vintage, “everyday art”.

Even though we live in an apartment, hanging things on the walls is terribly important to creating a homey atmosphere. Between being stuck with “blah beige” walls (you know how I adore color from my previous living space!) and living in the same layout as at least a few dozen other people in the complex, injecting personality that makes our living space truly “ours” has been a top priority. However, being on a shoestring budget meant that it wasn’t as simple as taking a trip to the local high-end antiques shop or Crate and Barrel. I’ve collected a mish-mash of things over time to decorate the walls with in nearly every room (to the point where I now am thinking I need to put the brakes on it–we’re running out of free space!), most of which is “found art” or things that are not necessarily meant to be hung on the wall. My latest purchase is perhaps my favorite and I just had to share it with you!

framed with a bt of felt behind to hold the pieces in place.

I recently spotted a few sets of vintage paper dolls on Etsy that I thought would be perfect for hanging over my workspace. I have a huge soft spot for paper dolls (I had a whole bin of them when I was little!) and these lovelies date to the 1940s so their adorable fashions definitely appealed! They were not expensive and somewhat show the wear of time and play (which I think makes them all the more precious), but for my purposes they are perfect. I framed a few with some spare frames I had stashed away and hung a few others along a piece of lace I have strung across one wall. It’s an easy way to add color, inexpensive, and is also quite unique!

strung up simply with a piece of vintage lace for “string” and mini clothespins.

These dolls ended up in my sewing nook, a corner of the spare room, is my spot where I can let my ultra-feminine side go in decorating. (I try to keep it a bit more tempered in the rest of the house–since Sailor Husband, although he appreciates my girly side, isn’t as enthusiastic about old dresses hanging on the walls or pink as I am!) I especially like to hang pieces that inspire me; whether it be clippings from an old magazine, vintage button cards, bits of old dresses or lace, I find it helps create a creative vibe in my little spot. But I’m thinking that they’d eventually look just as at-home in a playroom in the future!

What are some of your favorite “found art” objects? Do you collect anything to hang on the walls as art? What sort of “everyday art” catches your eye?

More pictures of the vintage paper dolls (if you want to take a peek!) can be found here.

This somewhat worn old platter ($1 at a charity thrift shop!) now serves as a place to keep all my “vanity table” items, and also odd bits of jewelry.

Even before I had a place larger than a bedroom to call my own, I always found thrift stores a valuable spot to find so many odds and ends to add color and character to a space. I’m a bit of a magpie in that I pick up a lot of things that catch my eye; I’m not a very focused collector at all! Plus I tend to be drawn to pieces that are a bit less than perfect and are cheap… for some reason those are the ones that always want to come home with me. But I also like them even more if they aren’t just the sort of thing to sit around a “look pretty”–but can serve some other purpose, like being used as a container for other things. A nice marriage of vintage charm and practicality (and budget!). I thought I’d show you a few of my favorites and give you an idea of what I like to keep my eyes open for while thrifting. While giving you a sneak peek around the house! I plan on doing more interior decorating related posts going forward, since I enjoy it so!

It’s holding hats right now, but this estate sale find hat box will eventually be used to hold fabric scraps in my sewing nook.

Old tea cup saucers are really useful–I have a hole stack of them that I bought at 1/2 off day recently. This one holds some fossils from Sailor Husband’s collection.

I think this old crate came with me when I moved here (so it was my mother’s originally), but it now sits in the living room holding all my records.

This pretty china pot has a lid somewhere, but I have used it for ages to hold writing tools and scissors near my sewing nook. It’s a good weight for that, plus it’s pretty and colorful!

One of my favorite containers: this silver-plate bowl I found at Goodwill last year. It now holds our starfish and coral collection! I like to let silver go a bit tarnished; I’m not into the super shiny look.

Another inexpensive Goodwill find: a silver-plate tray. Originally purchased to put Christmas cookies on, this has worked well on the living room table since as a display piece.

What are some of your favorite household decor items to look for? Do you like thrifting/antique shops or discount stores best? Bonus points if you have pictures of favorite finds in your home!

[ mostly organized! ]

Organizing my sewing supplies has been on my to-do list for quite some time, but one of those things that has been hard to do. First, from lack of space when I was living with my parents (everything was divided between my bedroom and the basement!). Currently it was because most of the fabric, notions and such were still in the big, plastic bins I moved with, and in our already overcrowded second bedroom closet (aka the “storage unit”). Which meant every time I wanted something I had to dig. This in turn resulted in my being monumentally lazy about having to dig to put stuff back, so by the end of my most recent sewing binge, the room was pretty much ready to be declared an Official Sewing Disaster Area (OSDA).

