7 ways to make printable artwork look great

I've been printing a few new pieces for my walls lately, so I thought I'd share some simple tips on how to make printables look more like "real" art for your home.

1. Make sure your printer has ink

Obvious, yes, but important. If your ink cartridge is dying, your print will look like it's dying too.

2. Adjust your printer settings

Make sure your print quality is set to "Best" (or equivalent). If it's a black-ink-only print, set it to "Grayscale" and "Black cartridge only." In my experience, printing black with both the black and color cartridges doesn't look as sharp.

3. Don't enlarge the printable

Most printables are designed to print at a certain size. Enlarging them will turn them into a pixely mess. Stick to the size the printable is supposed to be and you won't have any problems.

For PDF printables, it's important to check a couple of settings in Adobe Acrobat to make sure you aren't unintentionally scaling up. In the printer settings, make sure Page Scaling is set to "None" and Auto-Rotate and Center is unchecked.

4. Just say no to standard white office paper

Printing on anything other than plain white paper will elevate your artwork from printout to print. Your choices are endless: card stock, textured cardstock, patterned paper, colored or kraft paper, photo paper, etc. You can buy single sheets of fancy paper for well under a dollar at any craft store.

5. Send it out

One of the great things about printable artwork is that you don't even need to leave the house to get something up on the walls. But if what your printing requires a lot of ink, or your printer doesn't work well, it might be cheaper to send your prints to a copy shop and have them printed on a color laser printer. An 8.5" x 11" color laser print usually costs around $1. Something to consider.

6. Treat it like "real" art -- frame it

Everything looks better behind glass. It's a fact.

7. Make it the sidekick, not the star

Printables are a great way to get art on your walls for cheap or free. But if all you have on display are printables, well, that might look a little thin. You've got to mix them up. Pair a printable with other types of artwork, and let its neighbors give it more credence.

See my collection of printables >>

Frame that kid artwork!

I have to confess that I have been lazy about art/craft time with Elise. She begs to "actibitees," but most days, I can't be bothered to drag out the mess of paints. Bad mom. Especially bad mom who loves to paint herself and wants to raise a creative child. Bad mom.

But thanks to a recent trip to a local children's museum (St. Louis' Magic House), Elise made a painting, and I was reminded why I should make the effort for more art time at home.

I love her paintings. I don't even think she likes them as much as I do. This one is just tempera on paper. I know every mom probably loves their own kid's artwork, but I just want to gush about her expressive brushstrokes and how she doesn't overwork the paint. When finished, she shouts "done!" and puts down the paintbrush like a timer went off.

I was going to put it in the artwork frame in our dining room, but I still love that painting too much to cover it up, so I folded it and put it in a different frame.

I was searching our living space, looking for a place to put it, when I realized the best spot would be in Elise's bedroom. I put it on a high shelf so she can see her painting while she's falling asleep at night.

Her room still kind of a disaster because I painted her closets and then started working on the adjoining stairway (think, stacks of paint cans and furniture pushed aside), so no whole-room photos right now. But the space is calling for a few more of her paintings and I've got some blank canvasses. Maybe it's finally time for mama/daughter studio hours.