A DIY Art Hack (Two Ways) in 5 Minutes Without Even Picking Up a Paint Brush

In case you haven’t noticed around here, I’m kind of obsessed with DIY artwork and alternative wall art ideas. Can’t let that studio art degree go to waste, now can I?!

And because I also LOVE quick and easy projects that make a big impact, I’m sharing two DIY ways to create unique artwork in 5 minutes, without even picking up a paint brush.

Curious how I created these framed pieces in just a couple of minutes?

Clever DIY Art Hacks

Confession: I didn’t create these art pieces at all. I just repurposed a couple of things I already had at the studio and popped them into existing frames. No art degree required. 

For the larger Matisse inspired piece, I used a tea towel that Amelia gave me (I think it’s from Leif, but I couldn’t find the exact one on their site).

And for the black and white piece, I used a wallpaper scrap from Kelly Wearstler, which I’m super obsessed with.

Remember the DIY notebooks I made with Kelly Wearstler wallpaper samples a while back?! Can’t get enough.

The key to each of the two options is to find a really strong pattern or design that you love and you’re in business. Here’s the breakdown for making your own…

Tea Towel or Fabric Napkin DIY Art Hack #1

1. Spray and iron.

Spray your tea towel or napkin (or even an old piece of clothing that has a cool pattern) with a little bit of water.

And iron it on the proper setting to make sure its nice and crisp. I always iron on the back instead of the front, to make sure not to damage the good side. Set aside.

2. Add to an art frame.

Remove the backing from your frame (mine is from Ikea) and use the hard backing that typically comes with every frame as a guide to wrap or tape your piece of fabric directly to it.

This will give you a hard, sturdy surface to support the fabric, so it doesn’t wrinkle.

AND using tape instead of stapling it directly to the hard surface backing of the frame means that you can take it back out of the frame anytime without damaging the piece at all. Boom.

Pop the whole thing back into your frame, tighten up the back, and it’s ready to hang.

Or in my case, just hang out all casual like on the ground. Couldn’t be any easier!

Wallpaper or Wrapping Paper DIY Art Hack #2

1. Grab a wallpaper scrap and frame it.

If you’re using wallpaper or even wrapping scraps instead, it’s even easier than the tea towel method.

All you need is a frame that is roughly the same size as your paper scrap.

You can also cut the wallpaper or wrapping down to size to fit a particular frame.

Remove the backing from your frame and tape it to the hard backing that comes with the frame (sometimes it’s cardboard, sometimes it’s particular board – whatever it is will be fine).

Then, put the hard backing back into the frame and close it up.

Think you’ll give one of these two art hack ideas a try? Which one do you like best of the two?