[ stacked fabrics and shoe boxes of notions and trims. ]

[ vintage machine attachments and favorite magazines. ]

[ inspiration line above the shelving. I change this from time-to-time. ]

Finally frustrated with the chaos and inability to easily access my supplies (which would make my sewing time more efficient–at least in theory), I decided to buy a couple of inexpensive shelving units from Ikea and get to work streamlining things. Most of the patterns, fabric and notions are now easily accessible across the room–I no longer have to go digging so much! (Although, to be honest, there still is a few boxes in the closet: scraps, heavy fabrics, modern patterns, etc.) It’s still not perfect: I need a few more boxes for some of the smaller notions/trims and a new organizer for my buttons; but it’s pretty darn close to perfect for me!

[ paper and fabric flowers I made for decorating the walls. ]

It’s nice to look at too–just seeing the fabric out inspires me to get started on some new projects! Plus, every time I walk in the room I get a smile on my face… Thanks to Sailor Husband’s ever amusing sense of humor. Notice the GI Joe doll on the top shelf? After I put my 50th Anniversary Barbie up there (along with the creepy foam head I use to hold and display hats), he thought it would be hilarious to put Joe up there too. lol. That guy cracks me up!

I’ll eventually do a post to show you where my sewing machine and serger reside, but that area is still getting the kinks worked out as far as neatness and organization go…

[ click for a larger view. ]

Please excuse a bit of a different post for Friday this week. Having been without my computer for most of the week, I didn’t keep up with my blog reading/bookmarking enough to be able to put together an Inspiration Week post for today!

After a few months of becoming painfully aware that the current state of jewelry “organization” was woefully inadequate (e.g. things piled into a small, vintage lotus bowl and stuffed in an organizer in my closet), I knuckled under and did something about it last weekend! A few years ago I had made a jewelry organizer from an old frame (hanging on the right), which worked for a time and still is in use now. But, not only did it need to be updated (new paint job), but I had outgrown it. I don’t have a huge costume jewelry collection, but it’s large enough and if I don’t have it out in the open I forget what I have.

[ click for a larger view. ]

So I decided to make a two piece set to house all my jewelry that could be hung to store it (necklaces, hook earrings, non-bangle bracelets) as well as a place for all my brooches. I used the smaller frame I already had and another I had picked up at a yardsale a couple months ago. Both were painted with a glossy black paint (leftover from painting our dining room chairs), and then I stocked up on silver tone nails, hooks, wire and window screening to add the storage capacity to each.

[ click for a larger view. ]

The larger frame got the screening for storing pins as well as a series of hooks to hang necklaces on from the bottom edge (tacked to the backside of the frame). The smaller frame was fitted again with wire (suspended between nails) to hold earrings. For less than $15, I have loads of storage space for my jewelry! For the first time in years, I’ve got almost all of it out on display so I know what I have and can actually wear it. lol.

How do you store your jewelry? Do you have an elaborate system, or something much more simple? I’d love to hear your ideas!!!

[ click for a larger view. ]

[ click for a larger view. ]

I’ve been collecting frames for the past months, with the intention to liven up a big, blank wall in our living room. It’s huge, beige and boring. Today I finally pulled out the stack of frames, boxes of photos (both family and found images I’ve bought at antique shops over time), and some scrapbooking supplies–determined to add a bit of personality and color to our “problem wall”! I thought it would be fun to show you all how I did this, especially since it’s both easy, colorful and inexpensive (the latter being the catchphrase for most of my decorating!). I know it’s a take off from the usual fashion-centered fare here, so I hope someone will find it useful!

[ click for a larger view. ]

To do this project you’ll need: a frame (the picture area being larger than the photo you intend to frame), a snapshot or old photo, scrapbook paper (old wallpaper, wrapping paper, etc. would work just as well. Just realize these tend to not be archival safe; a concern especially for older photographs), stick on labels (optional; mine are from the Martha Stewart line of scrapbooking supplies), ruler, pencil, pen, and scissors.

[ click for a larger view. ]

Begin by measuring the photo area of your frame and measure out on the backside of the scrapbook paper. An easier way to do this is just remove the paper insert that comes in many new frames and trace it. Cut out.

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Measure your photo, and mark where you would like to center it on your piece of scrapbook paper. I positioned mine slightly above the horizontal center mark, to allow for a label. Attach the two top photo corners. I found this worked best when the photo was slipped into the corners.

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Attach the bottom corners.

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Attach the stick on label. This is totally optional, but I thought added a bit of charm to the piece. You can write something in, or leave it blank!

[ click for a larger view. ]

Slip the entire piece into the frame, secure the back on, and find a wall to add a bit of color and fun to! I’ve also done this with a handful of other photos and love how it sets the pictures off, without the fussiness of using a mat (or annoyance of cutting your own!).

[ click for a larger view. ]

I hope you enjoyed this! I’ve been pumping out loads of budget-friendly decorating ideas lately. Especially Christmas ideas. We just found out last week that Sailor Husband’s family is going to be celebrating both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in our little apartment, so ideas on how to add a bit more festivity (we don’t have many Christmas decorations yet!) on a shoestring have been my newest brainstorm! hehe!