Wall Art Ideas to Make You Smile

Tired of hanging the usual photographs, paintings and artwork you have hanging around? Take a cue from Do It Yourself and spruce up your walls with these fun, simple ideas:

1. Coasters
Turn inexpensive paper coasters into instant framed art. Glue the coasters to colorful cardstock (or use double-stick tape) and mount them in off-the-shelf frames. Look for square shadow boxes at your crafts store to give the thick coasters definition.

2. Ceiling Medallions
Crafted from urethane, these ready-made ceiling rosettes are lightweight and easy to hang. Look for similar pieces at your local home center or online.

3. Books
Classic bird prints can be pricey once they're professionally mounted and framed as art. Instead, use pages from a book and mount them in inexpensive clip-edge frames (backed with scrapbooking paper when needed to get the right size).

4. Tablecloths
Hang a midcentury tablecloth as wall art to give your room a textile-inspired edge.

5. Vintage Hand Mirrors
Vintage silver hand mirrors that are cracked or crazed can be snatched up at bargain prices and used for their pretty handles and art frames. Simply cover the damaged mirrors with favorite gallery and then use epoxy to attach a picture hook to the back of each handle. Hang them on your wall in groups of three or five for a unique photo collage.

6. Place Mats
Place mats can add a fun factor to a dining room. Simply drill holes and connect the mats, row by row, with a ball-link chain between mats. Hang the connected rows from nails. This easy technique also works for room dividers and window treatments.

Enjoy!