If I had my way, we’d hit up every art festival within a 100 miles (of your place or mine), and we’d buy every piece that catches our eye. For now, though, the budget allows for just the occasional art purchase. I solved this problem with a strategy for scrappy types like you: Make a wall collage that mixes purchased art with DIY pieces. While you’re at it,  make sure to own the fact that your work counts as art, too.

Make A Wall Art Collage for Less Than $150

Step 1: Gather Your Existing Pieces (Or Go Pick Up a Few)

At this step, you don’t need a plan. Just gather any art already have and bring it into the room. Do not skip this step. I stared at a blank wall for three years before summoning the energy to get this far. Beloved art sat lonely on the basement floor, and I robbed myself of the joy that came from finally hanging it.

If you don’t already have art, let’s get cracking. Depending on the size of your wall, you’ll need at least two pieces to start. Scour Etsy, check out that art fest, or visit a local thrift shop. Ask yourself just one thing: Does this piece make me happy? As Recycled Interiors points out, personal style matters because you deserve to feel good when you step into your home.

Step 2: Experiment With Arrangements on the Floor

Look at diagrams of collage configurations and consider your style. Do you like everything lined up perfectly? Or is an eclectic mash-up more your thing? Decide how much wall you want to cover, keeping your furniture in mind. In my case, I wanted the collage to stretch as wide as the couch and fill the vertical space above it. I browsed Pinterest for wall art collage and found examples that spurred me into action.

Now, start experimenting–on the floor. Measure the space you want to fill and mark it with painter’s tape. Get a sense for the additional frames you’ll want, using your favorite Pinterest pic as a guide. Play around! I didn’t have enough pieces yet, but I had to start somewhere. My temporary floor gallery gave me a feel for the number and sizes of DIY pieces I’d be making.

Remember, you get to choose how easy or hard your these’ll be. Spoiler alert: I completed two pieces in just one afternoon! Check out these shots of involving a frame I decorated. It features metal letters purchased during a fun tour of some fave Minneapolis thrift shops with a new friend.

Step 3: Make a Plan for Your Frames

Frames are not an afterthought. They drive the overall look and can class up your space on a budget. (BTW, this happens at the same time as Step 2.) You’re about to a few buy frames for DIY projects, so decide what color suits your room and mood. Silver? Black? Wood? If you’re the matchy type, pick one color. You’ll be buying multiples of it, if not the exact same frame. Even if you’re like me and prefer an artsy mix, you still need a color plan for your DIY pieces.

Decide whether you’ll buy a bunch of small frames, a few large ones, or a combination. When in doubt, go with what makes you smile. Then: Head to your local home goods store. I bought more options than I needed, knowing I’d return some later. For my DIY projects, I chose a wood theme and targeted a warm honey palette.

 

Step 4: Shop for Frames and Arrange Your Layout

When shopping, stick with your color plan. I was going for an artsy but cohesive look, so I gathered five or six honey wood frames. Each had different thicknesses and wood types, but none looked bad next to the others. One frame had a metallic board with magnetic clips. Another was mostly wood, with two small spaces for pictures. Yet another had a thick border with lots of space to display something. I bought a variety of others as well, not yet knowing which I’d use.

When you’ve bought multiple frames, lay them on the floor again. Rearrange as needed. As you experiment, follow two rules: 1) Line up the outside edges of your pieces so they form a square or rectangle and 2) fill in the shape as best you can. Gaps between pieces don’t have to match exactly. Once the frames are hung, your eye notices the impact of the collection, rather than focusing on gaps between the pictures. Create an arrangement you like, commit to those frames, and take a photo for reference when you hang.

Step 5: Make your DIY projects.

As soon as possible, return your rejected frames. (Whatever you do, do not drive around for two weeks with a full Target bag in your backseat. People who do this have big problems. Wink, wink.) Now: You get to personalize your pieces! To complete my collage, I ended up making three. Each frame lent itself to a different kind of project. Hit Pinterest for ideas that suit the frames you bought, or let my projects inspire you.

DIY Project #1: Magnet Board

One frame I found was a metal magnet board with three iron clips. This DIY is super easy, as all it takes is attaching something pretty to each clip. You may even have those things lying around your house already; it’s a great way to display photos! For me, this was a chance to use some of my handmade cards. Covering postcards with fabric, Mod Podge, and inspirational quotes is a heartwarming afternoon project.

