How To Make Something Cheap Look Expensive!

Last winter I showed you guys my Flerida guest bath room redo.

It ended up looking like this.....

I didn't show the rest of the room, 'cuz I hadn't figured out what I wanted to hang over the tub.

Welllllll!!!!!!!

Now I have, and did!

So this is my story.....

I was tooling around blogland, and came across this post by

The Painted Hive.

She showed how she had done a wall of prints for cheap by using a free source for copying art.

It's.......

The New York Public Library!!!!!

Click here, for the link.

They have a ton of free printable images.

Did I mention that they were freeeeeeee!!!!!!!

So, I bopped on over and copied a whole bunch of fern prints,

 because I had decided that was what I wanted,

 and had done a web search, which was how I found her blog....

(blah, blah, blah).

So, I copied a gagillion fern print images, 

and saved them on my computer.

Then I did nothing,

 because I became an inert mass of Betsy.

So this year!!!!!

When I came back down south!!!!

I tackled this project first thing.

Ideas about it had been rattling around my head box for the summer.

I figured out how many prints I wanted, and what size they should be.

Then I headed on over to Michael's to find some cheapo frames.

They had just the size I wanted, 

and I had my coupons!!!!!

But my coupons were no good!!!???

When I asked the check out lady, why she didn't apply the discount to the frames, 

she answered.....

"Because they are already 50% off!!!"

Can you say yippee doodle day?????

yippee doodle day!!!!!

So they ended up costing just $12.50 each.

So then I got busy printing out the three fern prints I chose.

I adjusted the colors on PicMonkey, to make them look older.....

I took them from this....

(Which actually printed out much brighter and yellower.....)

to this.....

When you use PicMonkey, go to the edit pictures.

Choose a fern print that you've saved to your computer, 

open that file in PicMonkey,

click on colors on the left side,

Move the saturation gauge to -51.

and the temperature gauge to +55.

That's what I did to get the ferns to look old when they printed out.

Then, I attacked the frames!!!

They were white and shiny with white shiny mats.

I slipped one of my "expensive" prints behind it to see what I wanted to do.

I decided to.......

paint anything that moved!!!!!

So, I painted the frame, and the mat.

I first dry brushed French Linen chalk paint on the frames.

Making a point of painting vertically on the vertical part,

and horizontally on the horizontal part, 

as I wanted to create the feeling of wood.

(sort of)

Then I dry brushed Pure White chalk paint the same way.

It sorta looks like an old white wood frame.......

don't you think?????

Then I attacked the mats!!!

They have a two layered look, that was sorta cool, not my first choice,

 but I play the hand I'm dealt.

I dry brushed them with Old White chalk paint.

I was afraid to get the mats too wet, they might have disintegrated!!!!

They started developing a more hand made look, you can see a little texture.

Then I got fancy,

and added a green stripe to the folded edge.

I mixed two chalk paint colors to get this green.

Antibes Green, and Country Grey.

THEN!!!!!

I put them together with my cheapo printed out fern prints.

I would just like to point out at this place,

I used the cheapest paper possible,

it was all I had,

I was too lazy to go get better paper.....

How cool is this for $12.50?????

Here they are in a row.....

(on my guest bed.....)

OK,

now I had to get them up on the wall.....

over the bath tub.....

and I didn't want to wait for any help.....

(I am very klutzy, I was taking my life in my hands....)

So I went and got my trusty little step ladder.

One up, two to go.....

and they had to be level.....

So I went and got my laser level, which is 

the best invention in the universe!!!

Then I hung the other two.....

and stood back and marveled at my wonderfulness!!!!!

So, 

I went from this to this.....

Here's a close up...

It was a fun afternoon.

I didn't need to go play in traffic, yet I stayed out of my friends' hair!!!!

Now this room is completed, on to the laundry room!!!!!

As soon as I can get someone to start.....

But first I have to make a phone call......

oy, oy, oy

Later, Gator