Friday, March 26, 2010

Free is Good


This week has been a blur, with appointments, road trips, and general house "stuff".  I've also been having a blast helping my daughter plan a bridal shower for one of her oldest and dearest friends.  I truly can't believe that one of my best friends has a daughter getting married and that her daughter and mine are the same age!  It seems like just yesterday that our girls were making mud pies in the backyard or playing dress up!

Amidst all of the running around, I did take a little bit of time to work on my guest bath this week.  Our guest bathroom was the first project we completed in our whole house remodel.  It's been finished for a while now, but I just never got around to doing those all important finishing touches, like putting up artwork.  I have been trying to find just the right thing to hang on the wall in there for a long time, and this week I just decided that the "perfect" artwork would have to wait...good enough would have to do for now.  And if I could find something good enough that was also cheap, all the better.

A week or so ago I was visiting another blogger's site, the tasteful and talented Rene of Cottage and Vine, when she showed us this picture of some beautiful vintage artwork she had hanging on the wall of her gorgeous kitchen.


Rene also mentioned that she had printed these lovely bird egg prints from Vintage Printable, a wonderful online source for vintage artwork you can print for free.  I had visited their site before and then promptly forgot about them until Rene's beautiful prints reminded me to go back and take another look.

Vintage Printable has a wonderful selection of botanicals, sealife, birds, and all sorts of things to choose from.  Being the water loving girl that I am, I knew I wanted something beach inspired so I went straight to their seashell prints.  And since we live in an area which is famous for its oysters, I fell in love with the vintage prints of bivalves, which  included illustrations of scallops, clams, oysters, and mussels.

The next step was to find some inexpensive frames that didn't look inexpensive.  If you've been reading my blog for any length of time then you know that I'm a bit of a cheapskate.  I love beautiful things, but if I can find something on the clearance aisle I'm one very happy camper!  I went to Target, Marshalls, Home Goods but came home empty handed every time.   I was getting a little frustrated, especially after seeing Rene's gorgeous bamboo frames, until I realized I had the perfect frame already, a little ladder made from old barn wood that has been tucked away in our garage for the last 3 years.



I removed the cobwebs from the ladder, gathered up the supplies I needed, and got busy on the project.


I also perused the vintage shells and printed the ones I liked the best.





I trimmed the prints and then simply put a bead of glue on the 4 corners of the ladder where the prints would be attached.  Because the bathroom gets moisture I used Krazy Glue for a stronger bond.  After letting the glue dry, and adding a small sawtooth hanger to the back of the ladder, it was time to hang my new artwork on the bathroom wall.

So my boring blank bathroom wall went from this...



To this...


There are no windows in this bathroom so trying to take good pictures with very low light is nearly impossible, at least for me!  But I love how my new artwork turned out.  It is the perfect compliment to the rest of the bathroom and the room finally feels finished!  


I love the mix of the rustic ladder with the vintage prints.  And yes, I know that some of them are a bit crooked, but hey I'm not even worried about that, I kind of like that it's not perfect, kind of like me!  And the best part of all, the whole thing was free!  And I really love that! 

It's time for another Saturday Nite Special over at Funky Junk Interiors!

I'm linking up for Shop The House Sunday at Finesse Your Nest!

It's Metamorphosis Monday again at Between Naps on the Porch!

Head over to Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays.


59 comments:

  1. I am gasping for breath here! Perfection! You are brilliant oh and thanks for the nice plug too.

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  2. Oh my that is so freaking ADORABLE! Don't you love when you have a flash of genius? Wonderful, sweet and fabulous! I may need to hunt for a little latter now. :)

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  3. Okay Kat...you must bring your FREE prints to NIFTY THRIFTY TUESDAYS...they are AWESOME...luv the idea of using the ladder for the framing! I will be soaking up some sun this weekend at the condo...hope you have a wonderful weekend!

    Blessings,
    Linda

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  4. ummm... that is amazing! you are a genius. i love it.

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  5. Wow! What a fantastic idea! I love that it's free, I'm a bargain hunter too. Very unexpected chic and creative and looks perfect in this bathroom!

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  6. Love it! The ladder is the perfect frame. Did you use special paper to print or just regular?

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  7. Perfect is right. I can't believe you just happened to have that vintage ladder hanging around in your garage for 3 years. It looks fantastic!

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  8. Oh my, you did a great job! Love love your ladder. Have a wonderful weekend. Enjoy all your moments in you bathroom! xo

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  9. I love this! You are so talented!

    Hmmmm now where is my old ladder...hope Mr. B didn't throw it out..we constantly have the same discussion...my treasures are his trash...gotta work on that.

    For now I'm going back up the page to look at your frame and pictures again...so pretty!

    Thank you for sharing!

    Sandy

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  10. WOW WOW! I think that is brilliant.!

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  11. Now that's just dang cute and clever! Love it.
    The rustic look of the ladder with the shell prints is fantastic.

    hugs
    Sissie

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  12. Okay, genius idea! One of your best that i have read.

    I never would have thought to change a ladder into a photo frame.

    It looks wonderful.

