DIY Crafts: Use photography to create personalized works of art

In a world where Walmart offers discount wall hangings for less than the cost of a lunchtime meal and superstores might be only a car ride away, it’s easy to cut corners and choose convenience over DIY crafts when it comes to home décor.

That floral print in the bathroom may not be the look you were going for, but “it will do for now”; the generic horse calendar in the kitchen cabinet doesn’t appeal to anyone in particular, but “it’s functional.”

Take back your walls, crafters!
Take back your calendars, your mass-produced holiday gifts, and your half-filled photo boxes, too.

William Morris once said “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”

This year, embrace DIY crafts and you might find a little bit of your creative side while creating something beautiful, too.

Deck the Walls with DIY crafts

Take a good assessment of your own style and decide what kind of look or feel you would like a certain room to have. Turn to a few shots available on iCraft for inspiration for your own DIY crafts. For a beautiful hallway or guest room wall, these two flower photos would make a lovely inspiration.

Create a 2012 Calendar

Unique DIY crafts make great stocking stuffers. Christmas is on the horizon, and millions of people can look forward to receiving the one-a-day or hanging standard- the yearly calendar. Why not create your own with photos relevant to your family, instead? Pull together a theme- family, friendship, pets, camping, sports- take or find the photos, and create your own personalized calendar.

You no longer have to settle for stock photographs of far-off places: several major websites and retailers (such as Shutterfly) offer online access to uploading your photos, step-by-step tutorials and help centers, and cost-effective printing. Use some of these featured on iCraft as your DIY crafts inspiration for photo calendars.

Brighten Up Your Bathroom!

Many people fall into the trap of neglecting the bathroom, especially lesser-used guest bathrooms- you’ll find a sparse plant or two, if you’re lucky, and a few nicely folded towels. DIY crafts can extend to even the most neglected walls of the house: just think a little more creatively. This beautiful bubble print is a lovely example of fun bathroom wall art. 

For a children’s bathroom, beach-inspired prints are the perfect DIY crafts, where both you and your children can participate.

Cultivate A Kitchen

DIY crafts can mean getting a little messy, so take this opportunity to dive into your favorite culinary projects with your family—just keep your hands clean enough to snap away and record the event! Photos of little hands rolling out dough or heart-shaped cookies might not compliment your décor, but they would mean a lot to a loved one who doesn’t live nearby.

For a more sophisticated take on DIY crafts for the kitchen, take a closely cropped photograph of champagne in a glass, a beautiful cappuccino or crisp cup of coffee, a bowl of fresh fruit, or something truly inspired, like this teacup photograph on iCraft. This week in DIY crafts: Create your own Still Life! Or, for something less daunting…

Create a Little “Me” Space

…For everyone in the family. Turn DIY crafts into an interactive family project where everyone can be inspired by a favorite space. Husband in the garage a lot? Perhaps you could capture an image of road signs or a black and white highway.

Kids like to squirrel away in the den? Distract them from the TV for a second with pictures of bright, vivid colors and strong shapes, like building blocks, sports balls, or artistically arrayed bottles of nail polish. Use bright, flighty prints like this ferris wheel for inspiration in kid’s rooms.

Wear Your Heart On Your Sleeve, and Your Photos on Your Bracelet    

Photo accessories are DIY crafts that can be both adorable and potentially excessive, if too big or in the wrong place (like screen-printed onto a cotton t-shirt).

But done right, photo accessories are some of the cutest DIY crafts around. Create your own, if you are a DIY crafts connoisseur, or consider a few of these intricate and beautiful offers on iCraft. Bracelets like these would make a lovely keepsake for yourself or gift for a loved one. Just add photos!

A word of encouragement: DIY crafts, photography, and making your own wall art might seem intimidating or boring, but it is both simple and rewarding. If you haven’t make photo jewelry just yet, you can easily pick up the handmade pieces for your own pictures right here on iCraft. And even some cell phones have amazing cameras these days, so don’t worry about photography skill level or lens quality, just go out, flex your creative bones, and have fun.

Giving someone the gift of an original photograph, framed and matted just for them, or enjoying your own new favorite piece each time you enter your home, will make the trial and error of DIY crafts and digital photography completely worthwhile.

Have you ever tried to create your own photo projects?  What was your inspiration?

Happy photohunts, iCrafters (And everyone else, too!).

Justine
 

Photo Credits:
Hello Dollo and Wonder by Flanders Field Photography
Eggshell Girl created by daisies
Morrocan Calendar and Graffiti Calendar by Eyeshoot Photography
Picture Frame Bracelets by Picture Frame Bracelets
Halloween Pumpkin Patch by Amor Fati Photography
Ferris Wheel 5x7 fine art photograph by Sassmowthdesigns