Free office art {use what you have}

The theme of my new "office" is going to be using what you have, and doing it for as low or no-cost as possible.

 First up is the conversion of the vertical bookcase to a horizontal hutch; the saw still needs to come out, and we're not yet unpacked from this week. That will have to wait! But my thoughts today are going to "artwork". I like to decorate with one of two things: original pieces or personal items. Original pieces are few and far between: I drooled over a watercolor of a Chesapeake bay blue crab this week, but no, for $300 it did not come home with me. Second is personal items, like a collection of photos or the shadowbox I made at Christmas which houses memories of my son's birth and his late grandfather. As I was cleaning out the stuff in the office, I came across this:

 This is a shadow box made by my grandfather.  It used to house a variety of things, but in the move (sadly, 8.5 years ago!) it never came back out.  I thought this was a great way to start my collection of personal, free art for my new space.

I started with my collection of random beads and ended up with not one, but two empty containers! That's a perfect start!
Empty!!

I added some jewelry bags for color, but his did not work!

No!

So I kept searching, and found a seed packet, paint chips and the hopefully new fabric for my curtains.

Better!

Then I came across a bag from our June vacation to Costa Rica.  I was obsessed with collecting shells on the beach.  I can visualize them being included in some jewelry design down the road, but in the meantime, I have them somewhere I can enjoy them and know where to find them.

Best!

I had forgotten also about the awesome pieces of coral I collected, and pulled them out for a future, also yet unknown, project.

Another piece I'm working on today includes this favorite mugshot:

I just copied it on my printer and kept enlarging it until it was big enough. The first frame is a thrift store find from a few weeks ago.  I like the texture of the second one better, although not the darker goldish color.  It's downstairs now undergoing transformation with some paint....

So for $zero cost, I have two pieces of "art" that are personal, memorable, and enjoyable for me to have around. 

Now to get back to construction!