Do you know where your local copy shop is? Like a FedEx or a Kinkos? Good! So now you can make this upscaled $3 to $5 wall art! It will be fun, it will cost probably less than your morning coffee, and you will feel like an accomplished DIY-er with excellent taste and spot-on interior design skills.
The trick is using the large scale "engineer" printers which is what architects, etc. use to print large scale blue prints and technical drawings. The great thing is, they can print really big for really cheap! The not-so-great thing is, they print on pretty low-quality paper and in black and white (hence the cheap price tag). But that's where the DIY sprucing comes in to save the day to elevate the cheap prints into something worth hanging on your wall!
Technique #1: Thrifted Frame
Prep It:
Art (printed large at a copyshop - use a scanned in sketch or black and white photograph) Framed thrift store art (or empty frame from the thrift store if you can find it) of the same dimensions
Do It!:
- While this is technically not a DIY step, I would recommend bringing your art (or at least a cell phone picture of your art!) with you to the thrift store when you shop. It'll help you find the frame that has just the right texture and color to complement your piece.
- Thrifted art is notoriously inexpensive ... usually because people don't find what's being displayed of much value. The trick here is to just keep an eye out for the right frame and discard of the original art.
- Replace the old art with the new (sometimes the frames need to be cut with knife along the back to be able to pop off the backing cardboard - but just put it back on with some masking tape), hang or display in your home, and enjoy the perfect (and very cheap) vintage upgrade to your wall art.
Technique #2: Spray It & Clip It
Prep It:
Art (printed scanned in sketch or black and white photograph) Gold spray paint Bulldog clips (with holes in the handles)
Do It!:
- This DIY works best with black and white, or more minimalist art, but get creative with your graffiti!
- Layer a piece cardboard or other thick paper over your print to create an angle or edge to spray paint. Get inventive with different patterns or stencils!
- When your art has dried, attach four bulldog clips to the four edges of the piece. Hang from the two bulldog clips at the top. You can also hook the bottom clips onto nails, but it isn't necessary - these are meant more to help weigh the paper down so it doesn't curl.
