My best friend and I moved into an apartment back in November to be closer to our jobs, cut down on all the driving to and from work and you know to try and be real life "grown ups." The process of finding the right apartment was a whirlwind but God had his hand on it all and we really ended up at the perfect spot for the two of us. Nothing fancy but we feel pretty blessed.
We're doing things on a budget... obviously, so we've been piecing things together bit by bit trying to make the place feel like home. Lots of people were really generous and gave us lots of odds and end furniture, appliances, cookware, etc. Now that we've been living there for about 5 months things are coming together a bit more and some art is making it on the walls.
A couple months ago I was in Fort Worth, TX visiting friends and stumbled upon this super cool store on West 7th Street called Wrare.
I pretty much loved everything inside the store and while I restrained myself to buying a single decorative piece for the apartment... and a couple cards, I think the best thing I left with from the store was this inspiration:
So, when I got home it was my turn to bring this to life in our apartment. I went to Office Max and literally cleared out their Clip Boards and then went back a week later to get a couple more. Luckily I am a designer and have access to some programs that make it a little easier for me to set up and print out the chopped up image as needed. Originally we had selected an image of a bunch of trees in a forest but I think it was too dark and too "organic" so it didn't require the lines to match up to really create the impact I was looking for. So, we selected a new picture:
Apparently, I have a current obsession for elephants that is increasingly growing and now filling our apartment... oops. But look at these lovable giants!
My steps after selecting the image:
1. turned image black and white
2. set up art boards in illustrator that mimicked the clipboard layout (my cipboards were the standard size to hold 8.5x11" paper)
3. place image across art boards
4. set up image for each page... and print. (I printed the images on 11x17" paper and cut out so that they would be the full 8.5x11" size. If you print on 8.5x11 paper there will be a white boarder where the printer can't print on the paper.)
5. hang clip boards (we drew a diagram of the wall we were putting the clipboards on and did all the math and planning before putting any nails in the wall. Once we had it all figured out we put in the nails and then hung the boards. Always plan first. No surprises)
6. clip your art up. make sure you have all your images organized or... it's not gonna work right. May become a bit of a puzzle if you don't keep them in order from the beginning.
When I was hanging up the pictures of the elephants I was too close to see it coming together and I was getting so bummed. My roommate was in the kitchen watching and tried to assure me it was coming together but I just couldn't see it. Then I stepped back and was like...
Walla!
There it is... Pinterest that!
I just love how you can get inspired anywhere, anytime, but you have to keep your eyes open.
What are you creating? Where have you been inspired?
