Hearts on Paper: July 2012

One of my most favorite things in the entire world are photographs. Old, new, people I know, people I don't, landscapes - doesn't matter - I love them. And I always have.

I've been in my home for a year now and realized too many of my walls are bare! I needed to change that pronto! Thanks to the camera I splurged on earlier this year and my recent trip home, I had some great shots that were frame worthy.

I don't like matchy-matchy things. In my house, the furniture compliments each other but isn't part of a set. The same goes for picture frames...mine rarely match! Most of the frames I have are from garage sales and salvation army and I don't spend more than about $4.00 per frame.

I decided the first wall I'd tackle was the "guest hallway" which leads to two guest rooms, a guest bathroom, and my laundry area. I walk by the hallway every day to get to my garage and it just looks so sad and neglected. The light fixture is the worst thing about it! See what I mean?

Time for a change!
I started by gathering picture frames I've accumulated, then went through photos on my computer matching photos with frames. I uploaded the prints to Costco's Photo Center which can have your prints ready in about an hour for great prices! I framed the photos and used my dining room table (also known as "The Last Supper Table" by my friends because of how huge it is--seats 12 people!) to lay them out. It's important to measure the length of the wall where you are hanging the frames first so you lay them out with the right amount of space.

Supplies Needed:
Framed photos - size, style, etc. up to you
2" 3M ScotchBlue Painters tape
Measuring tape
Picture hanging hooks or nails (I used these which I bought at my local hardware store)
Hammer

Because my frames are different sizes and shapes and being hung on a shorter wall, I decided to lay them out horizontally with a 2-inch space across the middle and just started building! Two things are important with this layout - one, the edge of all frames line along the 2-inch space should be level, and secondly, the edges along the left and right of the entire collage should line up exactly. This is what I came up with...

After my layout was complete, I ran a piece of 2-inch painters tape down the wall and made sure it was level. This acts as the "spacer" and point of reference when hanging the frames.

Then I just started nailing and hanging photos! I measured as much as possible but winged it for the most part. I decided to do the bottom row entirely before moving on to the top row. A few photos/frames were swapped as I started to hang the frames but the layout is the same.

From The Last Supper Table to the wall in 25 minutes!

Carefully remove the tape - you may have to temporarily remove some photos to do this.

Before and after - like my new light fixture? Easily installed in 15 minutes.

Hope you enjoyed reading!

My best friend just moved back home, got an amazing job, and bought her first house! I couldn't be more proud, excited, and happy for her as she starts this next chapter of "grown-up life" and I wanted to get her a unique and fun housewarming gift! While I was home visiting, I got to see her cute new house and get a feel for the colors and look she was going for in each room. She mentioned she was looking for an antique wooden screen door to use as a jewelry holder in her room -- there couldn't have been a more perfect mission/project for me during my two week vacation!

I got a slow, unenthusiastic start by looking at antique stores, Goodwill, and Salvation Army. I was coming up with overpriced items or empty handed. Then, at a Habitat for Humanity Restore, I found THE ONE!

Okay, so it's not a screen door and you can't hang jewelry from it...YET, but that's why they sell chicken wire and screen! And that's why I love it! Hello, DIY project!

How cool is the hardware on this thing? I love it.

Now it's time to morph into a jewelry holder!

First things first, gather your supplies.

Tools:

Wooden Door - size/shape/color/finish is totally up to you
Tape measure (to measure the framed glass area)
Chicken Wire or Screen - large enough to cover the framed glass you just measured. I used 1 in. mesh.
Wire Cutters
Staple gun/Staples

Optional items that I used:

Screw driver (to remove hardware if you want to change or paint it)
Spray Paint
Painters tape

I used chicken wire because it looks cool and seemed more functional when trying to hang earrings and necklaces. You can find it by the roll at most hardware stores - I got this at Home Depot. I bought PLENTY (like 23 feet extra!) but I'll use it on future projects.

1. Lay the door on a flat surface and measure the area you'd like to cover with chicken wire (in my case, it was the entire window frame). Next, measure the chicken wire, adding an extra inch on all sides (for example, if the area you're covering is 22"x28", cut a 24"x30" piece of chicken wire). Using the wire cutters, cut your chicken wire!

2. Center the cut piece over the door - you may need an extra set of hands to help with this part...thanks little sister! Using the staple gun, staple the wire to each of the four corners of the window frame to secure.

3. Continue to add staples every few inches along each side of the window frame where the wire "V's" (pictured below)

4. If you aren't already scraped up from the wire edges, nice work! That makes one of us. To seal the edges off to make them less deadly, my sister and I wedged them between the window frame and door frame. The window frame in many doors is sealed which might not allow you to do this with the edges of the wire. Alternately, you can bend the wire down or in towards the staples or add a cool picture frame to the edge.

Now on to the optional project...

As I mentioned before, I love the hardware, especially the darker color metal, but the silver just wasn't working for me...it looked cheesy! This is where five minutes and a can of spray paint become your best friend! Rustoleum Spray Paint is my favorite brand when painting metal - it sprays evenly, doesn't scratch easily, dries quickly and stays true to color. Plus, they make it in almost every color!

For this knob, I chose white spray paint - I thought it would contrast the darker metal and the color of the door nicely. Using the painters tape, I taped off the base and top of the knob (cut around the round edge using a x-acto knife). Spray paint and leave in a well ventilated area to dry.