Completed Picture Collage

After tons of moving around, lots of reader feedback and way too much time spent staring at the wall...I'm so thrilled that our picture collage is hung, finished and lookin' good!  Our wall of pictures is a compilation of images I captured and that tell one unique story after another - and I couldn't be happier with the end result!

An added bonus to this picture collage is that I can bust out the mixologist skills I picked up from my good ole' bartending days and serve our guest up a nice cocktail while they enjoy the serene images.  Cheers!

My goal for tonight, in addition to showing off my collage, is to tell you a bit about what I did to create this collage look.

First, I went on a hunt for picture frames.  I frequent thrift stores several times a week so it didn't take long before I had a nice pile of frames to work with.  And even though this collage is finished, that won't stop me from continuing to look for old pictures and frames- there's always going to be something fabulous out there.  I knew that I wanted to spray paint most of the frames white. But I also wanted a couple metalic and dark wooden frames because I thought these would tie in nicely with the elements in our living and dining rooms.  Most of the the picture frames I purchased cost about $3.00.  I think the most expensive was about $7.00. 

Something you should know that I think will save you alot of time and money in the long run when creating your own collage is that although it's important you love the frame itself, this should not be the end all be all when buying them second hand.  Take these tips into consideration:

• Matte- Look for pictures with a neutral or light colored matte that can work in any room.  Otherwise, be sure to keep in mind what color matte will work for your space.  Buying old pictures with a matte already included will save you lots of buckaroos.
• Hanging- Check that the picture has a hole, hook, wire or anything else that will allow you to hang the picture from a nail.  I actually had to use my hot glue gun to add a hook on the back of two frames.  Ugh.  Also, when deciding which of your fabulous images to include in each frame, keep in mind where the hook is.
• Condition-  Buy frames that are in good shape.  Frames that are dinged up, broken or chipped will not look nice once painted or hung on the wall.
• Staples- Some of the nicest picture frames I picked up were held together with metal staples in the back...they. are. a. pain.  I recommend you remove them with pliers and then hammer a couple teeny nails in the back on each side for support of your new image. 
• Glass- Make sure the picture frames you buy have a glass front already in them.  I mistakenly bought one that did not have a glass front.  

Next, wipe your frames with a damp cloth to clean them.  Now spray paint away.  Two coats should be sufficient.  I used Valspar white interior spray paint.  Make sure the spray paint you use is appropriate for your frame's surface. 

Then, select your favorite images and print them out.  I really wanted the pictures to look nice and I had store credit at Ritz Camera so I printed them there.  Also, with all the money I saved buying second hand frames there was a couple extra bucks in my budget to spend on quality printing. 

Finally, decide where you want to hang your picture frames.  There's a ton of tips and how-tos for doing this, and a simple Google search will showcase lots of different ideas.  For me, I found the best way to do this was to arrange them on the carpet in different ways- you can see a couple options I played around with here.  Take a picture of each option so you can go back to them and make your decision.  Also, when you make your decsion, the picture will also lend as your guide for where to hang the frames on the wall.  Unfortunately, my first attempt at hanging the frames was kinda dissapointing because I hung them too close and had to start over.

I hope you like the end result as much as I do.  Feel free to shoot me an email if you have any questions.

So now, if you've always wanted to create your own picture collage, I hope after reading this you'll get movin' on it.  It's so easy, inexpensive and DO-ABLE!!!  You have no excuses not to.  Be sure to send me your pics!   

THIS TUTORIAL LINKED UP WITH THE BEST OF EM' AT:



Check it out, HERE.




Check it out, HERE.


Check it out, HERE.

Thoughts on Picture Collage

After playing around with a couple options for how to hang these pictures, I (with your helpful input) decided to go with option #2.  And here it is...

Rob suggested I space the pictures a bit more. At first I didn't want to listen to him because I spent alot of time hanging them, but I think he may be right. Ugh. Also, I think I should move the entire collage up several inches so that the picture on the very bottom isn't so close to the chair rail.

In case you haven't noticed, there's seven frames hanging without pictures. I'll fill them soon. For now, they needed to be hung as place holders.



Here's a white pigeon I threw into the mix of the collage.  I honestly have no clue what kind of bird this is. 

This is when I'll defer to you again.  Do you think Rob's right about spacing the pictures more?  Should I raise the entire collage away from the chair rail?  And my mystery bird...am I nuts?

Picture Collage in Living Room

I've never hung a collage of pictures on a wall, but I've wanted to do it for a long time now.  I always envisioned a schmoregusboard (really?  is there a correct way to spell that?) of original and wonderful images personally captured by me. 

Over the past several months I've been grabbing my camera wherever I go just in case something wonderful catches my eye.  I  like to take pictures in unlikely places and of everyday things.  For instance, I've shot pictures under bridges, in the sand, of a pile of rocks and even tree trunks. 

Anyhow, I finally got around to getting the ball rolling with the collage idea.  I plan to tell you more about this project when it's all finished - but for now, I'm in the process of configuring the pictures in an elegant and fun way.  My plan is to hang them above the credenza.

