A while back we promised another post about wall art, so here it is. Being sentimental—and on a budget—we’ve had to get creative with how we display memories. Until we can afford that original Warhol we keep joking about, we’ve been exploring interesting, affordable art alternatives that feel personal and stylish.
One of my favorites is a vintage map project Sherry surprised me with one Christmas. She found an incredible 1907 map on eBay for about ten dollars, bought a simple white frame from IKEA, removed the glass, added cork backing, and pinned the map in place. Then she stuck in small “map pins” from Office Depot marking all the places we’ve visited together. It’s interactive, sentimental, and it encourages us to travel more so we can add more pins. It’s an easy, inexpensive way to turn a map into memorable wall art.
Here’s another simple project that always draws attention—guests instinctively gravitate toward this small framed piece. For our anniversary, Sherry tracked down copies of a few old keys (a few phone calls to former New York City roommates did the trick) and mounted them in a frame with small handwritten labels underneath each one. The result feels intimate and tells a story without needing many words.
The labels read: “John’s apartment, Upper West Side NYC, 2005,” “Sherry’s apartment, The Village NYC, 2005,” “Our first apartment, Richmond, Virginia, 2006,” and “Our first house, Richmond, Virginia, 2006.” Beside the framed keys leans a black sea fan Sherry ordered from an online sea-life shop and tucked into a frame. It’s a clever, natural accent that complements the keys and adds texture.
Another custom piece Sherry made is a shadow box filled with keepsakes from our backyard wedding. She arranged a fabric scrap from a table runner, a printed dessert napkin, a goofy photo-strip from the rented photo booth, our invitation, stamped place cards held down by river rocks, the favor bag with a gladiolus bulb, and a thank-you postcard featuring a wedding photo. The shadow box acts like a small time capsule and captures the casual, joyful summer day perfectly while adding a unique, personal artwork to our home.
These projects show how many everyday items can become meaningful wall art—maps, keys, fabric scraps, napkins, and small objects all tell stories when framed thoughtfully. Framing personal items is a budget-friendly way to create conversation pieces that reflect your history and style. We hope these examples inspire you to look around your home for materials you can turn into framed memories. Please share your own framed art ideas—we’d love to see them.