Cheaper By The Dozen

I have a confession to make.  As those who know me can attest to, I am a bit of a pack rat.  Not one of those scary pack rats/hoarders, like on the A&E show Obsessed, but a bit of a pack rat none the less.  For example, I like to hold on to clothes I haven’t worn in a year, just in case (I eventually donate them).  I also like to save old magazines, notebooks and papers from school, and various gifts from well-meaning relatives that I don’t use, but feel bad giving away.  It does make things like packing and moving more difficult (I’ll never have a clutter-free, clean and modern house), and means that I need LOTS of storage space; however, sometimes being a pack rat can come in handy.

Take this example.  I’ve been holding onto a few old calendars that I really liked, and thought were too nice to throw away.  When we moved into our basement suite almost a year ago (before this house), D discovered these old calendars, and tried to convince me to toss them.  I told him that I had an art project planned (I actually had no idea what I was going to do with them, but didn’t. want. to. throw. them. out.)  So I kept them, and packed them up for yet another move a few months ago (to our new house!).  Now, being in a house, and having a lot more empty wall space to fill, I got to trying to think of creative ways to fill that space.  We have some hand me down art, and some beautiful original pieces from the many talented artists in both our families (thanks E, G, and T!), but we still had lots of empty walls.  And finally it dawned on me!  A fantastic use of those carefully preserved calendars that I’ve been saving for years!  And so, last weekend we bought some cheap frames from JYSK, popped in some calendar art, and ta da!

 

I was really happy with how they turned out – they look like real art, and way more expensive than they really were ($12.99/frame).  I still have a lot of empty wall space though, so if anyone has any cheap and creative ideas for filling it, please share!