Do you like either of these set ups?  Any pointers you can share that I should know about?



set-up option #1



set-up option #2

  

I took these gorgeous sunset pics last Sunday while at the park with Roxy gurrls.  Good thing these were taken with my iPhone and the quality stinks when blown up, otherwise I just may have had to add one of these bad boys to my wall of gorgeousness. 

Good night, sleep tight!

Stenciled Curtains

I couldn't wait to share this mini-makeover with you.  After the stencil project I did on our back door, found here, I knew that I'd be temporarily obsessing over stencils.  I immediately started thinking about what else I could stencil away.  And that's when I began wandering around the house, staring at random items and furniture, trying to come up with a good stenciling idea.  I walked into our guest bedroom and looked around for a moment.  Got it!  The curtains in the guest bedroom were just so drab and borrrrr-ring.  Wouldn't you agree?  So that was it. The guest bedroom curtains it was.

The curtains used in this project are very basic (inexpensive too) and you can score them at IKEA for just $19.99.  Once you've got your curtains picked out, here's what else you'll need:

1. Craft Knife  ($4)
2. Overlay Film ($9 for a whole book.  If you're crafty, a DIYer and creative I'd suggest you buy the whole book.  Trust me, it'll get used!)
3. Fabric Paint  ($2 each - I used 5)
4. Sponge or roller brush  ($2)
5. Double-sided Tape  ($4)
6. Ruler

First, I cut the lining out of the curtains.  This won't make a difference in how the curtains will look.  I found that doing this made it easier to flatten the fabric and keep everthing straight while stenciling. 

Next, I did an "image" search on Google for "stencil patterns."  I found a pattern I liked, expanded the image to a good size and printed it out.

I traced the pattern on a peice of clear overlay film and used a craft knife to cut it out. 

Because my pattern isn't solid, I had to do an additional cut in the center of the stencil.  This important step gave me the mini stencil [I'll refer to this as the "star"] shown below in my left hand.  



If I were to paint the big stencil above, without the "star" in the center, I'd get a solid pattern- which I didn't want



Then, I took quick measurements on the curtain to ensure my patterns would be evenly spaced. After that, I placed double-sided tape all around the back of the stencil- really getting in close to the stencil's edges.  This was very helpful in keeping the stencil in place and pressed tight against the fabric.

Finally, I was ready to paint away.   



I used the end of a pen to put pressure on the stencil.  This helped adhere the tape to the fabric.



Here's the stenciling in progress:



My suggestion is to use a sponge brush because they are super easy to work with. I'm not sure I would have achieved these results with a roller brush- they can get really messy.



This is the first panel that I finished.  Pretty awesome! 

Overall, stenciling my curtains was fun, fast, easy-breezy and budget-friendly.  All said and done, this makeover cost $48.00 - WITH THE CURTAINS!!! 

Voila!!



 



This project partied with the best of them at:

Kitchen Makeover

Yikes!  It's hard to believe that this was our kitchen one year ago.  When we bought our town house this is exactly what it looked like- the horrible border, two layers of caked-on wallpaper (hard to see in pics), 21 year-old blinds, stale cabinets, and oh yeah, the gi-NORMOUS light fixture.  How can you miss that thing?

Our kitchen was the second project we tackled once we moved in.  The first room that we worked on was our living room. 



The knobs were actually pretty decent so we kept them





Just your standard maple cabinets...



And here's how the kitchen looks today!  This project was a BIG one for us...our biggest yet.  All said and done, I'd say we worked on this extreme makeover for about a month- maybe a little longer.  But hey, well worth it in my book. 



I LOVE, love, LoVe, lOvE how it turned out.  We get so much sunlight in here and the feeling is super airy and open. 



The two corner glass front cabinets and light fixture is new. 




I'm happy with the way the knobs look against the Valspar Swiss Coffee paint. 

 



New Blinds!!!  What a DIFFERENCE blinds make people.



We peeled and ripped wallpaper and argued and sweat and peeled wallpaper and almost gave up and ripped more wallpaper.  The wallpaper just kept appearing. 

We've mastered the art of sanding, smoothing, priming, painting and drying.  

Today, Rob has quite an extensive handyman list of accomplishments- but a year ago, installing a new dishwasher was a pretty impressive task (for a city boy) to do himself, to say the least.  Thank goodness for handy hubbies! Muah.

Poster Bed Find

This may sound weird to a non-DIYer...but this poster bed find made my year! 

I consider myself lucky for two reasons.  One, because yours truly actually stumbled across this.  And two, I found this ON MY LUNCH BREAK!!!  I know, I know...you're jealous :)~  I rarely leave the office on my lunch break so I consisder myself super special.

When I laid eyes on this bed I would have bet money that someone else had already bought it.  I thought to myself, "There's NO WAY that bad boy hasn't been purchased yet.  It's waaay to special!"  It was sort of off to the side too- almost as if someone had intentionally tried to keep it out of eye sight.  Well my friends, I scored this beauty for $54 buckaroos.  I know, I know...you hate me!




