Beautiful art by Leslie Graff

I knew I had to pass along one of my latest discoveries. I am totally smitten with the gorgeous artwork of Leslie Graff. The best part is that most of her work is available in canvas and giclee prints which means having a beautiful piece hanging on your wall at an affordable price is not out of reach. 

Don't these remind you of Betty Draper? 

Thanks to the Shabby Apple blog for the introduction to this amazing artist. 

summer colors

I am head over heels for every single one of Victoria Webb's beautiful paintings. 

She sells her stunning work in her etsy shop, Furious Dreams.

I would really love to buy one for my home but I am having the hardest time coming even close to picking one. 

Which one would you choose? 

tickets please

One of the first blogs I started reading was A Little Sussy. I love Nicole's fresh style 

and her creative photo shoots.  Way back in February, she posted these darling hearts 

made out of this and that. I was instantly smitten with the whole concept.

I thought this was such a darling and inexpensive idea for wall decor. 

All you would need is a poster board or art paper, a frame, and some of these. 

I think I am going to recreate this with my monogram. 

Welcome Sponsor: Kiki and Polly

I am so excited to welcome my newest sponsor, artist Lisa Golightly.

I first discovered Lisa's work through a friend who had some custom pieces done 

and I was instantly smitten with her use of color. I am always looking for 

beautiful and affordable art for clients and Lisa's prints are just that. 

Her etsy shop, Kiki and Polly is full of joyful pieces with just enough color. 

I have used them in a few client projects and I can't get enough. 

I am thrilled to welcome Kiki and Polly as a sponsor on this blog. 

If you have an empty wall in your home that needs some love, 

I'm sure you'll find just thing from Kiki and Polly

pretty prints

One of my friends told me I had to do some research on an artist named Lisa Golightly. Normally I probably would have forgotten the name, but my love of Audrey Hepburn burned the name Golightly into my brain. 

I just sat down and thanks to google, and her website Kiki and Polly I have a new favorite artist. Her paintings are just hauntingly beautiful. I want them all!

You can purchase prints here, or if you'd like a custom portrait there is information here. 

You can expect one of these to show up on my doorstep very soon. 

children's art

You know I love a good piece of child's art, as evidenced here and here. 

Well I am completely smitten with this darling gallery wall that Liz over at 

Say Yes to Hoboken created with her son Hank's watercolors. She is so creative! 

art is everywhere

Wouldn't a series of these paper place mats of NYC make an awesome gallery wall? 

I love the crispness of the black and white. 

gift idea # 4 A pretty painting

My husband loves simple landscapes. For a while now I've been trying to find some affordable additions to our collection. For Father's Day this year he received a lovely watercolor from Paintbox Landscapes. I love the simple airy style of these gorgeous watercolors. 

I would love receive another one of these under the tree. 

gift idea # 3 Vintage Chalkboard

This vintage inspired chalkboard from PH Design Studio would be adorable for children or just a quirky place to leave notes. I added one of these to my son Winston's christmas list. 

Gift idea # 1 Simple Silhouettes

I'd be happy to receive pretty much anything made by Le Papier Studio. 

This is a classic and cool gift that will never go out of style. 

Great for a newlywed couple or a young family. 

I'd really love one of these for my little family. 

Old is new-Silhouettes

There is nothing more old fashioned than a silhouette.

This might be my favorite take on the trend I've seen yet.

 It would be so easy to recreate this using clipart images from the 

web or this wonderful book by dover designs and some simple black frames. 

DO you spy the marimekko print peeking along the bottom? 

I am loving black and white right now. 

Image via decorpad

art

I always tell my clients to look for affordable art on etsy. 

Case and point. 

letterpress poster by rollandtumble

  bees by Rozart

   retro owls via ferntree

   Telephone pole via elisaann

  fall pond via Larry Ney

monogram via goodpaper

Speaking of affordable art

A few pages of this lovely book  from ModCloth would make wonderful affordable art in simple frames. 

Perfect for that cabinet of curiosities look. 

Art done simply (and cheaply)

image above via John Derian

From project to project I have learned that one of the most challenging and expensive things is coming up with affordable art that is unique and personal. I find that wall decor is usually the thing that breaks the budget (or really stretches it). Even buying target frames can add up. 

Most of the wall art in my house is falls in to four categories;

 thrifted paintings and sketches, family photography, botanicals or personal mementos. Any of you who have tackled this same issue know how much custom framing can cost, which is why I almost never do it. 

A great alternative to custom framing is buying ready made or vintage frames and then having custom mats cut. A standard mat for an 8 x 10 costs about 10-12 dollars. This is dramatically lower than custom framing would be and you get a really similar look. 

Often times I am working on projects that don't even allow room to purchase any matting. A perfect example is the groupings I had framing the fireplace at the Delta Gamma House. We were spent on the budget so I took pages from old Delta Gamma newsletters and mounted them on nice linen art paper from Michaels. The frames cost me $5 a piece and the paper was 3.50 for an 14x20 sheet. So for roughly $6 a piece, I have semi custom art on a budget. 

Flash cards- the new magnetic poetry

After seeing these darling framed flash cards at the Sundance outlet my mind started spinning with ideas. Then when I saw these multiplication tables from sweetshorn vintage I was reminded of them. 

Think of all the sentences you could make with a set of flash cards. I'm sure we could all benefit from being reminded of our multiplication tables. And don't even get me started with the finds on ebay. 

I'm just here to tell you art can come from anywhere.