New Pics, Old Tricks
I follow quite a few home design bloggers that have me really wanting to bring in some vintage art! It just adds so much unique character to a space. I know for most people, they love the hunt for the item, too. In this season of life, I do not enjoy the hunt. When I catch a vision for a space, I want it to happen ASAP and I want it to be as easy and affordable as possible. I know a lot of this just has to do with our life stage, but what’s a girl to do?
Well, I recently had an idea that makes some of that character and charm achievable in just five minutes…eeeekkk! All you need is a computer, a CANVA account, a printer (or access to one) and a frame! An 8x10 or smaller frame will probably work best unless you do frame with a mat or send it off to be printed larger.
So here’s the trick….
Using CANVA (a free account works just fine) find a picture that you like. (If you’re super new to CANVA, you find a picture by clicking on the elements tab and typing what you’re looking for into the search bar.) I would personally chose a photo based off of the topic/theme and the colors. Here’s one I am considering for my boys room:
This photo works well because it ties in some colors that are already in the room, and it’d be going on my four year old’s mini gallery wall and he is obsessed with all things fire fighter.
Using this simple trick, I made it look like this:
While I love both of the photos, this one has a lot more of the worn look and aged character that I was hoping to incorporate into their space. Speaking of Space, here’s a simple step by step of how to do it using my 6 year old’s picture choice…
Here’s the picture he chose!
Next, it’s time to find the overlay. Search for “old paper” in the elements search bar. I used photos as the media type. See below:
There are lots of options to chose from, but ultimately you want to make your choice based on the color tones of the paper, and the desired look you’re going for (i.e. wrinkled, watermarked, etc.).
After you select your photo, it’s time to change the transparency. Like this…
52% worked perfect for what I was going for, but you can obviously make it more or less, depending on preference.
Here’s the side by side of the before and after:
Now all that’s left is downloading and printing. Printing it on photo paper might have even more of the desired effect.
I still haven’t decided if I’m going to incorporate this into their mini gallery walls, but if I do I will share it for sure! I also promise to show you their focal wall of function soon. How’s that for a name? Ha.
Anyways, if you try this, let me know how it turns out! And feel free to ask any questions you may have in the comments.
