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FeedHome Décor with Paper Objects
While some people spend their days infusing new style into their wardrobes with the turn of each season, some of us put as much thought into our nests, looking for new little pops of décor to add to our homes. With endless options, people like myself tend towards the DIY, the revamped furniture pilfered from the basements and barns of family members, the new uses for old this-and-thats. Really just...cheap. Better yet, free!
With a little bit of creative skills—or at least time to browse Pinterest and Etsy—one of the most everyday objects in our lives can be made into great home decor: paper.
Fold up squares into hundreds of different forms after taking in some YouTube origami tutorials—add hearts or flowers to wire stems to make colorful (or neutral) bouquets. String cranes from the ceiling or perch rainbows of them on branches.
If you don't feel like you have the crafty skills to pull off something that complex, just go where your eye draws you—find pretty things and frame them. Maps of your travels, your grandmother's paper dolls, paper doilies, paper-punched letters spelling out your favorite sentiments. Thrift vintage magazines and frame the old advertisements. Print out your favorite quote or lyrics in mixed fonts and slap that in a frame. Frame old postcards or restaurant menus, or frame the one thing that many of you probably have in overabundance—your children's artwork. If a hodgepodge doesn't appeal to you, take a few bucks to your local craft store, buy several pieces of complementary scrapbook paper or fabric remnants, and frame those all by themselves!
Of course, you can always avoid the DIY entirely and go shopping on Etsy.com where you will find a plethora of mobiles...
buntings...
and other delights.
There is always a certain satisfaction that comes from making something beautiful for your home out of almost nothing—for free, for dirt cheap, by recycling, upcycling, or by putting an overlooked family heirloom on display. If you spend a little more time scouring used frames and refinishing them with spray paint, you can make an entire wall beautiful for less than a gallon of new paint!
