Pb inspired

Elizabeth of Broken Treasure was inspired by framed art from Pottery Barn featuring images on dictionary print to create her own as a gift for her son’s teacher. Elizabeth pasted together pages from an Early Childhood Education book she had and then stamped on an image of dandelion seeds blowing away. This technique offers great possibilities for repurposing old books into DIY wall art, and I love the idea of creating a grouping of framed images that hold personal meaning.

Make & Do Girl Jess shares her secret recipe for wall décor that’s full of “organic woody texture” and simple enough that anyone can make their own.  Jess says, “If you can smear paint on wood and use scissors, you can make this easy art.” Sounds pretty good, huh? Jess walks you through the whole process, including her painting technique to achieve the look of lovely weathered wood, and even offers variations for other coffee stirrer art projects.

After trying to freshen up an old mirror with paint, Katie from Upcycled Treasures still felt it was missing a little something. It was then that Katie stumbled upon a couple of rope mirrors that inspired her to act on her love for nautical décor. Katie hot glued manila around the twice-painted mirror frame and then added thinner rope threads at the top to cover the pesky seam where the rope ends met. Funny that Katie’s unplanned addition of the rope at the top is actually my favorite part of the mirror!

A desire to display her photographs led Elena from `a casarella to Pottery Barn, where she fell in love with a linen pinboard. Of course, what Elena didn’t love was the price of $159, so she made her own for under $20 using items from the hardware store. I love Elena’s mission to “free the pictures” that are usually “stuck” inside phones and computers, and her DIY pinboard is the perfect backdrop!

While on a recent trip, Debbie from One Day at a Time ventured out on a little shopping adventure while her husband was napping and just so happened to land a set of glass lamps for only $5.99 a piece on closeout. Talk about a steal! Sure, the clear glass was pretty, but Debbie had a different look in mind for the lamps and broke out the Looking Glass paint. The open bottoms made them the perfect candidates for Debbie’s faux mercury glass technique, as evidenced by the beautiful results!