Art on the Cheap

We have lived in our current home for almost 8 1/2 years.  I have very few things hanging on the walls, mostly because the walls are plaster.  I want to make sure I absolutely love something before I try putting a nail in, and risk having the plaster crumble, leaving me with a big hole.

I came across a project on Pinterest that intrigued me, because it is really lightweight, is large, and it is CHEAP, and I already had a nail in the dining room wall where I planned to hang the art, and another on the wall in the girls' room.

It's pretty simple to make.  I went to Staples and asked for an engineer print, approximately 3' X 4'.  They take your flash drive, plug it in, and in a couple minutes you have a huge picture for just under $5.  I had two pictures printed. I had just gotten a Staples coupon in the mail for $10 off any purchase of $10 or more, so I had to buy a diet Coke to get up over the $10 mark.  My pictures were virtually FREE.

I then went to Menards and bought a 4' X 8' sheet of styrofoam insulation  for just under $10.  I think it was 3/4" thick.  When I got home, I cut the foam down to size and painted the edges black with paint I already had.

When the paint was dry (don't use spray paint--it will eat the styrofoam), I sprayed the foam with spray adhesive, laid the picture on it, made a hanger out of wire, and duct taped it to the back.  That's all there is to it. 

You can get much more detailed instructions here.

Cheap and easy.  I did have to go back and brush some elmer's glue around one of the edges that didn't want to stick.

 The higher resolution photo you have, the better, obviously.  I was impressed with the quality, especially with so much enlargement.

 It fills up my dining room wall nicely.

And I have such beautiful children, who wouldn't want to have pictures of them all over their home?

If my cheapo artwork gets bumped or mangled in the chaos of our house, I'm not out much $$$.  It's also cheap to update.

"The mouth of the righteous is a well of life, But violence covers the mouth of the wicked." Proverbs 10:11