Decorating on a dime - Printing Silhouettes

Part of my organization goal for the summer is to refocus the look of each room in our house. To choose something that really reflects us and to purge the rest of it. Being on a budget can make this task feel overwhelming but I am determined to make the most of what we have and be creative with stretching any dollar that does go towards decorating.

One of my favorite new obsessions is making my own "art" {I'm not delusional...what I create can only very loosely be called art} to add something personal and colorful to our home. After seeing this pin, I have started using Google Image and Word to make some simple pictures. By searching whatever object I am wanting along with the word silhouette I can make some pretty cute things. Whether left alone or paired with a saying this has become a quick and frugal way to decorate. And finding a frame is never an issue...choosing from the many I have in my home, dropping by the Dollar Store or Thrift Store, or not using a frame at all are some of the cheap options I have used. I already have a bathroom project in mind where I am going to spray paint some frames to give them new life (getting ahead of myself, I'll leave that for another post).

Want to see an example? We were recently re-doing our hutch display and I wanted to designate one shelf for some of the teapots I have collected. I thought a teapot framed piece would be nice so I Googled an image of a teapot silhouette and chose one I liked. I had planned to print it off on colored paper but found a silhouette that was already done in pink lined with gold so I stuck with that. After transferring it to a Word Document I was able to re-size the picture and add Tea Time to the top. Printed on card stock and added to a silver frame from my stash, I was done. Easy, right? It actually helped me focus my teapot display as well because I was able to choose colors that matched the pink and gold in my picture. Like it?

As you can see, this is one of those DIY projects that anyone can do and that can be made as simple or elaborate as you see fit. You can bet these little pictures will be popping up in all kinds of places in my home.