Here's the poster bed at Impact Thrift Store at the time it caught my eyes.  It's hard to tell from this picture but the bed was actually off to the side a ways- seperated from the other bedroom furniture.

At first, I debated painting the bed becase the wood was in such great condition and had so much shine.

 

Here's the bed  when we got it home.  I had to go back to the thrift store with Rob and pick it up several days after I purchased it because it wouldn't fit into my teeny car.



This is the bed after one coat of paint.  I'd like to apologize for the awful cellphone picture quality.  As I mentioned somewhere on my blog before, at the time I started alot of my DIY projects I didn't know I'd be blogging about them today- otherwise I'd have nicer pics to share :)

 To check out the poster bed, in its finished glory, click here and scroll down.

Rob and I sanded the poster bed with a medium coarse sandpaper until the surface was roughed up pretty well. Then, we used a finer sandpaper to smooth out the wood surfaces. Finally, I painted the poster bed with a black semi-gloss paint. I wanted the bed to really look nice and thought that by using a paint with some shine would do the trick.

When I bought this bed I was so excited I didn't realize that the bed frame was sold separately.  I snagged a frame at the same thrift store for $10.00.  All said and done, our guest poster bed only put us back $97 with materials.  Actually, that's way ahead in my book- my budget loves me!!! 

Not too shabby, right? I hope you like.

THIS DIY PROJECT WAS LINKED AT The DIY Showoff,  HERE

You're Painting WHAT???

That's how the Lowe's employees at the paint counter reacted when I told them, "I'm painting my carpet." As I write about it now, and actually process that statement, I totally get why they reacted the way they did. To some, that's just CRAZINESS!
If you're like me, always searching for thrifty ways to spruce up dated household items, I want you to know that painting a carpet is a piece of cake.

I first got the idea when I came across a post, here, on ApartmentTherapy. Stacie is the name of the talented woman who used spray paint on her area rug. Several weeks later, I came across another woman who blogged about painting a carpet. Only this woman used actual paint.

After reading up on this, and seeing that lots of folks have successfully did it, I set out to paint my very own carpet. And lucky for me, Rob's mom gave us an IKEA hand-me-down rug several months prior that I used as my blank canvas. I didn't feel bad about painting the carpet because it had minor stains and spots on it - which actually is a perfect excuse for you to paint your old area rug, too!

So, here's what I did...you won't believe how easy (and inexpensive) this was.

Here is the carpet in our family room BEFORE I painted it:



An employee at Lowe's recommended I use "Porch & Floor" paint. She said this type of paint is more durable, made to be walked on, and that it will last longer. And since I had never done this before- I took her word for it!

 Materials:

1. Paint (shown above) $10.98
2. Painter's Tape $3.28
3. Small Roller $2.18

Fortunately, the rug has small squares and a border that is woven on it- so the pattern was super easy to follow.


I outlined the squares and border with the painter's tape and painted away!

 What a difference! And what a great way to liven up the room, don't you think?

After I completed this project, I came across some awesome area rugs, here, by Thomas Paul that I think I'll have to replicate one day in the future. Check em' out for yourself - these are great inspiration patterns.

I linked up at Amanda's Weekend  Bloggy Reading from Serenity Now, check it out HERE.

For Our Special Guests

I'm so happy to tell you that I just finished a makeover on a dresser and nightstand for my guest bedroom.  After I found the super chic poster bed for this room at a local thrift shop [on my lunch break] I knew I could definitely find the perfect dresser and nightstand too!

About a month ago, Rob was randomly searching around the furniture section on Craigs List when he came across a couldn't-be-more-perfect set for our guest bedroom.  The best part about it was that seller literally lived around the corner from us.  Well actually, the best part about it was that we scored both pieces for one hundo dollars- Cha Ching!!!!

Here's what the pieces looked like when we picked up the furniture



These are the draws I removed from the dresser while I was preparing for the sand down



As you can see above, the wood was badly warped from condensation- but nothing a good sanding job wouldn't take care of.





Our first step was to sand all surfaces with an extra coarse 60 sandpaper .



The course 60 sandpaper worked really well to break through the glossy top coat and in roughing up the wood surface.  Once all surfaces were sanded, we used a very fine 180 sandpaper to smooth out the wood and prepare the surface for painting.



When the sanding was complete, and all surfaces were as smooth as a baby's you know what, we wiped everything really well with a tact cloth.  Tact cloths are great beacause they're really sticky and do a very good job in wiping off all the fine wood particles.

Next step was to paint a primer coat- I chose a latex primer because at the time I wasn't in the mood to deal with the messy clean-up involved with an oil based.  We let the primer dry over night. 

Finally, we painted the pieces with two coats of a black semi-gloss paint.  I chose this type of paint because I thought that the added shine of a semi-gloss would give these peices the extra umph they needed.  Also, I used a semi-gloss on my poster bed and I wanted the finishes to match.

And here's how they turned out

All said and done, this very thrifty dresser and nightstand combo cost us $140.00.