Homefront: Easy and Inexpensive Ephemera Collage Art

This little art project takes about 15 minutes and costs about $15. It takes up a nice little piece of wall space too. If you were to get 4 canvases and put them in a square shape, it could make a nice headboard as well.

First, I got a pack of 2 stretched canvas for $9.99 and some corsage pins for .87 cents. You need 4 pins per main paper, and one pin for the middle paper. So, 5 pins per piece of canvas.

I had a pack of ephemera I got from dodipc, mixed with some papers I had been collecting. Ephemera is essentially vintage papers, maps, patterns, photographs, text, bookplates, receipts, postcards, love letters, ledger papers, music sheets, flash cards, ticket stubs, advertisements... Very easy to collect at antique malls and packs can be found on Etsy or Ebay. You probably have something right now you could use. Or, visit The Graphics Fairy and print some free vintage images. Try tea staining some current papers for a similar effect, lots of methods explained here.

There is something so romantic about ledger paper. The crisp, black ink, and the nearly perfect fonts of the handwriting transports me to a time when men were gentlemen and took such care in the way records were presented. Each capital letter is curled beautifully, and the words form on the lines in straight perfection.

 I didn't paint the canvases, but any craft acrylic paint will do if you wish to paint. If you do, remember to paint the sides of the canvas as well. I was going to tape the ledger paper directly on the canvas, but tape doesn't stick, so I used the corsage pins instead. You could also glue the paper down, but I prefer to change things at random, and have a hard time gluing down certain vintage papers, so I kept it as reversible as possible.

I taped the pins down on the back of the canvas to help keep them in position, though a stronger tape would probably be best. Or, you could always embroider the paper down instead of pin it. I love the elongated pearly tips and angled them to emphasize the corner of the papers. Vintage hat pins would work as well.

This project is so quick and easy, with minimal clean up after wards. The papers you choose is limitless, and they don't have to match perfectly either. You could even use a photograph of your children as the center piece. Or glue the back paper on, and change the front paper depending on the season. You can frame them as well if you want, but I just wanted a quick and simple piece of art for this wall space.

Linked to: Simply Designing Linky Party, Finding Fabulous Frugalicious Friday, Tater Tots and Jello DIY Linky, The Shabby Nest Frugal Friday

Feed Your Soul [through free art]

Indie Fixx has a new little feed your soul art collective. She explains it all HERE and you can download your free (personal use only) art HERE. If you are an artist, you can contribute and if not, you can spread the word! Here's a sampling:







There are some seriously gorgeous works here from some of my favorite artists... I intend to get a whole slew of them and hang them on my new "art gallery wall". Don't worry, my little folks, I will update with pics soon enough. I gotta get some frames and such first!

For all of you that like vintage epherma, labels, gypsies, cards, children, babies, angels, mermaids, beauties, holidays, Marie, cherubs, horses, Strawberry Shortcake and more... then check out Suzee Que's free to use (personal) flickr stream!! Here's a sampling:







At Vintage Printable, you will find hundreds of vintage prints, namely from vintage books of science, medical, animals, nature, mustaches, wigs, fantasy and mythological, poster art, political, gnomes, steampunk... Here's a sampling:


The Virgins Whistler



humor, high society, poking your nose into others business
i love this one



For lovers of antique maps and sea charts, you MUST visit Helminks. They are dealers of the real genuine article not reproductions or scans, but the high quality images of them are breathtaking! Here is a sampling:


Antique map of Holland


Antique Anemographica map by Lotter


Antique Map of West Africa by Linschoten