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  13. Inspired! Thank you so much for the reminder that we must look a little harder before running out nd buying new...right in our own back yard, or garage, as the case may be!

    Thanks so much for stopping by Nouveau Stitch!

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  14. I think you found the "perfect" art. It looks great.

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  15. Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!

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  16. What a great idea! Genius, really! Love how this turned out.

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  17. OH MY GOODNESS, I LOVE IT!!! Kat it is genius and looks fantastic. ENJOY ~ Tina xx

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  18. That is inspired, and inspiring! Only problem is, I am coveting my neighbour's ladder. Maybe I could offer to swap, or buy it.

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  19. I should have said thank you for the link to Vintage Printable, good find!

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  20. How cool is that!? I LOVE the ladder idea...
    Hmmm, now I need to find a ladder..wonder if dear hubby wants to use his new tools and make me one!!!
    Great job and love the bathroom!
    Doni

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  21. Kat, I love what you did with the ladder and prints. What an awesome and different way to display art. I love the prints you chose, too. Have a super weekend!

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  22. Kat, this project is absolutely fabulous! It really IS special and just suits your room so well! I bookmarked this site, too, and then forgot about it, too- thanks for the reminder! Seriously one of the best projects I have seen in a long time- thanks for sharing!

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  23. Fabulous idea! Love the ladder for the frame of course. :)

    What a gorgeous room! Your beadboard is amazing.

    Thanks for linking up to SNS!
    FJ Donna

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  24. What a fantastic project!!!! I LoVe the "anatomy of a shell" prints! :) Great job!!

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  25. That looks awesome! I've been looking for some great vintage pictures of seashells. Thanks for the info!

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  26. Oh that ladder with those prints is perfection! What a great great idea Kat. I've used them too to decoupage some vintage bird (of course) prints onto a magazine rack for our camper and I've been trying to think of another project to use them with. I DO have a vintage ladder too, hmmmm. Look out, copy cat here!! ~Lili

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  27. Brilliant--the vintage prints and "frame" finish off the bath perfectly!

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  28. Wow, that is a great and inspired idea!! Love the prints and the ladder is perfect! I would never think of doing that!!!
    ~Nancy

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  29. Oh wow Kat - these look gorgeous. You picked just the right prints and they look fantastic inside the ladder x
    ~Sam

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  30. That's gorgeous, nice problem solving! Hey are your towels Winter Poppy from Pottery Barn? They look suspiciously like my duvet, lol...

    I am bookmarking that site and am definitely going to be printing out some vintage lovelies of my own. Thanks for sharing!

    PS- you should link up to Shop the House Sundays over at Kendall's (Finesse Your Nest)

    http://finesseyournest.blogspot.com/2010/03/shop-house-sunday_27.html

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  31. Thank you for sharing the Vintage Printable link!
    I love the spin you put on this project... amazing!

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  32. That is very clever! I love it! I also love that it didn't cost you anything. I've been to Vintage Printables website, but I always wind up having some problem with their site and haven't been able to print anything yet. I'll have to try again.

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  33. What a great idea. I love this!

    I'm featuring a necklace tutorial and giveaway. I'd love it if you stopped by my blog!

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  34. Oh! I love it too! It's wonderful. I have an empty wall in my dining room, still haven't decided what to put there. One of these days something will strike me :) Your bathroom looks great!

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  35. That idea is fantastic...So stealing it. I have never heard of vintage printables...excited. I use graphics fairy a lot...but more is always good.

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  36. I love the simplicity of the artwork. It's so beautiful!

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  37. I love this idea! I was just clicking thru the Shop Your House Party and am so glad you linked up to it. I'm now following you to see what other creative ideas you have up your sleeve!

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  38. What a great idea! Turned out perfect!

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  39. That is just TOO neat! I love this idea and it's just perfect! Thanks for sharing!
    Sharlotte

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  40. I love the ladder with your prints! That is so clever :-) It looks great in your bathroom over your towel rack. Thanks for sharing the link to Vintage Printables!

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  41. Great idea, love how it turned out.

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  42. Well that is absolutely brilliant!!! I am new to your blog and can't wait to look around!

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  43. I am an old ladder collector too....love the display! Very creative.

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  44. Oh how cute that turned out! I've seen Vintage Printables and can't wait to do a project with their images. Great job! Thanks for linking up to Shop The House Sunday!

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  45. very clever...dresses up that blank wall nicely!

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  46. You came to my PAR-TAY...I'm so HAPPY to have you:)

    Blessings,
    Linda

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  47. Now that is too cute!

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  48. Great idea! Not only do the prints look wonderful framed in the ladder but the ladder is a perfect addition to the bathroom wall. I love it!
    Jane

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  49. Very clever of you to marry the ladder with the prints!
    I'm also wondering what kind of paper you used to print them on? Photo paper or regular?
    I'd love to try this idea with some old storm door divided glass inserts I have...Oh, and did you make the mats for the prints yourself, or buy them that size?
    Thanks,
    Rose

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  50. I love the way you used the ladder as a frame! Much better than real frames. Lots of character there!

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  51. That is amazing! It is the perfect art for your powder room.

    Rhonda

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