DIY Project #2: Fabric Display with Dry Erase Marker

Another frame I found was almost a work of art in itself. Its thick, knobby wood made me want to reach out and touch it immediately. I just liked it, in that way that you don’t have to explain. Sometimes you just know you like something, am I right? For this project, I dug through my fabric stash and selected a few of my favorite remnants. I sampled them inside the frame, and a sagey beauty quickly emerged as the right fit.

It brought warmth to the space and was simple enough not to compete with the other artwork. I cut the fabric, leaving enough to wrap around the frame backing, and set it in place. It’s amazing how striking a piece of fabric looks inside a frame! I pulled out a dry-erase marker and put into words why this project mattered. Rather than staring at a blank wall, I would now be surrounded by art. B0nus: I can change the message anytime I want.

DIY Project #3: Custom Metal Message

One frame had two spaces for photos, along with a wide expanse of wood. It became the chance to finally use the metal letters I’d bought months earlier. I grabbed a tube of Gorilla glue, set up a table outside, arranged the letters, the glued them down.

I learned a lesson. When the instructions say a little glue goes a long way, they mean it! I applied way too much, which I later had to scrape off with a metal tool. (This took forever.) Once the letters were dry, I warmed up the frame with fabric pieces. The colorful textures seemed more artistic to me than snapshots. That’s the beauty of DIY; you get to make it however YOU want it.

Step 6: Hang Your Collage and Bask in Its Glory

Warning, this part is the most painful. But once you finish, you’ll be rewarded with a completely transformed space. I hung my collage months ago and it still boosts my mood every time I look at it. For this step, I measured and marked my outer square with painter’s tape. Then I made an outline of each individual frame with tape on the wall, too. (Many apologies that I forgot to take photos. Der!) I marked the distance between each frame’s hanging device and its intended height, so I’d know where to place the nails.

Finally, I hung the pictures, one by one. Whew, this was putzy! But even I did it in one afternoon, working on my own. Yes, I intentionally did this when my man was out of town. He’s way handier than I am, but he also has a self-proclaimed OCD about putting holes in the wall.

I have my own perfectionist tendencies, too, but I’ve worked hard to overcome them because you have to get out and live your life. I’d rather live surrounded by art, than worried about wall holes, wrinkly fabric, and excess glue. Now, go out there and make your own wall collage! Get your DIY on. You got this!

 

Can you believe it’s the last Wednesday in February, y’all? To a summer gal like me, the end of February is a welcome sign that we’re kicking through winter. This year the date brings another milestone, too. Today’s the last day of my first blog experiment. This month, I did something that took me weeks to build the nerve to try: Host a linky party, which is a way to start a conversation for blogs.

In this case, I invited bloggers to submit stories centered around mending self and making stuff. After all, these actions have changed my life, so I wanted to surround myself with gutsy women who are out there doing them, too. There are countless ways to interpret the theme, so I was curious to find out which stories would emerge.

This week I’m privileged to feature a story that spans a lifetime of making. It comes to us from poet and teaching artist Ren Powell, a Californian who has settled in Norway. (Can you blame her? Check out that shot of her by the lake.) Her post, “The Making of Objects,” brought up a mixture of emotions for me. In fewer than 700 words she traversed the decades and made me want to shout with frustration and longing and finally, vindication.

Powell’s story begins and ends with making things for people she cares about. On the surface this sounds sweet, and it is. But as Powell well knows, making objects isn’t just about making objects. She calls it an act of love; I call it an act of bravery. No wonder I’m drawn to the topic: Anything that combines these two acts is what matters in this world.

What strikes me about Powell’s story is the ease and regularity with which society dampened her voice. Whether she was 8 or 18 or 28, her call to create was present. However, as is often the case with women who express themselves, there were consequences. Each time someone diminished her work, she responded. More often than not, it seems, her reaction involved holding back.

Powell is hardly alone in this response. (Cough, cough. Ever heard the phrase, “Takes one to know one?”) When people are are told repeatedly over time that their efforts have little value, they hold back as a means for survival. As someone who’s recently learned to overcome past fears and embrace my creative voice, I was particularly struck by this quote: “I studied art in school. In college. I won little, local awards for poetry. But unless it was sanctioned by the gatekeepers who put monetary value on things, it was amateurish in my mind, and amateurish was a bad word.”

