Photo Décor

As you walk around the rooms of your home, do you find that you stop and view a wall that has been adorned with some form of decoration that now seems dated or tired or do you have a blank canvas waiting to be filled? Perhaps you have flipped through scrapbook magazines or scrolled through blogs or websites where captured moments are preserved in the wildest of ways or used on layouts that take your breath away. Do you wonder "how do they do that?" or "can I do that?"

You may be asking yourself how does photography and home décor equate to hybrid scrapbooking? With every technique that we have at our disposal as hybrid scrapbookers, we are able to take photos from average to awesome in just a few, short clicks of the mouse. We have the best of both worlds, traditional with paper and digi-goodness at our fingertips! We can allow our photos to jump off the page, figuratively and literally, and explore limitless possibilities of photos in every area of our creative lives!

I recently sat in front of two blank walls in my new dining room and decided I wanted to create something that, when viewed by my family and guests, spoke of what represents our home. I went back to my idea journal, rightly named "A Chronology of Creativity", and flipped through ideas that I had torn out of magazines, sketched on a napkin or post-it, or photographed while on a journey. There I found a photo taken in Hobby Lobby of a word matted and framed, made out of photographed letters. I remember thinking at the time how perfect that piece would look in any home.

I started sketching ideas out in my book of what I wanted it to say and look like and, not having a fortune to spend on making my new piece of art, began to jot down notes of how I could make something for very little money. By combining photography, Photoshop filters, and scrapbooking/crafting materials I created a fun focal piece to take over a very plain wall.

Supplies:

• 13 unfinished wooden IKEA frames ($1.99/3 pack of frames = $10.00 for 15 frames)
• 1 can of black satin spray paint ($3.00)
• 5 sheets of double sided matte photo paper ($0.00 - on hand)
• Sanding Block
• Adhesive

I began by sanding down the unfinished frames. The best thing about these frames is that the back already comes equipped with photo hanging capability. After sanding, I moved outside to spray paint all of the frames at once. Then I let them sit until completely dry (about 24 hours). I searched Flickr.com for images of each letter. If you plan on doing this for publication purposes, please make sure you check the Terms Of Use and credit the artist.

Next I cropped and ran filters on my images and printed each letter separately on double-sided matte photo paper. I then cut each letter out with a ½ inch border around the outside and placed each in a frame, mounting the frames on the wall to form words.

Live Laugh Love by Brianne Nevill

Digital Supplies: Super Fun Happy Action by Totally Rad Actions, Ornate Frame by House of 3, Photos by Leo Reynolds (Flickr).

Supplies: Cardstock: Staples.