You don’t have to spend a fortune to turn your rooms into a stylish gallery that suits your taste.
We’ve all helped our children do arty things with egg boxes and the inner tubes of kitchen rolls (then quietly thrown them away when little un’s not looking) but here’s an idea for homemade art you’ll never want to bin. And the best thing about this project is that it involves every family member.
The ‘trick’ is in the presentation. If it’s nicely mounted and put in an elegant frame, even strawberry yoghurt flung at a page looks good! But you can do better than strawberry yoghurt…
Six steps to great homemade art
1. Buy a set of smart matching picture frames (the kind where you can unclip the glass and insert your picture underneath). They needn’t be expensive, but take care choosing ones that look expensive.
2. In an art shop, buy some acrylic paper (right size to fit the frames) and some acrylic paints.
3. Sit your family at the kitchen table and give them a sheet of paper each, a paintbrush and water. Squeeze small blobs of the paint onto saucers.
4. Announce a theme. For example, everyone should do self portraits or pictures of each other (or perhaps you could set up a still life of fruit or flowers).
5. It doesn’t matter how tiny your children are. Even a one-year old can join in – or the family dog using his paws! Remember, once the picture’s framed and on the wall as part of a set, every brush stroke will look as if it was intentional.
6. Acrylic paint dries quickly – so you can frame your work after a few hours.