Decorating your walls doesn't require you to spend a lot of money on artwork. You can give your wall a look that fits your decorating style perfectly by pulling out some of your paint supplies and getting creative with some craft items. Completing these projects will only take an afternoon or two, allowing you to decorate your wall over the course of a weekend.
Stenciling
Stenciling can give you the same overall coverage of your wall that wallpaper can while allowing you to create a design that appeals specifically to you. You can choose one pattern to paint all over your entire wall or combine patterns to create a bit more visual excitement. Use a stencil pattern to add a pattern to a focal wall or to create a wallpaper border at the top of your wall. Just tape the stencil patterns onto the wall and dab paint into the pattern until your wall is covered. To avoid pulling off the paint on your wall, tape your stencil patterns on the wall with architect's tape.
Styrofoam Art
Styrofoam panels offer you a very inexpensive way to create some modern art pieces for your wall. The simplest method for turning Styrofoam into art is to cover the foam with the fabric of your choice. Choose fabric with a floral print for the area over your couch. Use an old bandana or T-shirt to make some art for your teen's room. Buy some extra cloth napkins and cover the foam with those to decorate your dining room. Cut the material so that it fits around the Styroam, and then use straight pins to tack it onto the back of the Styrofoam.
Shadowboxes
People like to decorate with shadowboxes, because they provide you with a space to show off some of your favorite treasures. Buy some shadowbox kits from the craft or scrapbooking store. Collect items such as old coins, postcards from your past vacations, interesting looking rocks from your garden or old pocket watches. Cover the back of the shadowbox with material or paper to decorate it; glue it down. Add in your collectibles, put the glass front back on the box and hang up.
Found Art
For the person who can't stand to see anything get thrown away, there's found art. Found art uses items such as pieces of old ceramic masks, clippings from magazines, buttons, measuring tapes and even old paint tubes. To create some found art, look for a board that's about the size of a standard picture---somewhere between 12 inches by 18 inches or larger. Paint the board and attach a picture hanger to the back of it; you can get these in picture kits at the arts and craft store. Glue your found treasures onto the front of the board. Once you have an arrangement you like, decorate the wall with it.
