two nails — one for the frame and one just to look pretty.
I love personality and vintage feel of the string and gold thumbtack! It takes up more space on the wall too.
Unsplash.com
You can find beautiful images like this ocean photo on unsplash.com. It is an incredible resource as it is free and royal-free!
I used one image and cropped it in half to make two. I printed them (16×20) online at Costco for $7 each!
NY public library
Another great resource is the NY Public Library’s digital collection. There are so many vintage finds here!
NYPL is where I found these lovely drawings of the life of Jesus. I cleaned them up a bit and you can download them from this post.
Check out my pinterest board for my favorite free art prints from royalty-free websites. So many pretty options!
