Perhaps one of the most affordable, customizable, and personal ways to decorate your space is to utilize ephemera.
Ephemera is the term used to describe items and materials that are typically for short term use. This could include things such as:
Ticket stubs from concerts, travels, shows, sports, events
Playbills
Airline or Train tickets
Magazines and Newspapers
Postcards
Playing Cards
Matchboxes
Photo booth strips or Polaroids
Concert or Movie Posters
Old calendar pages
You may oftentimes throw these materials away, they may get lost in a pocket, or perhaps you throw them in a save box that piles up, all without realizing that they can actually be used as decoration that showcases something special to you.
The simplest way to go about this is to find a frame you love, (I will often head to a second hand store for unique options or to Ikea for simple options, both affordable and easy) insert your ephemera pieces(s) into the frame and there you go! A fun and unique piece of decoration without any heavy investment.
Now, if you intend for your piece to last in the frame for an extended period of time (many many years) you may want to consider the small investment of archival tape or glue, matting paper, and a UV resistant frame (this helps prevent ink from fading).
Another fun example I love for decoration is to collect and display vintage LIFE magazines for flipping through and for decorative interest. I intentionally source magazines with covers that relate to my interests like travel, or music. You may lay these out on a coffee table or perhaps find a magazine rack.
Decorating with Ephemera can be as minimalist or maximalist as you would like! A concert ticket displayed with matting in a clean frame may be just the perfect pop of something interesting for you in your space without anything too busy going on. However, you may be someone who would prefer to assemble a statement or conversation piece utilizing your ephemera. In that case I would recommend finding an intricate frame, collaging collected pieces from the same trip or event, or displaying multiple of the same or similar thing in one frame. Say for example you frequent a sporting arena, you can collect several admission tickets from the games you go to and eventually display them in order in the same frame. Or maybe you went on a trip you'd love to remember bits and details from, save your tickets, receipts, tags or other small things you may collect while traveling and collage them with photos or stickers like you would a scrapbook.
Heirlooms or pieces of interest you collect while shopping thrifts or estate sales are another great thing to frame. Your grandparents old matchbox collections can be framed and displayed, or stored in a cute jar or bowl on a shelf! The photo strips you had so much fun taking with friends would look great in a matted frame hanging on your wall! The old playing cards that made it to every camping trip you took as a child are perfect to frame, you can even frame several and gift them to family members! That stack of vintage postcards would make amazing wall art!
When decorating with ephemera, be creative and be you! You're displaying precious memories that become ART and enhance your space creatively and uniquely to YOU. All without the price tags or energy it takes to source art (not that you should shy away from that)!
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