And so, I relished the ending of her story with enthusiasm. No longer crippled by the hesitance of youth, she found a way to embrace her creativity. In the end, love gave her the strength to embrace her medium and own her creations. I, too, have become weary of the gatekeepers and hope we can all learn from Powell’s post.

Thanks again to all the writers who joined me on my linky quest. Here’s a recap. Enjoy!

Initial Invite: Join Me in February: Mend, Make, Change

Week 1. This New Year, What Will You Create?

Week 2. Why Women Write: Global Edition

Week 3. Women and Husbands: Two Stories of Empowerment

Week 4. Making Stuff: An Act of Love or Bravery?

If you’ve been following along, you know I recently put out a call for bloggers to share their stories. Not just any stories, I thought you’d enjoy hearing from creative women about how they’re living the theme: Mend, Make, Change. Each Wednesday in February, I’m writing a post about entries from the week.

Last week, we met Linda from New York City, who’s making things happen by starting her own blogger’s group. I appreciated the spirit of her story: Undeterred by snowy streets and the possibility of no-shows, she went to the craft store anyway. Across the miles I’m cheering her on, and I hope her attitude will inspire you to go for it and start making that change you’re contemplating.

This week’s week’s submission comes to us from Poland and is all about writing. I was thrilled when this comment popped up on my blog: “I’ve wanted to join you from the very beginning and now I’ve got the post I had in mind.” The commenter turned out to be Emilia Ciepla of The Light Inside of Us, which is available in English and Polish. 

I don’t know about you, but I find it hard not to feel uplifted by a blogger who describes herself this way: “I’m someone looking for sense and light in life and if I’m lucky enough to find them I’m delighted to share them with you.” Her post this week, “Please, Come Out,” reads like poetry and encourages us to let go of limiting thoughts. As someone who’s spent the past few years working on this, I concur that life’s better when I manage to achieve it. 

Reading Emilia’s words got me thinking about women’s poetry and its ability to travel the globe. My thoughts immediately came to a blogger in Oslo whose work is so powerful I pause after reading each poem, just to take it in. If you’re a lover of language’s stark beauty, or need a reminder that humanity can be positive, I urge you to visit Nomzi Kumalo’s What Are You Waiting For. You only have to read as far as her About page to encounter wisdom such as this:

I believe that silence is golden. I believe that language is power. I believe that most answers lie in nature, meditation and yoga. Within ourselves. Participating in good causes big and tiny. I believe in love.

Before I started blogging, I couldn’t have predicted how much sanity I’ve gained from participating in this online community of creatives. Amplifying voices of encouragement makes a difference, and my own perceptions are more positive, thanks to the women who are making it happen.

It’s not too late to join the party. Bloggers, feel free to link your stories to the my mend, make, change page. For the next two Wednesdays this month, I’ll reflect on any submissions that come. Till then, I wish you light and love.

“The new year is a great time to create something.” Yay, they were the words of a kindred spirit, all right. And I was psyched. Three days before, I’d taken a risk. I’d put myself out there, in the hopes of finding fellow makers and doers. It’d taken me weeks to build up the nerve, but I’d finally posted a request for readers to submit stories to my very first linky party: Make, Mend, Change. And now, this quote had come from the party’s very first submission!

Linky parties are a method for bloggers to create community. They’re an invitation for others to write about a certain topic on their own blogs. Then, the original blogger organizes the posts together in one place, so like-minded readers can find a lively dialogue there. And though I didn’t know what I was doing, I decided I wanted to learn.

The thing is: The only way to learn anything is to get comfortable wading into unfamiliar waters. And so, I went for it, despite the “I’m okay with failure” post I’d already started writing in my head. You can imagine, then, how thrilled I was to see a comment pop up: “I guess somebody had to be first.” It was written by Linda of The Linda Life, the brave New Yorker who jumped right in and became the party’s first linker.

That alone was enough to endear her to me. But then I read her post and discovered that, yep, she’s a fellow maker, indeed. I especially loved this part: Just as I was taking a risk to build an online community, Linda was out there doing the same thing to build one in real life. It was enough to bring on a fist pump.

I enjoyed reading about Linda digging through the snow on the way to the bloggers’ group she founded. You can’t win them all, but now, I can’t wait to see how her group grows. So fellow bloggers. . . who’s ready to join Linda and me on our quest for community? I’d love to hear your own story of mending, making, or change. Changes big or small are welcome, and you’ve got all of February to submit your story. Till then . . . happy Wednesday!