Artwork Swap and Swoon

Why the swap and swoon? Because that is what I am doing. This change has me batting my eyelashes and getting all giggly. Why is that? Well, in our bedroom…we changed the artwork! This artwork has a loooooooong back story. It all started in spring of 2008 when a group of teachers and students from Principia College started an exciting journey across China, in the form of a study abroad! It was the best. experience. of. my. life. So many amazing things happened there, too many to fit in one blog post. One of the amazing things was the shopping. Wow, that sounds shallow, although I will at least put it low on the life-altering amazing list. Anyways, the shopping in China is an unbelievable type of event. The bartering, the overwhelming-ness, the techniques, the choices, the language barrier, the deals, the rip-offs…the list goes on. The end result is worth it. I came back with oodles of souvenirs, jewelry, scarves, and artwork. I actually can’t find a picture in the market since I was so busy buying. But I do have a picture of my wares! Check this out!

[Any fellow China abroaders reading, please send a picture of the market if you have one and I will update this post!]

You’ve seen some of the artwork pop up around the house, like this floating picture frame. However, I still had tons of artwork just sitting in the closet since 2008. What a shame! I had literally been carrying the same piece of paper around in my purse that I wrote the dimensions of the artwork on since 2008, looking for a frame that would fit. Since these pieces of artwork came from lots of crazy places around China, they were definitely all shapes and sizes. There is no standard there, even in driving. So I finally bit the bullet and got a few pieces custom framed. Eek! I had been putting this off forever (or 5 years) because custom framing can hit the budget hard. However, I found this great local shop called Beyond These Hills that has a fabulous custom framer named Beth who does a great job with very reasonable prices. Yes, you will have to pay more than you would if you bought a premade frame and mat at a store, but if that isn’t an option and you need to go custom framing, Beth is now my girl! I had so much fun going into the store with my prints and playing with different frames (no mats since the pictures already sort of had them built-in) and finding the perfect match.

Last week when my mom was here I finally paid them off and could take them home with me! The problem was I had no idea where to put them. I thought they would go great in the guest bathroom but that just sounded like a bad idea. Even though it is rarely used for showers, still, it made me nervous for a pricey framing job to go in there. Then, my brilliant husband said, “Why don’t you hang them in our bedroom?” Dude, those instant moments of brilliance are incredible. I have been thinking about this for months, and then the first time I mention it to Eric, he comes up with the perfect place in 5 seconds. Geez, I should just stop thinking myself.

It was the perfect solution. The small compilation of IKEA prints come down and relocated (keep reading, you will see where!) and up went the new China prints.

First, I used my tried and true method of cutting up cardboard boxes to measure and place the pictures to stop needless holes being hammered into the wall. Then “x” marks the spot for the nail and you are ready to hang!

I am in love. Like seriously in love. These prints are perfect in this space and are incredibly beautiful. The colors, the glistening frames, it all works. I find myself staring at these, just aimlessly walking into the room to stare.

I searched long and hard to find the perfect season prints in China. They were everywhere but there were so many that were “too Chinese” (ahh, that sounds terrible but I knew I didn’t want a heavy Asian influence in my decorating but still wanted to incorporate elements) or too expensive or too elaborate. These were just prefect. The colors were gorgeous, the scenes were inviting, and there was just enough China in them to open the floodgates of so many beautiful memories every time I looked at them.

Now, onto our second artwork adventure: relocating the IKEA prints. A few years ago Eric and I randomly found these at IKEA and loved their colors and ode to Sweden (heck, we like an ode to any country), and they have hung there ever since. Now that I see the season paintings up there, I recognize that these little babies were too small a scale for that wall space. They are perfect for the bathroom! No worries about them getting ruined there. I used the same cardboard but just cut it down for these smaller items and then up they went!

I think these are great here too! They definitely go with the white frames across the way and bring in some color of the larger painting. This is becoming quite the artwork gallery bathroom, and I love that! They are still a little small on the wall so I am contemplating putting up a shelf or something like that for balance. For now, they hold their own. Holla to the artwork swap. I’m still swooning!